Problem Children
Sep. 12th, 2012 08:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jessicainjapanDisruptive students are something of a new obstacle for me to tackle. I've read various stories with how other teachers deal with them, but I'm slowly developing my own method to the madness. So far I haven't dealt with too much, but I will share my current experiences.
Right now I'm still giving my self introduction (jikoshokai? I'll google the Japanese word later and edit it in right!), but in my last class period I had my most disruptive student yet.
He talked during my speech, talked over other students, and generally gave off the vibe of, "Hey! Look at me! Look how cool I am!' He was a third year JHS student, so he had the added punch of actually being decent enough at English that he thought he could pull trying to embarrass me and further disrupting class. Luckily, my disruptive students have all been very arrogant. They brag to their friends about what they're going to try to pull later on, and if you listen, you'll be prepped when the time comes.
After my self-intro speech, I usually have a question and answer period where the students can ask about anything I didn't talk about. When I got to the kid, our conversation went something like this:
Kid: :D HELLO. My name is ~~~~. Do you have a boyfriend? >:D
Me: Yes, I do! :3 Do you have a girlfriend?
Kid: YES. :D
Me: Great! BUT. That was a very first year question. You are a third year! You should ask a better question. Please try again.
Kid: >:D Do you like me?
Me: Do I like you? Hmm. I don't know. You ask very first year questions, so maybe I don't know yet. You should study harder.
The kid was perplexed and turned to his friends for help with the translation, but it was too late for him to recover. The rest of the class who caught it on the first go were already giggling and his only escape was to go, "Oh! ...okay! Thank you.' and bow out of our verbal battle.
The English teacher had been worried about how I would handle him, but she said that my attitude with him had been very good! I ignored him when he was just trying to get attention, and when I had to deal with him one-on-one for the question and answer period, I turned the situation around so that he didn't get the upper hand like he planned.
That's been my plan of attack for any awkward questions I get. I try to answer smoothly, then reflect the intended effect back at the student in a good-natured way. So far it seems to be working out well with the particular JHS I'm at. The trick seems to be rolling with the punches and dealing back as good as I get, but always in a positive way.
...and that's my long-winded sharing story for the day!
Right now I'm still giving my self introduction (jikoshokai? I'll google the Japanese word later and edit it in right!), but in my last class period I had my most disruptive student yet.
He talked during my speech, talked over other students, and generally gave off the vibe of, "Hey! Look at me! Look how cool I am!' He was a third year JHS student, so he had the added punch of actually being decent enough at English that he thought he could pull trying to embarrass me and further disrupting class. Luckily, my disruptive students have all been very arrogant. They brag to their friends about what they're going to try to pull later on, and if you listen, you'll be prepped when the time comes.
After my self-intro speech, I usually have a question and answer period where the students can ask about anything I didn't talk about. When I got to the kid, our conversation went something like this:
Kid: :D HELLO. My name is ~~~~. Do you have a boyfriend? >:D
Me: Yes, I do! :3 Do you have a girlfriend?
Kid: YES. :D
Me: Great! BUT. That was a very first year question. You are a third year! You should ask a better question. Please try again.
Kid: >:D Do you like me?
Me: Do I like you? Hmm. I don't know. You ask very first year questions, so maybe I don't know yet. You should study harder.
The kid was perplexed and turned to his friends for help with the translation, but it was too late for him to recover. The rest of the class who caught it on the first go were already giggling and his only escape was to go, "Oh! ...okay! Thank you.' and bow out of our verbal battle.
The English teacher had been worried about how I would handle him, but she said that my attitude with him had been very good! I ignored him when he was just trying to get attention, and when I had to deal with him one-on-one for the question and answer period, I turned the situation around so that he didn't get the upper hand like he planned.
That's been my plan of attack for any awkward questions I get. I try to answer smoothly, then reflect the intended effect back at the student in a good-natured way. So far it seems to be working out well with the particular JHS I'm at. The trick seems to be rolling with the punches and dealing back as good as I get, but always in a positive way.
...and that's my long-winded sharing story for the day!
