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It is so frustrating when a group of students feeds off each other's inappropriate behavior. It is particularly awful to have them earn a negative reputation with subs.

You don't mention whether this is a new problem or has been ongoing all year. It might be helpful to rethink your classroom management plan/rules. Maybe the plan  needs to be reinforced differently, reviewed, or even rewritten. It is particularly challenging to try to change a class' habits during the 4th quarter, but it can be done.

Since you have figured out that the students tend to misbehave to gain the approval of a particular student, starting with him would likely be a good move. I would spend my energy getting to know this student, developing a positive relationship with him, and figuring out a way to impact his behavior.

You might benefit from reading other topics and responses on this discussion board. I recommend scanning through discussions even if they don't appear at first glance to be connected to your issue because often responses take a slightly different turn and because a suggestion for third graders could be adapted to sixth graders.  Perhaps you have already tried these strategies, but the discussions might trigger an idea or remind you of something you have does successfully before and stopped doing.

Thank you for your comments. 

The problems did not start until after Christmas break.  In fact, the student everyone looks up too was my one of my quite, good students up until Christmas break.

I will do what you suggested.  Thank you.

I, too, have an "out of control" class, this year.  I have 29 5th graders, 12 of whom have been considered behavior problems since 1st grade. One student has parents who wring their hands and say "He's just like that at home." and do nothing. One student has a mother who thinks her child can do no wrong. She has stood in my room, had her son admit that he did what I said he did, only to say "Oh, no, you didn't do that. You wouldn't do that." and then complain to the district that I am traumatizing her son. I have one student who makes very rude comments to students and adults alike, and then smirks when they object. (I can't count how many teachers have come to me to complain about this one.) I could go on and on, but basically, I have done conferences, principal visits, detention, incentives, changed seating, had quiet conversations focused on what they do well. I have changed the management plan in my room twice, with no positive results. I have asked colleagues and my principal for help. Nothing works. Nothing makes any difference. I go home with a raging headache every day. I get up every morning, knowing I will go in, try to teach, and face constant, unrelenting disruptive behavior. I keep telling myself that today will be different, that something will be different, but it never is, and at this point, I can't even lie to myself any more. I'm counting the days until the end of school, hoping I never have a class like this again.

Christine, I have to comment on your statement that 12 of your 5th graders have been considered behavior problems since 1st grade. It is disturbing that they have moved through the system without improvement in their behavior. This happens far too often. Teachers document, document, document and meeting after meeting go by without resolution to the problem. And sometimes, as in the situation you have now, years go by and students continue with behavior that prevents not only themselves but others from learning. While I don't have a solution, I do know that this trend will not improve unless teachers (and administrators, counselors, social workers, etc.) choose to persist in their efforts to advocate for help and intervention. I know a teacher who gathered data and tried intervention after intervention for 6 months (added to two years of data and interventions from prior teachers) and attended meetings that included repeated blaming and denial by the parent. The meetings ended with no definite plan to help the child change the behavior and allow the teacher to teach. When notified of yet another meeting that would cause her to leave her class with a sub, she said she would no longer be attending the meetings because nothing had changed, the documentation showed the same things, every intervention suggested had been tried, and she could not in good conscience miss time with her class again. The meeting went on without her, and specific plans for the student were finally made and implemented. (The problem is not miraculously fixed, but the changes made have allowed her to teach more and have set the child and his parents on the road toward meaningful intervention that could not be implemented in the classroom.) This example does not mean that  I am encouraging teachers to refuse meetings (clearly that might not work in many situations!), but it does mean that sometimes we have to stand up and clearly state (over and over) the history and the harm being done by moving students through the system without directly addressing the problem.

I am so sorry that you are counting the days. I feel for the 17 students in your class who have to try to learn in that environment of disrespect from their peers and likely have a very skewed view of school having been with these students for years. And I also feel for those 12 students with the troubling behaviors who are not learning self-respect and respect for others.  I am encouraged by your last sentence, though, because it indicates that you are going to hang in there and continue teaching.

It all begins with God.  Where is our God?  The love of God!  The hope of God that should be from the start instilled in every child whether at home, if not in school!  Be bold and take the stand for what has worked!  Nothing else has for so long.  Look what this great, however, not perfect nation of ours is founded on; indeed, what every single piece of monetary unit of trade in your pocket stands for.  Stand by what you live, by God.  It's that simple.

                                                     John Kennedy Rizzo

                                                     Author Historian Humanitarian

WOW!  John,

Thank you for you insighful soultion to this age old problem.  I am so glad someone finally stepped up and gave us the answer.  I am sure that now all problems will be solved and school will become the Eden we all want it to be.

Where is God?  Everywhere!  Have you ever spent time in the hospital, or with the disabled--the blind the terminally ill; the one who are grateful for a breath of air.  Or the ones born with aids or cancer; these kidds know where God is!  They appreciate every little thing most of us take for granted, such as the one born with no fingers who cannot even type these notes as we do; they see God in everything you and I take for granted, and all the children in the classrooms would be all so much better off to know the appreciation factor of all God has given them so freely that many of us have taken away from them.

                                                       John Kennedy Rizzo

Go John!  If all us Godless, Heathen educators would just follow your advice all of our problems would be solved.

Just because I have this opportunity to ask you, what god was it that let that child be born with no fingers so she could not even type on a computer?  And what god was it that put cancer and disease and disfigurement in the lives of man?  I just thought I would ask.

Richard

John,

Would you be in favor of teachers teaching their interpretations of religion to the children in their classrooms?  Would you be for a Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu teacher forcing children in a public school classroom to listen to their religious views even if the children were from Christian families?

Are you advocating forcing school children to accept religion or at least to sit through teachings of religion in an environment in which they have no choice and cannot get up and leave if they disagree or if the person teaching is wrong?

I am all for leading a good and spiritual life.  I attend church and sent my son to Sunday School and church.  To the best of my ability I follow the teachings of Christ.  Had this been forced on me by my teachers I am sure I would not have become anywhere near as devout a follower as I am.  I probably would have been an even worse student academically than I was.

Preach and prosletize all you wish.  It is your right. Please do not ask teachers to do it in their classrooms.  By the same light do not blame teachers when children choose not to be spiritual.  Teachers are neutral on this issue.  Not neutral about their beliefs but neutral in the presentation of academic subject matter not colored by the teachings of any religion.

If we accept the omnipotence and omniscience of the Creator we should accept that He will take care of the children and not leave their spiritual instruction to school teachers.

Richard

Richard, if you could only look and see all that God is trying to show you in a disabled person with no fingers, no eyes or no arms.  Too bad you never understood much of what Mother Teresa was trying so hard to show her disciples, indeed the world.  Again, try to learn to appreciate all what God the Master Creater has blessed you with.

                                                      John Rizzo

Christine and Lynette,

A couple years ago I had a class that was out of control.  By the way, I teach at a junior high in the resource room 7th, 8th, and 9th graders.  There were a couple ring leaders as well.  Anyway, I got the best advice from our district ed specialist.  She said I needed to take back control of the classroom by holding an after school detention.  I wrote a letter to parents letting them know what was going on, when the detention would be, and when I would notify them if their child had to participate.  Next, I got a timer and explained to the class that every time they were wasting class time by talking out, being out of seat, etc., then I would start the timer and however much time accumulates over the next week would be the time served in after school detention.  Basically saying, if you waste my time then I will waste yours. 

When it becomes detention time I put desks against the walls around the perimeter of the room.  All items the kids brought had to be put on a table in the middle of the room.  Silence was expected or the timer would come out and keep track for the next week.  After two weeks of after school detention the class would jump into action and comply every time they heard the beep of the timer being started.  Also effective is having the timer showing with the use of an overhead.  You will find that the students start getting on one another to quiet down and get on task because they don't want to have their time wasted after school.  It worked like a charm!  Good Luck : )

I've been there.  I'm living it with you.  Sixth graders too.  Major personality turn after they came back from Christmas break.  Before break it was a handful.  Now it's the vast majority.

Here's all I have to offer beyond what you've tried and what others have suggested.

Teaching is a marathon, hardly ever a sprint.  I don't know sports very well...so here is what that sports analogy means to me.  It means I need to conserve my energy and spend it most wisely.  It also means that I want to be working in this profession years from now and I can't let one group break me down.  I've got to stay agile and keep thinking of new things to try every single day.  "What if tomorrow I tried..." and sometimes it isn't any kind of intervention...just a new way of doing things.  I like my students to really know what to expect from me...but there are some things I do just to keep them guessing.  (Example:  I usually pass out papers in a calm and orderly manner.  Tomorrow I might jump on a chair and wing worksheets into the air, then proceed as if all things were normal.)  If they are more off balance than I am, there's less momentum built up for bad behavior.

   I can not afford to give up on contacting the parents and the admin for help  If I stop those contacts, those groups assume that the child (children) have stopped behaving poorly and had just gone through a bad patch.    Lesson plans have to be tight and prepared.  No loose time while I look for tools or papers.  In a lot of ways...this time of year needs to be some of the best teaching you do.   Kids think they've won when the teacher tosses up his hands and starts the countdown to going fishing.    Fight it.  Fight the battle with your last breath this year!  Ever onward!

Kate,

Thank you for those encouraging words.  This year I was considering changing professions because of this one class.  I have decided to stay and take charge of my class.  I have decided I need to be creative in my disipline and be consistent.  I did buy two books to try to get ideas.  They are, Setting Limits in the Classroom by Robert J. Mackenzie and The Laughing Classroom by Diana Loomans and Karen Kolberg.  Both books were helpful. 

To keep their interset in the last 8 weeks of school we read The Diary of Anne Frank and discuss the Holocaust.  All kids are interested in learning about the Holocaust.  Then we discuss human rights of today.  This too is of interest to them.  They want to learn and know more about this part of history. I do the count down with my students of how many days are left to remind them they are to work hard even up to the last days.

Right on!

You can't go wrong with high interest content.  The Laughing Classroom is a good one.

So glad the last 8 weeks have been do-able. 
Wishing you a strong finish.  We're a 19 days and ticking.

Keep up the good fight. 

Dear Lynette,

I am also an English teacher of 8th grade and after Anne Frank and the discussion of the Holocaust I followed up with Spielberg's Shindler's List which I shoewed with some editing to  a 10th grade class in the past.  The kids were far more absorbed and shaken by the black and white version and the stark and supurb videography of the film  They had never heard of Spielberg and although the Frank's were hidden didn't understand the horror of the camps or why the threat was so dire until they saw it.  Afterwards, the discussions were intense, during the film there were tears, not titters and the first deep connection I had with this class.  We had a great writing exercise afterwards.  Finally, a connection and a feeling of success at having taught.  I too was ready to give up teaching after a year of hell and many days ending in tears and frustration.

Jane W.

Let's not ever think about a class getting out of control at any point in the year.

Let's think about preventing it before it ever happens. Yes, after Xmas break is a critical time, but March is, I feel, any teacher's acid test. A class usually doesn't get completely out of control until then. If it does, the proper amount of preventative measures weren't in place so that the class could go on cruise control at precisely the moment it needs it the most: The Spring.

If there's a problem at Xmas or Spring, it usually means that CR Mgmt wasn't built from the ground up at the beginning of the year. Relationships/rapport weren't established. And it could also mean that the teacher isn't doing a good job teaching the content and the students develop a mob mentality. They've had enough, and want you out.

There are a multitude of books out there that tell you how to establish a foundation of CR Mgmt. Find one you like, and NEVER let a class get out of control.

You--and your reputation--can't afford it.

I teach in a school that is 100% Drop-Out Prevention.  Our students are typically 2 to 3 grades behind when we get them.  We have the ability to move them up through the grades and get them back with the peers they started school with.  Research shows that a child is more likely to drop-out if they do not stay with their peers.

I have the reputation of being strict but fair.  I am not in the school to be anyone's best friend.  I am there to teach.  By the end of most school years, many of the children are calling me, "Mom."  To say we have the roughest students in the County is an understatement.  By the time they get to us in the 5th grade, they have low self esteem, police records, poor to no study habits, they are reading on first grade level and can't add single digits.  Our work is cut out.  It is stressful; often unrewarding work.  I love the students, but it is always an up-hill battle.

I never knew the impact we have on these special children until a week ago.  The students I taught 20 years ago came from across the country for a Middle School Reunion!!!  Oh my goodness, the students told us (8 of their former teachers attended with about 100 former students) that we were responsible for the adults they turned out to be.  Many said they "got it" in high school.  Others said it took longer but they finally remembered back to the days we worked so hard on math, reading, manners, and relationships.

My point is this.  Stick to your guns.  Be as strict as you need to be and start out that way on day one.  It will ALWAYS be an uphill battle, but it will be worth it when they come back in their late teens, 20's or 30's and thank you!  

The problem is that the rights of the disruptive student to be in a classroom supercedes the right of the other students to learn.  I'm not saying that all children should not receive an education.  The problem is that the typical classroom environment is not suitable for all students.  That should be obvious by now.  But for some reason, we (the teaching profession) plod along, year after year, trying various discipline systems - or no system - when in fact, if a student who truly cannot adjust to a classroom environment were placed in an envirenment where they can learn, discipline would not be the issue it has become.  IMO, this would involve a student-teacher ratio of, say, 1 to 5, or even 1 to 1 for a while. Of course, someone (ie taxpayers) would have to pay for this.  I have had classes that were "out of control", until a certain student was absent.  A truly out-of-control student can derail an entire class, and this should not be allowed to happen.

Sandra, it is my opinion that special education has moved too far toward inclusion in the general education setting even in those cases in which students are not able to learn well in a large group setting. My understanding is that the law requires that students be taught in the least restrictive environment  in which they can be successful. I think that the success part has been ignored in an effort to "include" more students and reduce the number of special education classrooms/teachers. As a former teacher in a classroom for students with behavior disorders, I am convinced that some students require a setting in which they can be given direct instruction regarding behavior (along with academics) and have the support of a place to calm themselves and process events to learn how to respond in a more socially appropriate manner. They should not be placed in an environment in which they act out and get kicked out. They should be placed in an environment in which they work their way into the general population gradually and experience success that leads to more time in the general population. I had some students who moved from full-time in the BD classroom to full-time in the general education setting in one academic year (moving to the BD room only when they needed a time-out to calm down or help to figure out how to deal with something before blowing up). I had a few students who were so troubled and damaged by abuse that they could only handle lunch or a study period with the general population but were able to excel academically in the BD classroom. After my years as a special education teacher, I taught 7th grade language arts for 10 years prior to my retirement, and it is clear to me that while I could help students with social skills and appropriate behaviors in the general education setting,  it was not possible to do so to the extent that I could in the smaller setting of a classroom designed specifically to help students with behavior issues. We do students with behavior issues (and their peers) a tremendous disservice when we place them in settings in which social skills and personal responsibility are not taught directly and specifically, assuming that they "should know" or that they will somehow develop the skills if they are punished sufficiently.

I totally agree.  But the consequences inclusion-for-everyone can be dire.  Sometime in the late fall, I was in the office waiting to see the VP.  The door was open and I could hear a colleague talking to her about one of his math classes.  He had a class consisting of 50% special ed students for two periods each day (grade level and support).  All were very low ability, and some were very hard to manage.  He had no aide, and he was reminding her that he was not a special ed teacher, and he was not being given any assistance.  The VP responded that the school was definitely in a precarious legal position if one of the parents complained.

Sure enough, not long afterwards, the teacher was put on leave.  The word was that he "put his hands on" one of his students.  Apparently, the details were unclear, because my colleague was tranferred, not fired.

I had the student in question, and he was incredibly disruptive.  He was in a grade-level science class, but he could barely read or write, let alone sit quietly.  And no one gave me any suggestions on what to do for him, and the other special ed students - and I asked, no, begged for help.

Here in CA we do have a least-restrictive environment policy.  Unfortunately the least-reastrive environment for the child may not be a mainstream classroom with no aide or other support.  We are told that a general ed teacher should be able to teach and manage any children assigned to their classroom.  That's like telling an M.D. that they should be able to treat any patient, regardless of their condition, regardless of the doctor's expertise, and without the support of a specialist.  What nonsense.