Staying Out of Manipulation Land

I try to log individual manipulation tactics because they are so numerous and teachers can get stuck on how to handle them.  Here’s one:  a student is in class, doodling on their paper and not paying attention to the class discussion.  

I require my students to be on task at all times.  Some teachers may think this is minor, but things tend to compound, and later this same student wants to know what page we’re on or some other special request.

Teacher:  Bob, put that pen down and listen to the discussion.

Bob:  I’m listening.  All I’m doing is drawing.

Here’s where I think things often go wrong–the teacher enters the student’s reality rather than the other way around, and says something like, ‘Well, it’s distracting and I want you to pay attention,’ and an ensuing argument evolves.  I recommend, rather, to keep the student in the reality of the class and the teacher.

So:

Teacher:  Bob, put that pen down and pay attention to the discussion.

Bob:  I am paying attention.  All I’m doing is drawing.

Teacher:  Okay.  Students are required to be on task at all times in my classroom, so put the pen down, or if you insist on defiance I will take it to the next level.

There should be no further discussion.  What the next level is will have already been made clear, and Bob can now comply with your direction or face the consequence.

The thing to note in this paradigm of classroom discipline, which may not be obvious at first, is that in the second example Bob was referred back to the teacher’s ‘frame’ or reality, the teacher did not enter his.

Keep students within your frame always, do not enter theirs, and do not confuse sincere, informative questions with these basic manipulation tactics.  Whether or not Bob can concentrate fully while doodling (that’s your judgement but in this case i see he wasn’t) is not the issue.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so make a straight line back to your classroom discipline procedures and reality–don’t jump after the student into manipulation land.

In my book Classroom Discipline 101, I show you how to set up your year and career to end classroom disruption and disrespect entirely–you can download it at www.classroomdiscipline101.com.

Until then hope this tip helps out–happy teaching,

Craig Seganti