How to Make Your Public High School Classroom More Disciplined

How to Cooperate with Security and Administration to Disciplinary Students Effectively

I know that I would rather be a security officer than a teacher on some days. While in class, I appear to be dealing more with behavior than Before, pulling kids apart who are trying to fight each other. Yet, you can use several common sense tactics to ensure that the kids you send to the office remain there, allowing you to concentrate on your class. I guarantee that doing so will result in a better response from Administration and Security.

If you accept the mission, your task will be as follows: Learn the security personnel’s names. Please don’t do it covertly. On your first day as a teacher or the first day of classes, approach them directly, shake their hand, say hello, and start a conversation. Inquire with them about their home and family. Whatever you talk about, as long as they remember your name and which classroom is yours after a few days of this, I don’t care. The main reason why I want you to become familiar with the security team is that it will make your job much more straightforward. Since this is some of the best advice I can offer, it is among my first posts.

Get into the routine of saying hello to them and pausing for a few moments to inquire about their new partner as the weeks pass. Then, when you need them, please drop by and let them know that your most challenging class is approaching and ask them to pop by to help you get the students in the door. Hey, if you’re having trouble getting the kids to stay quiet, invite them into your classroom at the beginning of class (by the way, I will have another post soon about how to start a course in the coming weeks). Just establish a routine of getting along with security, and while you’re doing it, you should also meet the assistant principal in charge of discipline.

How well you can discipline your kids in the classroom will depend on how well you get along with those in charge of discipline. If your school is anything like mine, many educators, particularly rookies, don’t feel they have any place to send the troublemakers. Ten minutes after they are sent out, they appear to return immediately. Teachers believe that sending students to the office is not even a punishment for them. They eventually grow impatient with the procedure and ask why the assistant principal and security officers are even present in the office. But given this, I must query: Why wonder? I am involved in the disciplinary procedure since I am fully aware of everything happening in the workplace. I don’t just assume that others will behave toward the pupils in the manner that I expect them to as if they can read my mind.

To understand what they are doing with the pupils you are sending them; you must get to know these people.

Let me share a fact with you. I never had issues with student discipline, not even during my first year of teaching. EVER. I never had frustration about how the administration handled a referral I made, and I never had students return to my class on the same day. In reality, I am perplexed and believe I understand why this occurs when teachers tell me this is taking place.

When sending a child to work, you must abide by the following basic guidelines:

ENSURE THEY LEAVE! Half the pupils that returned to your room five minutes later hadn’t even visited the office. Teachers accept their recent story that they were sent back by the assistant principal.
Attempt to send a security officer to accompany them to the workplace. This guarantees their arrival and continued presence. Although I know this is not always possible, you should establish friends with the security personnel. Dean, my security guy, knows me by name and is even aware that I occasionally travel to Lake Tahoe to play craps. He shows up in my classroom when I ask him to. He arrives more quickly after hearing it over the walkie-talkie.
Learn to write recommendations. Inquire about what the assistant principal in charge of discipline seeks in a referral. Based on your writing, the student might be sent back to class or suspended for three days, with the referral going into the AP’s wastepaper basket. The trouble with referrals is this. Treat them harshly. Avoid avoiding the subject. Write the student’s precise words if they included an F-bomb. Write:

“Michael shouted, “Fuck You,” right at the instructor in me. This directly threatens my safety, in my opinion.” If you feel threatened, write it. I’m serious. Allowing the student to get away with that behavior is not in the best interests of anyone, notably not the student. People must be aware of the severity. If you believe the suspension is the proper punishment, stop the referral that suggested it.
Comply with. Speak with your AP about that specific student after school. Explain to them everything that happened and anything else that didn’t fit on the referral. Make sure they are aware of how critical the issue is. You must do this stuff, I assure you, if you want to make sure a pupil receives a proper punishment.

As I previously stated, I’ve never had a student return to class the same day I sent them out. If I can’t get security, I send them out immediately, and I let them know that I’ll be phoning the AP’s office in two minutes to ensure they arrive. After that, I send a senior assistant or another student with the recommendation. NEVER send the referral itself with the offending student, and NEVER write the referral while the kid is still present. Get them out of class as soon as possible, and while you wait, patiently compose the referral and send it down.

I guarantee a better response from Administration and Security if you heed my advice. Everyone is aware that some children cannot attend class on some days. That is a fact of both their life and our work. It would be best if you mastered getting these children out of your classroom and into the right hands. If you comply, your job will be made more accessible, and you will find that you are acting more like a teacher in your classroom than a security guard.

Teach4real.com, a website for real teachers in our most challenging schools, was founded by Matt Amaral. From the San Francisco Bay Area, Matt is a writer and English teacher for high schools. His MFA in Creative Writing from National University followed his undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of California in Davis. His writing can be found in the most recent issues of The Dirty Napkin, Diverse Voices Quarterly, Eclectic Flash, Bird’s Eye Review, TravelMag, Escape From America Magazine, and InTravel Magazine, all of which were published in the winter of 2010.

Matt is an AmeriCorps TEAMS fellow (Teacher Education for the Advancement of a Multicultural Society). Both the Puente and AVID programs, which aid underprivileged students in attending college, are taught by him. Although his wife doesn’t want him to, he has taught all high school grade levels and abilities and is renowned for getting involved in student disputes.

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