The student behaviors that go on inside a classroom are too often attributed to the fault of the teacher, for better and worse. But the reality is students have a much larger responsibility in how they behave, and they usually end up paying a much greater price when they’re not invested.
That may not be apparent at first. But as they move into work and professional lives, their inability to function in formal settings only doom them to lives of mediocrity or failure. It’s the students who take their behavior seriously that excel.
And if you want to succeed, you’ll do your part. In the following article, we’ll be discussing the common disruptive behaviors — what they look like, what causes them, and how to support your teacher when he/she is faced with confronting them. Let’s begin!
Disruptive Behaviors
First of all, it’s important one learns to spot behaviors that are meant to disrupt as well as the motivation behind them. They are often a defense mechanism of the individual putting them out there into the world.
Still others just lack basic consideration. And when that happens, it can start to affect the value you get out of the class. Essentially, those individuals are holding you back. That’s something to which you should take exception.
While it’s part of a teacher’s job to control their classroom, a teacher is only as effective as the administration supporting her. So it falls on students to accept the responsibilities they have to their studies and each other.
A good way of getting out in front of the problem is to know disruptive behavior when you see it. Any time the student is:
Not listening to the teacher
Playing on their phones
Holding audible conversations with others during instruction time
Not focusing on the in-class assignment
Trying to veer the teacher in directions that have nothing to do with the class
You’ve got a disruptive personality on your hands. The best way of handling this is to be the best version of you you can be. In the next section, we’ll give you the 10 ways you can do that along with why and how it will help you in your work and relationships. Let’s continue!
Doing Your Part
So, how do you do your part to ensure the quality of your own education and the stability of your classroom? Glad you asked. It begins with accepting the stake that you have in it. From there, stick with the following tips.
1. Focus on Your Work
We promise that most teachers have a good reason for giving you the assignments that they do. Even if you don’t see it at first, the act of following instructions to do a job satisfactorily will prepare you for your first job. It also will make you a more dependable person that your friends and family can count on.
Besides, by focusing on what you are supposed to be doing, you won’t feel the temptation to be led astray by the “personalities” in your class. (By “personalities,” we mean those individuals whose sole intent is to grab attention and be the life of the party, even when there is no party.)
2. Do Not Encourage
How you react to certain student behaviors can be the difference-maker on whether they die on the spot or continue to escalate. Laughing along with a class cut-up may seem like a good idea, but all it does is cause the person to keep trying to up the ante and disrupt the flow of the classes they share with you.
If they feel they can get a reaction out of one person, they’ll keep trying regardless of whom else they annoy along the way. If you dread going to a class because it seems like the teacher doesn’t have control over certain students, then help her out by not giving them the reaction they’re wanting from you. If enough of you band together on this, it will shut down many of these poor student behaviors.
3. Ask Sincere Questions
Another great way to avoid the drama and disruption is to get involved in the classroom dynamics by asking thought-provoking questions. We know it can be intimidating to speak up, but just realize you’re in a classroom of your peers. If you’re having these questions, someone else likely is, too.
By stepping up and taking on a constructive role in the classroom, you can set a new standard of expectations and become a leader who doesn’t allow the disruption to feed itself and spiral out of control.
4. Commit to Improvements
How do you commit to making improvements, and what does that have to do with classroom behaviors? First, the how.
Turn in all your homework. Track the progress you’re making. Don’t take any easy ways out. Keep striving until you’ve broken through a concept you didn’t previously understand.
Whenever you commit to making improvements in your studies, you have less time to act out or to feed the acting out of others. That head-down, bulldog mentality will go a long way into making your class a better and more productive environment.
5. Make Connections in Your Daily Life
Connections are powerful when it comes to learning. They’re also significant when it comes to the classroom dynamic. In fact, the more you find between what you learn in the classroom and what you experience in the world, the better off you’ll be.
That goes for work and society in general. That’s because it opens up a world of possibilities and solutions to address the roadblocks and challenges that you face as you go through life.
6. Travel in the Right Pack
There is certainly strength in numbers. And the more you explore those numbers, the easier it will be to exert the right type of pressure inside the classroom.
Maybe you’re not what one would call a “Pack Leader.” No problems. Just align yourself with individuals who share the same ideals. Then, you can all crowd out the disruptions that occur in a classroom by asking questions, getting involved, and trying to get others involved in a meaningful way.
Avoid disruptive people. But do be open to accepting them if they’re willing to get on board with professional in-class behavior. We talk a lot about not giving into the whims of peer pressure. However, peer pressure can be a good thing if it’s used correctly, mainly in these situations where you’re trying to tamp down bad behavior.
7. Communicate with Your Teacher Outside of Class
Sadly, there will always be the bad apples in the teaching profession who make student/teacher relationships outside the classroom questionable. But for the most part, teachers want to connect with their students in ways that furthers their education and sets their students up for success.
Students and teachers who keep the appropriate amount of distance in their relationship have nothing to worry about. In fact, it’s a very good thing to go see your teacher outside of class. Ask them questions. Get to know one another and what they go through. Doing so will make you more committed to doing your part inside the classroom.
8. Form Study Groups to Hold Each Other Accountable
Study groups are like picking a tribe, but they have more of an educational bent to them. These do not have to be the types of people you would hang out with regularly. Just choose individuals who find success as important as you do.
Make it clear that you’re meeting for educational purposes, and do your best to give everyone a role in your study group. Not only should they have a role, they should be held accountable for that role every step of the way. By congregating outside of class with specific instructional purpose, you will be able to take that same attitude and commitment into the classroom itself.
It’ll also help you later in life as you begin to work with different or difficult people.
9. Think More About What You Are Working Toward
Focusing on the future will keep you from getting bogged down in the present. If you can make your class time about future success instead of current boredom, then it’ll be easier to control your learning environment.
To do this effectively, you need to once again be able to make connections between the materials you’re learning and any possible future careers. One of the things a disruptive personality will start with when trying to get a class off-track is, “how will I even need this later in life?”
Your teacher will be able to answer this question but there’s nothing quite like being able to answer it for yourself. When you can, it’s easier to take disruption more personally and exert more pressure on your classmates to get things back on track.
10. Volunteer for the Hot Seat Whenever Possible
Many people hate stepping up into the role of question-answerer or public speaker. But that’s usually the sort of behavior that’ll keep you from falling into disruption traps.
Don’t worry if you’re not the best or most polished. The act of putting yourself out there will give you the types of learning experiences that make you valuable to future employers. It’ll also give you the confidence to pursue your own endeavors if you’re entrepreneurial-minded.
These Positive Student Behaviors Will Put You on the Road to Success
We hope that by exhibiting the positive student behaviors discussed in this article, you’ll get more out of your school years. More importantly, we hope it’ll set you up for success in all that you try afterward.
Now, what are some behaviors that you see in the classroom from other students that are pet peeves to you? And what are you doing to overcome them? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
Aric Mitchell's work appears regularly here at 4tests.com and across the web for sites, such as The Inquisitr and Life'd. A former high school teacher, his passion for education has only intensified since leaving the classroom. At 4tests, he hopes to continue passing along words of encouragement and study tips to ensure you leave school ready to face an ever-changing world.
