1. Now that you are into the first week, what you said and did on the first day becomes a constant reference point.“Remember on the first day of class, I discussed the rules of our classroom.”
2. Effective classroom teachers “teach” the opening routines of their classrooms to insure that students engage quickly at the beginning of the session. They have students’ practice what is expected of them. If you see something that you do not like, stop what you are doing and fix it. The stopping and fixing communicates that you are serious. 
3. During the first week, effective classroom teachers review and hold students accountable for appropriate opening activity behaviors. They insist on students’ attention, quiet, direct eye contact and readiness. They don’t start any instructions until they have everyone’s full attention. If a student does not get ready, the teacher will often move toward them or say their name to get their attention. “John, we are ready to start.”  Experienced teachers start sessions standing close to particularly difficult students to “pre-cue” them. These students “feel” the teacher’s presence and feel more accountable.
4. Novice teachers start giving directions for activities before everyone is quiet and listening. They try to talk over students. They are forced to raise their voice and have to answer many questions later in the activity. Why?  Because the same students were not listening during the opening.  Novices simply start talking too soon. You should get the class quiet before you start saying anything. "Let me have your eyes” is a traditional lower-grade verbal prompt.  
5. Effective teachers make sure that routines like coming into the classroom, starting the class, asking questions, transitioning from one activity to another, moving about the room, passing out and in papers, working in small groups, answering questions and leaving the room are working with the appropriate levels of noise and efficiency.  If they are not, then they stop the class, explain their expectations again and start the routine again. This process takes longer the lower the grade level. By the time a student is in junior high school they know what is expected. They just want to see if you do!
6. Effective teachers know what noise level is appropriate in each activity.  Openings should be quiet.  No talking.  Purposeful group work may have a busy noise level. Transitions might be a little noisier. Tests should be quiet. When the teacher is talking or another student is asking or answering a question, students should be quiet. Students form impressions about a novice teacher’s competence based on their ability to manage noise levels.  Insist on the proper level of noise for each activity.  
7. Ask yourself this question. If you could decrease your class by one student, who would it be? These students are often talkative and out of rhythm with the class. They don’t get their work done. They are disruptive and seem to know just when to cause a problem and how to do it. They are usually, but not always, students who have difficulty performing in school. They usually influence other students negatively.  You learn their name quickly, but for the wrong reasons. You have to speak to them, remind them, quiet them down, separate them form others and pay much more attention to them then you would like. These are the high maintenance students that need to be managed in the first week or they will become more serious problems.You do not want other students in the class to think that their behavior is acceptable.

I have some suggestions for gaining influence with these high-maintenance students. I am going to review some of them so you can have a good first week.

• Teacher Conference:
  Talk with other teachers about this student immediately. They may offer some proven insights or strategies that can help you.You are not the only one that has been challenged by this student.
• Observe the Student:
  Watch this student to see who he or she talks with, influences, travels with in the halls, meets after school or is friends with.Social groups can tell you who is influencing them.
• Establish Proximity:
  Stand around or near the student as you are teaching.Use a laser pointer to highlight material on the board while you stand next to the student.The message to the rest of the class is that you know something is wrong and you are trying to fix it.
• Invest One-to-One Time:
  This seems counterintuitive. Discover the interests of a junior high or high school student and you have a pathway to gaining influence with them.Do they play sports? Do they have an after school job? What other activities do they participate in? Do they have any hobbies? What music do they listen to? What TV shows do they watch?What do they read? Do they have a favorite teacher in the building? Talk to that teacher.
• Call Home:
  A call home during the first week can help a concerned parent try to influence the student’s behavior in your class. I was always quick to call home. No point in waiting: You’re going to talk to the parents, anyway.
• Detention Option:
  For the really tough middle school and high school cases, I suggest having detention slips already made out as they come into class. I showed them to the students as they came into my class. I made it clear that the first time I saw a problem; they were going to get the detention slip. Having already made out the slip gets their attention. They could make a good choice or a bad one.    

Dr. Douglas Brooks  is a Professor in the School of Education, Health and Society at Miami University. He teaches graduate and online courses in grant writing and consults with school districts to build grant writing capacity.

 

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