Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we find ourselves actively disliking one of the students in our charge. The student may be rude, disrespectful, disruptive, obnoxious, or otherwise annoying. It’s just human nature. And while some teachers are specially trained to handle special needs children who demand more time, some aren’t. So how do we support these students while also preserving our own energy, stamina, and patience?

The most common form of disruption, at least in my classes, is the side conversation. Whether done physically with peers or on social chats using mobile phones or MP3 players, it can still be quite off-putting for you and for other students. Whatever you do, remember it’s not a good idea to embarrass students who are talking, or assume that their conversation isn’t related to what is being discussed in class.  To avoid direct confrontation, you can stop talking in mid-sentence and look in a non-aggressive way at the student making the noise, or just make direct eye contact with the student/s so that they know you can see them. Directing a question to the area in which the noisy students are sitting, or physically moving, to the part of the room where the students are and continuing to lead the class whilst standing next to them may also help. Alternatively, you may also legitimise the chatting by breaking the class into mini-discussion groups.

Dealing with late-comers is another matter high on most lecturer’s list of problems.  How you handle late-comers will be one of the things that sets the whole tone of your classes. Don’t forget that sometimes students have good reasons for being late. If you are too hard on late-comers, they may decide simply not to come at all next time they’re late for sessions.  Avoid saying anything irretrievable.  However, if students are habitually arriving late for your class and distracting students who arrive on time, then let students know that the first five minutes of each class will cover material relating directly to the assignment.  You don’t then need to make special efforts to brief late-comers about what they may have missed - and indeed if those without good reasons for being late begin to realise that they are missing useful things, they will try to be more punctual in the future.

Contrary to late comers, you may have the early leavers. The same approach of including something relevant to assessment can be applied to the last five minutes of class to encourage students not to leave early.  If students see the value in being there they are more likely to make the effort.  If this doesn’t have any effect on persistent early leavers (or late attendees) then you need to tread carefully — identify the culprits and indulge them in a teacher student conference individually.  You may wish to state clearly your expectations for attendance, but equally you may wish not to risk alienating the students. Whatever you do, don’t waste time at the beginning or end of the session discussing excuses as this is unfair to the rest of the class and is unproductive.

Although there is no particular cause of classroom disruption, it is an inevitable problem in the classroom. Educators can use a variety of proactive steps to minimise the occurrence of these issues, and to be prepared for those situations that do emerge. Remember to rebuke the behaviour and not the student.