Eliminating Disruption

Disruption is a common problem in alternative middle schools, and it can take many forms, occurring for many different reasons. Kids may most likely be disrupting class time for attention, but attention resulting from interruption is typically negative and will end up getting them in trouble. Disrupting class can be done in several different ways, including pencil tapping, feet kicking, chair squeaking, loudly talking, and lack of hand raising, but the list is not limited there. School should be an environment where students feel happy, safe, and focused, but disruption from a classmate can corrupt students of an educational environment.

The Three T's for analyzing potential interruption 

An effective way to have children think about their behavior and whether it is disruptive would be to think of the “Three T’s”: Think about your voice level, Think about your behavior, and Think about other classmates. For voice level, having a child think of a scale from 0-3 (0 = no talking is acceptable, 3 = normal voice level of taking is acceptable) can aid children in judging how loudly and appropriately their conversations are going. Creating supplemental worksheets for examining voice level is an option and could be beneficial for some students.

For the second T, thinking about behavior, ask students what behavior is applicable to their voice level. If they are working on a group project during class time, perhaps a conversational voice level is allowed. However, if the student is asking another classmate to borrow a piece of paper, perhaps a whisper is better in this situation. Having the child differentiate contexts of talking during class will allow him/her to better recognize relevant times to talk during class without being disruptive.

Disruption bothers and distracts other students 

The last T, thinking about other classmates, requires students to think altruistically. Explaining to a student that his/her behavior during class could agitate peers’ learning is a good way to put the student in other classmates’ shoes. Typically, once a child recognizes the uncomfortable situation he/she is putting others in, he/she will be bothered by it and want to stop. Allowing a student to think empathetically should be the final step in changing disrespectful behavior in the classroom.

Disruption is not pleasant for anyone in the classroom, but hopefully with the three T’s, it can decline. Thinking about voice level and when it is appropriate to use certain voice levels is a good first step in self awareness in the classroom. With the addition of thinking about one’s own behavior as well as the feelings of kids around an individual will bring a student’s behavior full circle, and disruptive behavior should dissipate. If disruption is a common problem in the classroom, work on respect and control with your kiddos, and thanks for reading!