Dealing with Oppositional Students 1

1 thought on “Dealing with Oppositional Students 1”

1. Michael Coxon

   February 20, 2015 at 6:06 pm

   (TPRS class discipline) “It is a cooperative, not a confrontive, process.”
   This is such a great statement! I too have heard teachers comment that if TPRS is done right, there are no problems. That just isn’t true. Students come to us with all kinds of issues and backgrounds that “show up” in our classes.
   I think we can agree, that many students do well in a TPRS classroom but some struggle to play the game with us. I try my hardest to avoid confrontation with students and when there is a conflict, I ask nicely with a smile. Some students still see this kindness as a weakness and will test the teacher. I hate that! I hate when immature students turn me into a babysitter.
   I love Blaine’s reaction to negativity and rude students. He says something like, “I can’t teach in this way when I feel bad. When you act like that, it makes me feel bad.”
   It takes the sting out of discipline and is communicating feelings about teaching and learning not making threats. Maybe someone else can rephrase what he says better than I did.
   I also have to restate the brilliance of these statements, “In point of fact, classroom discipline is an invisible thing. It is the result of an acceptance by the student of a feeling of unconditional positive regard from the instructor. This unconditional positive regard obviates the student’s need to act out in the classroom.”
   I wonder if outsiders of what we practice can understand and internalize such sentiments? This has everything to do with teaching to the eyes, an authentic human interaction. A teacher can’t be fake and stare at people everyday for 180 days in the eyes and not exchange common respect and acceptance for one another.
   I really appreciate these comments at a time those few pesky students are trying my patience. ?

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