Some of the most challenging moments for any high school teacher may be handling disruptive teenagers. During the teen years, rebellion and finding one’s self are the pre-occupations of the masses – and this often results in a classroom filled with hormone-fueled bad boys and girls. Disciplining the teenager is a real challenge because they are no longer children but not yet adults. Finding the appropriate method for controlling the rebellious or show-off teen is perplexing at best and mind-boggling at worst. It may appear that some teens tend to do just the opposite of what they are told, and this can be even more pronounced if they have very little structure or discipline in their home environment. Putting order to chaos can be difficult, but it is essential for you to become the master of the ship if you want to see smooth sailing in the future.

Out of Control Teens

Sometimes a teen student is simply out of control or worse yet, an entire group of teens is out of control. This makes the entire classroom environment less than conducive for learning for the students who are still paying attention and trying to excel, not to mention making your job less than enjoyable. And to make matters worse, there is little that can be done to punish a disruptive student in today’s classroom. (This might be a good time to point out that when the paddle was taken out of the classroom, the kids starting bringing weapons, including guns, into the classroom. School shootings are, for the most part, a modern occurrence that did not take place when there was a policy that allowed for corporal punishment, although this article doesn’t intend to weigh in on that controversy). Let’s look at handling disruptive teenagers in the classroom in a way that can help you deal with them in a positive manner that gets results.

Become a Friend

You may have heard that you cannot “throw the baby out with the bath water” and the same is true of your disruptive students. Establishing a rapport with your students will allow you to become a friend or mentor to them. Allocate a part of your time to the disruptive student, and initiate small chats or talks with them when you see them in the hallway or elsewhere outside of class, or even following the class period that the teen is in your classroom. Do not keep your talks limited to the subjects that you are teaching, but ask them about things aside from the material. This shows that you are open to learning about them, that you want to befriend them; you are on the same team.

Gaining the Teen’s Trust

Trust is not given away by most teens freely, it must be earned. Your small talk and chit chats go a long way towards establishing this trust, but you can also go the extra mile by making this disruptive student seem special to you, and thus making you appear trustworthy in their eyes. Offer to tutor them on a difficult subject or some other gesture that makes them feel that you care for them.

Discipline from the Perspective of the Older Sister/Brother

Once you have gained the trust and established the rapport with the student, you can easily administer discipline constructively. By being seen as a friend and confidant, you can discipline the disruptive teen from the perspective of the older brother or sister, not as an adult (who is, by the way, the target of the teen’s rebellion). Correcting them in class will be seen as advice from a friend, not from a figure of authority.

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Category: Education
Keywords: advice, education, teaching, teacher, teacher tips, teens, disruptive teens