Random quick teacher tip: How to Stop an Interrupting Clown. An interrupting class clown, that is. Especially one that is clownin’ on other kids. That’s not nice.
Sometimes I’ll have a student who likes to joke around in class. That’s cool. Except when it’s mean, or when it’s inappropriately disrupting a lesson. Sure, as a first step, I will directly address the student’s inappropriate behavior. But if that’s not enough to stop it, I also pair it with a subtle second step: I give the rest of the class a warning look. A cocked head, a slow blink, and a raised eyebrow that says, What, you think that’s funny? Really? Are you gonna laugh about it? Are you?
It slices laughter in an instant.
And, in the absence of laughter, Class Clown is much less inclined to act out.
It’s not that I’m doing something negative to Class Clown. I’m just removing a desirable stimulus: laughter. When it’s gone, there is less incentive to act out. Problem solved.
Please don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t like laughter– I love it. We laughed a lot in my class, and I love that school can be fun. I especially loved being the one to make my students laugh! But there are always those kids who seem to be trying the wrong things at the wrong time, who don’t seem to understand certain social cues or the general rules of courtesy.
And then there are those kids who use meanness to win laughter. They try to puff themselves up by putting someone else down. That is definitely not okay in my book, so if I ever saw a glimpse of that, my laser eyes came out and my students knew not to encourage that mean-ness with laughter. I usually have a talk with my students about how they can encourage/discourage a bully’s behavior by the way they, as bystanders, respond. If they laugh at something a bully does, that only encourages the mean behavior. Of course it would be great to stand up against a bully, but if they are too scared to speak up, they can at least withhold the encouragement of laughter as a first step!
So if you find yourself in a similar situation and warnings or yellow cards are not working, try approaching it from a different angle. Instead of going directly for the offending student, see if you can alter the behavior of the rest of the class to stop any encouragement for the unwanted behavior.
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6 responses to “How to Stop Inappropriate Clowning”
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Fabulous tip! Works with siblings too!
Great to know. Thanks, Elizabeth!
Thanks!
That just happened to me this sunday, having one boy clown and 3 girls laughing. After stern looks to each party, in the end I had to remove the clown from the class, wait till the giggles died down, get my sunday school lesson going again, and then let the boy back in…
Yeah that’s tough =(. Did you get a chance to talk with the 3 girls about the effects their laughing has? Sometimes just clearly pointing out their contribution to the other child’s poor behavior can be very effective!
I really appreciate your child-centered, positive approaches to behavior management
I had a special education class, so much of my first month was spent building class routines and behavior patterns that would allow me to actually teach during the rest of the year. I really emphasized positive behavior and practical applications of The Golden Rule. I made the classroom its own kingdom: within OUR space (the classroom), it was essential that we DEMONSTRATE respect for one another so that everyone could feel safe to learn – because that’s what this SACRED space was for, LEARNING. I stressed the incredible opportunity they all had within OUR walls, and that to disrespect this rarest of opportunities was unthinkable. I had books with pictures and short stories about children’s lives prior to the Triangle Fire that we read and discussed. It really got their attention and hit their hearts – they appreciated.
Haha I had a “normal” class, and much of my first month was still spent building class routines and behavior patterns! It sets such a solid foundation for more effective learning to happen the rest of the year– a very, very worthwhile investment! Thank you for sharing about your Golden Rule and how you bring the children on board with you to protect that sacred learning space! Beautiful.