Task A

Its the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom
Micheal Morpurgo -

Every teacher experiences, at some time, problems in classroom management that

are the outcome of a students disruptive or disturbed behaviour. Students misbehaviour and
disciplinary is a prevailing problem that is affecting schools across many nations around the
world. Students misbehaviour and disciplinary conduct in the classroom interferes with
teaching and learning

Pupils misbehaviours such as disruptive talking, chronic avoidance of work, clowning,

interfering with teaching activities, harassing classmates, verbal insults, rudeness to teacher,
defiance, and hostility, ranging from infrequent to frequent, mild to severe, is a thorny issue
in everyday classroom. Teachers usually reported that these disturbing behaviours in the
classroom are intolerable and stress-provoking, and they had to spend a great deal of time
and energy to manage the classroom. Teachers believe they spend a disproportionate
amount of time dealing with behaviour problems compared with time spent on instruction
and academic activities (Cains & Brown, 1996).Obviously, student misbehaviours affects the
smoothness and effectiveness of teaching and also impede the learning of the pupils and
his/her classmates. Moreover, research findings have shown that school misbehaviour not
only escalated with time but also lowered academic achievement and increased delinquent
behaviour. Failure to address misbehaviour compromises the learning environment whereby
academic activities are interrupted, curriculum content is not covered, teacher authority is
undermined, and most importantly, there are decreased opportunities to learn (Blankenship,
1988; Cains & Brown, 1996; Cartledge & Johnson, 1996; Fields, 1999; Little & Hudson,
1998; Martin et al., 1999).

In the literature, different terms have been used to describe problematic behaviours
of students. For instance, Stewart et al. referred student misconduct to disciplinary
violations in school, for instance, tardiness, vandalism, fighting, stealing, and drinking on
campus. When there are explicit rules and regulations in school and classroom, violation of
these is apparently a misbehaviour or misconduct or discipline problem. Whilst inattention,
calling out, disturbing others and non-compliance are the most commonly reported
classroom behaviour problems (Merrett & Wheldall, 1984), misbehaviour can be any
behaviour that significantly interferes with the childs own learning, other childrens learning
or responses, or the teachers ability to operate effectively (Merrett & Wheldall, 1984,

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p.87).Nevertheless, a particular behaviour is viewed as problematic may not necessarily be
rule breaking, but inappropriate or disturbing in the classroom setting. For instance,
daydreaming in class, not completing homework, talking in class, lesson disruption, bullying,
and rudeness to the teacher are named as disruptive behaviours. Gerald Amada in
his Coping With Misconduct in the College Classroom (1999) identifies common
misbehaviour and disciplinary problems in the classroom . Among those are :

Talking
out of Calculate
Physical turn d idleness
destructiv or work
eness avoidanc
e

Verbal Hindering
abuse to other
teacher pupils

Physical
aggressio Arriving
n to other Misbehaviou late to
pupils r and school/les
and Disciplinary son
teacher Problem in
the
Classroom
Cheeky
remarks Unwanted
or non-
impertine verbal
nce to noises
teacher

General Persistent
rowdiness infringem
or ent of
mucking Getting class
about Verbal out of rules
abuse of seat
other without
pupils permissio
n

One of the disciplinary and behavioural problems faced by the teacher in the
classroom is the pupils arriving late to the class. This can affect the teaching and learning
process that is going on in the class as the pupils will miss out the lesson taught by the
teacher. Arriving late to class is a misbehaviour that can actually turn into a habit if there is
no immediate action is taken.

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 Misbehaviour of pupils while the teacher is teaching is also a common problem in the
classroom. For example, pupils talking out of turn and getting out of seat without the
teachers permission. The pupils are not following the rules in the classroom. These
behaviours cause distress for the teachers and interrupts the learning process and that leads
teachers to make continual comments to the student. Other than that, some pupils will also
make unwanted non-verbal noises in the classroom. For example, they will start scraping the
floor using their chair, banging the table or whistling in the class. This misbehaviours cause
disturbance to the teacher and to their other classmates.

Next, some pupils also like to hinder their classmates which is a behavioural
problem. They like to be dominant in the class and hence seek the attention of the teacher
and their classmates. Attention seeking is the most common form of misbehaviour. One form
of misbehaviour is when the students actively provoke or annoys the teacher in a way that
cannot be ignored. This types of attention seeking behaviour are rather wide and students
may use different strategies to draw out the attention of the teacher as well as their fellow
classmates. This kind of students will come up with cheeky remarks or impertinence to the
teacher and their friends as one of the way to get attention. These may include clowning,
tapping a pencil on the desk, talking to other students, annoying the students sitting next to
them, not paying attention to the teacher or by being lazy and not doing the work.

Other than that, the students can use their bad behaviour in class as a tool to gain
attention from other students in class. This takes attention away from the lesson and from
the teacher; in turn, the student will gain control of the classroom. Another discipline
problem way is to bully a teacher is inside and outside of the classroom. This can also be
done by cyber bullying through social media, or by sending derogatory texts and instant
messages to other students via cell phone. It can also be done by merely disrespecting
the teacher in the class, or at a school event, or by spreading false and detrimental
rumours about the teacher among the other students in the school.

Bullying towards teachers can come in many different forms which is considered
as disciplinary problem in the classroom. Obviously, students can physically harm a
teacher. They can throw things, hit, kick, punch, slap, flick, and push the teacher.
Students can harass, intimidate, and disrespect the teacher. Verbal abuse is also
prevalent among students bullying teachers. Verbal assault is just as damaging to anyone
as physical harm is. Mental abuse can take place when the student threatens the teacher,
leaving the teacher feeling fearful of the student. The pupils can also call names which is
equally disrespectful to the teacher. Another discipline problem is the physical destruction
of the school property. For example, scribbling on the desk, destroying the desk and chair

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and many more. In conclusion, there are many behavioural and disciplinary problem
faced by the teacher and hence its their task to manage the class effectively.