What are some consequences I can actually give my class for excessive talking?

Question

I cannot take away recess or give afterschool detention for legal reasons. So far I've tried silent lunch, but the kids honestly just don't care. I don't like the idea of assigning extra homework because that would give homework an even more negative connotation than it already has. I'm tired of lecturing my students about it, and I'm tired of providing incentives to do what should already be done. I feel like today's kids perform when they know there's something in it for them, and I just don't like that. So I feel like I'm kinda stuck. Any ideas? I appreciate any sincere replies, especially from those who are actually in education.

Again, I CANNOT take away recess or give afterschool detention. I can't take away lunch either.

I teach 3rd grade.

I should also mention that this is a class-wide problem. It's not just one or two students- that I can handle easily. It's the entire group. I present material in the most interesting way possible, and the students really don't get bored with my lessons. They simply don't shut up. Ever. I don't mind talking here and there, it makes for an interesting day. But all the time is just wasteful and disrespectful. My colleagues and I have even mentioned the excessive talking 2 or 3 times in our weekly newsletters, so parents are aware of the problem.
We don't have much support from the administration at this point. We've been told we can take field trips away from students, but when that opportunity presented itself, the principal backed down.

Answer 1

This may be a lost cause with your class. It didn't work on mine last year, but it's working great this year. I keep a jar on my desk so that my class can earn marbles. It's a class-wide thing, so they have to be accountable as an entire group. I set a goal of how many marbles they need to get to earn a reward. Be sure to set the first goal pretty low (5-10). Then let them earn something that they really want. Each time they earn their goal I dump out the marbles and start again with a slightly higher goal until it's decently high. Then I can leave it at that. I give marbles when the class works quietly for a while, when the class earns a compliment from another teacher, and if they are working together really well during group work. I also take away marbles if they are too noisy during class or in the hall. They can even go into negative marbles. My kids this year REALLY love earning the rewards and are willing to work for them. If they are too noisy during independent work I usually say, "I'm putting a marble on my desk. You decide what I do with it." That means they have lost it, and they have a chance to earn it back if they get quiet/back to good behavior. Whether this works really depends on your class group dynamics. Hopefully it'll be helpful to you. If not, good luck. You really can't take much anymore.

Answer 2

Hey man, it seems that you've gotten yourself into an absolutely shitty situation. My immediate impulse would be to report her. Unfortunately, as a student, the average bystander (your principle, and probably most parents) are not going to take you seriously. You should try to get some solid proof (doing an audio recording of when stuff like what you have described - i.e. grossly inappropriate behavior - has happened), and compiling a solid case before you go ahead with presenting it to someone. There are other concerns too. Teachers in most school systems are union employees - which pretty much means they cannot be fired. The worst that can happen is that they will have to go through some training courses. You have to go through this high school for the next couple of years, and you will have to live with any consequences that come up (e.g. gaining a bad reputation, having legal battles with the school). If you have a trusted adult (someone who is not super rash, and preferably not a dumbass), talk to them about it. And reason it out. Do not act too hastily - these type of things can land you in a lot of trouble. The teacher is protected by unions.

Answer 3

Do not assign extra homework because it will punish you. Do not have them write "I will not talk in class," because they will 1. hate writing or 2. not do it and then you have another problem. Why can't you take away recess or detentions? I have never heard of that before, and I have taught for 35 years. You might try sending a letter home about the disruptive behavior. After that, take the child to the phone, have him call home, and explain to his parent that he has disruptive class again. He should explain his behavior, and also inform his parent that he will not be allowed to return to class until the parent comes to school and a solution to the excessive talking is found.
I would think that your principal would not put up with disruptions and disrespect (insubordination) toward the teacher. The talking is also preventing the class from being on task and learning. I have had 7 different principals and not one of them would tolerate a student who stopped the educational process. If your principal will not back you, you have a grievance. Contact your local union rep.
Good luck and don't give up!

Answer 4

One must be quick to identify the student who violates respect in the classroom. Identify this person immediately and ask him/her to stand immediately and answer a challenging question related to the discipline or area of study you are teaching. If the answer is incorrect or insufficient, you may mildly humiliate this person and point out the fact that this individual should listen more and talk less. If the individual is able to answer the question, begin to consistently ask this same person other challenging questions. This will occupy his/her time in productive interaction with you (consequently, the class will learn as well.)
I am not an administrator or teacher, but this sounds like a good idea. Let me know if you use it...and/or if it works!
Hope this helps. Have a nice school year! :)

Answer 5

I teach adult classes, so I don't get this problem.
None the less, I do get ideas!
I would do parent calls.
Tell parents that their children are compromising their
own learning, and the learning of other students by being rowdy.
Let parents know that this is a trend type problem.
Let them know you feel the problem to be so large that it needs
to be dealt with not only from school, but from the home.
After that, start talking with any sports-team coaches and
club leaders about suspending such privileges of students.
Additionally, have students write lines.
It's not conventional homework, so it needn't further taint their
views on homework, it is disciplinary work.

I hope some of these ideas help.

Answer 6

This is a very frustrating problem. Try using positive reinforcment with the kids that cooperate. My team and I use a ticket system. You start in the beginning by paying them tickets for various positive behaviors and you then charge them tickets for the negative ones. We have the kids save them over the semester and then do a grade-level auction before winter break and again before we get out before summer. The kids can earn them for various things.. turning in homework, getting ready for the day without being told, returning a report card or progress report, working quietly, etc. I hope that this is something you can use and is helpful. Good luck and don't give up hope.

Answer 7

Use an overhead projector and write everthing you would say in your lesson. Keep writing, while instructing and then tell them they will have a quiz on all of the information you just presented to them. If they continue to talk and not read what your writing they obviously will fail the quiz. Parents will probably be upset if their children don't do well on the quiz and then maybe provide stricter punishment for their behavior at home. Once their academic grades are effected by their behavior, you may see results. SAVE YOUR VOICE!! Yelling and talking over them doesn't work.

Answer 8

it seems that you are teaching very young kids from the word recess =D well the thing is, no matter how little homework u assign they will still think its poop and no matter how much incentive you give, kids will be kids and kids likes to talk, so just go with whatever works, u cant expect them to be super quite from beginning to end but u can remind them once in a while and make sure they get it.

Answer 9

I'm not in education, but I truly feel for you. Kid these days just don't seem to care. So, here are my ideas. I have no idea if there would be any legal issues with any of them.
1) Stand them in a corner
2) in front of the class with a dunce cap on
3) have EVERYONE write out a page in teh dictionary right then and there, no finishing up what they were doing, just pull out the dictionaries and get to work. Mandatory for EVERYONE, not just the talkers. the other kids will tell the others to quit jabbering soon enough...

good luck!

Answer 10

Hurry, go buy a used copy of Lee Canter's Assertive Discipline. Remember, you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. With one particular class, I used "Free Friday". They had to earn their 30 minutes throughout the week. (Some teachers call it PAT time. Try googling it.)
Anytime they were wasting instructional time by talking, playing around, etc., I would start my stopwatch and deduct that from 30 minutes. I kept it on the board; the visual reminder is great! Soon, my kids began to self-monitor themselves. You can also use it to help them set goals. "Yesterday our longest transition/interruption was 30 seconds. Let's see if we can beat that today."
Basically, whatever you decide to do, your students have to "buy into it" or have ownership. Instead of saying, we are going to do "Fun Friday" you might even ask them what they would like as a consequence for good behavior. I know it sounds like handing out treats but it works because they begin to understand how talking negatively impacts their learning and they begin to listen out of habit. Best of luck!!