What do you do for 15 minutes with the detained students?
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The default setting on detention time is have the students just sit silently or copy the rules if they had that added on. There is value in having a student sit silently; it may be the only time they learn to do so that week, and time alone with their thoughts doesn’t hurt.
I tell them if they talk or distract the clock resets–it is 15 minutes from the time they stop talking.
If they are squirming it makes detention that much more effective because they don’t want to return. Though sometimes I let them read and/or do homework. Other times I engage them in a little conversation to indicate how un-evil I am in real life, just that they are merely paying a consequence for a rule broken doesn’t make them a bad student either.
This is all a judgement call–do what you think will help your classroom environment in the long run. In other words, if a student really likes coming after school to talk to you, then chatting with them isn’t going to help your case.
I never have less than 2 or 3 students in the room for my own protection against any accusations. There have been cases where students conspire to accuse teachers of various things; were I wary of that, I would simply stand in the doorway marking papers or reading or keep myself visible somehow.
In my Middle School I do a ten minute lunch detention. We are not able to keep middle school after school because there are no buses. I started with the rules 1/2 way through the quarter and this has been my best week of teaching yet. There was some displeasure form the kids, but the best part was when the principal came into the class with some major donors and the class was totally on point.
Love the book. It’s 21 days to build a habit so I need to stay with it. Next quarter starts in a few weeks with a new batch of kids for me. Ready to give the rules day one!
Have tweaked the system a little but still use the principles. Instead of referring the students immediately to an executive member of staff, I have an arrangement with my colleagues that allows me to send them to their senior class. They remain suspended from class until the detention is served. Parents are informed of the situation. This amendment spreads the workload and gives the administration no premise to take no action.
I have just started doing this. If I keep a student in at play time due to rudeness, disrespect, disobedience, etc, I get them to write out the dictionary definition for 4 or 5 words relevant to their behaviour and then they have to write a sentence using that word and their name, explaining what they should be doing. Eg ‘John’ needs to demonstrate ‘respect’ to his classmates by listening while they are talking to the class, rather than throwing paper aeroplanes.
This keeps them quiet and helps them to think about what they should be doing instead. I’ve only had one repeat offender since I started doing this.
I an a substitute teacher and similar to other lunch detentions mentioned have 5 fo 10 minutes reflection. Sometimes I use the poem the Road Not Taken and use that as a reflection as to what would have happened if they had made another choice and not broken the rule. Also students can help clean up lab equipment, organize the room, write rules missed. Few want to miss their valuable lunch time- for minor infractions it is just one minute and they are met in the lunchroom and must sit at a table without talking for one minute- They watch the other students get lunch but they must sit there quietly one minute- There are few incidents next time. However I do have the support of other teacher and the lunch monitors and that makes it easier and we work as a team. This is important as students soon learn that the classrules will be enforced not just by the substitute but every adult in the school. That ends any attempt of the student to weasel out of the detention. They think better next time they break a rule. I also support other teachers and lunch monitors and with school wide support there are few discipline problems.
Hi Craig:
I’m in the situation of doing prep. coverage across the school (K – Gr. 8). I am a new teacher in this school, and have to be evaluated this year. I only see some of these classes once a week and have been told by admin. that copying of rules or code of conduct will not be supported.
One particular class is very difficult to manage – last count, there are 4 kids with “break” cards (ie. whenever they feel too stressed they can leave the room, once they’ve handed me the card). The card makes them think they can do anything -return at anytime, be disruptive or not leave – when instructed to. One student’s current expectation is “maintainence” – no academic expectation. Detentions are OK and calls home are OK.
I usually have this class, the last period of the day for an academic subject.
Ideas …
I found the book extremely useful. It supports what I have been thinking for a long time but other teachers / trainers all seem to be on the ineffectual “nicey-nicey” bandwagon.
My question is how to apply your system to a post-16 setting. I will be working with 16-18 year olds at a college in the UK. Many of them are immature and disaffected but I don’t think detentions are ever given. They might go on a report (hopeless!) but that’s it. Any ideas?
Anne, I do recall craig saying if a parent decides to take their child out…so be it…I’m sure it won’t be permanent anyway.
Hi, I’m impressed. I teach Year 2 kids (6 year olds). I’m a primary teacher in New Zealand. I do the 15 min detention at lunch time. I let the kids go to lunch first and then they come back to class. Before they go to lunch I get the kids to stand up and I explain simply that if they don’t come to detention their parents will get a phone call from me. No one has ever missed detention. I’m going to change the 15 min to 10 min though.
The class discipline. Wow! Spectacular. My class isn’t actually that bad but I did have one child who would constantly interrupt with his ideas etc etc. And as you pointed out in your book…..I was one of those teachers who would try to use psychology and everything PC to correct this behaviour. Unfortunately to no avail. Tried two terms this year. It only basically took 2 days after using your technique. On the third day this kid came up to me with his hands behind his back and politely said, “Excuse me, Mrs Dickson” and waited for my reply…unbelievable.
The first couple of days I just had to smile to myself as I watched your quotations unfold.
You will smile at this one…one of my quieter kids who had to come in for detention because she continued to whisper to her neighbour when she thought I wasn’t paying attention came up to me later in the day and stated (with a smug look on her face) “Mrs Dickson, I don’t care that I’m on detention couse I’m going into hospital to get my tonsils out and so I won’t be able to do it.” To which I replied, ( with a smug look on my face) “Oh that’s ok, you can do it when you come back to school.” hahaha
I have told about 5 staff about your technique. I had a student teacher in the class who has been coming in every Friday and knows about the interruptions. She wants to buy your book. She was blown away. The art teacher came in to take art and said she couldn’t believe how much easier it was to take her lesson without you know who interrupting. As you mentioned in you book….one of the rules is to respect staff and so the kids got the run through about what staff meant. She had a lot more energy at the end of the day even though she herself didn’t use your technique she reaped the consequences of it. Thank you.
The principal rang to say a parent had contacted the office about our policy on detention. Of which they replied …we don’t have one. The principal said the word choice – detention might be a bit difficult for parents. I replied…I chose that word on purpose so that students understood the seriousness of their behaviour and lack of respect for the rules in our class. I went on to explain the positive consequences that have happened since using your techniques and how every child in the class now has a lot more uninterrupted learning time. What could she say to that!!! So she replied, “Oh ok. Just letting you know that one of the parents came to the office so you’ve got one up on what’s going on. YES!
One more week before holidays so I will continue using your technique and let you know what happens next.
I cannot impose afer school detentions as the school I work in is a country school and most kids live miles away and are bus-ed in. So I decided to bite the bullet and penalise myself by implementing lunch-time detentions instead. I thought that a bit of time spent now would pay off in the long run and it has. The amount of detentions has dwindled and I now have what were insolent, lazy and disruptive kids handing in decent written assignments for marking. In addition to this my willingness to enforce a conseguence (detention) means that when I have to take other teacher’s classes for an internal relief (substitution)those classes have been transformed from a band of feral animals to group of mainly wiiilng workers. Yes your e-book on classroom discipline (a dirty word- dicipline I mean) is turning out to be worth every cent!
My students know that while teaching and quick 3 taps on their desk means detention. They fear it. The class knows when someone is off task and as I calmly walk over to that student’s desk, every students watches…..what a dream!!!!! I don’t even say ANYTHING…just 3 taps on the desk….Total Silence. They all look at his student who usually knows he is in for missing part of his lunch….for a middle school student…torture! I do use this time to get acquainted with the student. I keep their rules and they write the date, name and reason for staying in detention for 15 min. in my desk drawer. Before the student leaves, I kindly tell them, “I know that this won’t be a problem again…but I will keep this in my drawer and we won’t have to show it to your parents or the principal if we don’t have this problem again.” They don’t come back! I have only had 1 or 2 students all year that have.
Craig, your plan works so great! I was not going to teach this, my fifth year, due to classroom discipline problems. Discipline was almost non-existent in my room. I tried and failed at everything I had been taught or shown. Nothing seemed to work for me. I love my students, I love teaching, but it was out of control. I actually hated it! As a last resort I got on line prior to this year. I purchased and tried the system. WOW!!!!
While printing copies in the teachers lounge I was mentioning it to one of the teachers and and her sister who also teaches, how I loved teaching this year. One, a veteran teacher of 26 years looked into the process, purchased the CD and listened to it on the way to school. (She still does.) This is a teacher all of the students love! The program has worked so well, that when our principal came to observe and report our classroom this year he asked her….”what are you doing different?” She told him and before you knew it we were the presenters at faculty meeting!!!! Within minutes after the meeting all the teachers wanted to know more! You now have some very attentive teachers from our school! This system WORKS! It is the best that money can buy! EVERY institution of Higher Education should be teaching these techniques! We would have a return of professionalism across the board!
Thanks for saving my career allowing me to teach what I love to teach….students. I now have the respect to actually teach these students and have FUN doing it!
My students spent an hour yesterday copying out your/my classroom rules. I had planned to spend most of a period today going over them thoroughly. I had a phone call from a parent complaining that she did not want her daughter wasting class time this way. I explained to her that getting on top of the discipline problems in class will mean we have more time in future for teaching and learning. She didn’t buy it and has given her daughter permission to go home and work rather than “waste time” in my class. Any suggestions as to how I deal with the next parental complaint like this?
I am subbing for a middle school class for about three weeks. The kids have had subs all year as their teacher has been ill since almost the first week of school. The kids have become accustomed to the lack of structure so there have been many behaviors. I had the class for four days last week before I decided to buy your book because I needed to become more strict. I have been using your 15 min. detention this week, but most of the kids do not show up to the detention. I tried to react to this with the paired phone call and a referral. However, administration has complained to me that they cannot keep up with the amount of kids I write referrals for and they tell me they never want to see this many referrals again. So now it is down to just the phone calls home, which has not been nearly as effective because many numbers are disconnected or no one answers. I feel as if I have no real power over those have been disrespectful towards me and am extremely frustrated. Any suggestions? I have one teacher telling me to assign standards but I’m sure they will refuse to do it just like they refuse to do anything else in my class. At least most of them are sitting in the seat I assign them this week. Last week, some of the more difficult classes would not even sit down. This week, they have been more productive, but if my detention is not reinforced they will know I have no real power and chaos will reign again. Are there other ways to reinforce your 15 min detention?
I make good use of detention time. The 10-15 minute detentions are for minor things like a first-time tardy. But a detention for “forgotten” homework (forgot to do it, forgot it at home, forgot to stop at my locker, etc.) are more substantial and end up being like Carol’s homework help. The best of them, though, is a detention for being disorganized (math binder in disarray, no pencil, no cover on the textbook, etc.). I actually use the time to teach students how to become organized. I have tips for using planners, creating a homework place at home, remembering things, finding help on the internet and many other useful and success-oriented measures. I’m working on a self-study unit. Doing this day after day is getting a bit boring.
I also give the students a choice – they can sit quietly or get math help (yes, I teach math!) And I also reset the timer when they talk if they choose the quiet option. I find these kids are the same ones who ‘cannot’ stay for homework help, so the detention accomplishes two things. First, during the last 5 minutes I let them vent, and it gives them a chance to see me as semi-human when I can respond to their complaints rather than react to their behavior. Secondly, many of those who have to stay three or four times and take advantage of the math help end up coming on their own for help after that because they realize it actually helps! This past year I had 4 repeat offenders who ended up going from failing to solid B grades. They all said they had never understood math before, and became my best behaved students in that class!
I call detention “the recess club”. This is how it works for me when I sub in elementary schools. I say, next time I warn you – you can join the recess club. The kids stay in with me at recess and write about why they are missing recess. They have to use complete sentences and proper punctuation. I give their papers to the teacher when he/she returns from his/her absence away from the classroom. Having them write is “academic” so they are constructively employed during their time in the “recess club”.