A Good Start on Discipline

Next Sunday many Sunday School teachers will be teaching a new class of students for the first time.

Although discipline strategies will differ by age level and local custom, here are five things that will help most teachers enjoy a good start and maintain a happy classroom environment with their new class.

1. Prepare thoroughly. It can be difficult at times to set sufficient time aside for preparing for your class each week, but it's a fact that being prepared heads off a world of discipline problems. When the teacher is confident, not distracted with last-minute preparations, with less need to bury one's nose in the teacher guide, and knowing what comes next, the students have less opportunity to wander mentally or physically. Pay special attention to engaging presession activities for students as they gather, and prepare an interesting transition into the start of the lesson.

2. Be present early and always. The teacher should be the first one in the room, greeting the students and directing them into presession activities, not studying the teacher guide at the last minute or gathering supplies.

3. Post classroom rules, three or four, perhaps letting the students help craft them. Remind the students of them at the beginning of each class for the first few weeks, and as needed during the lesson.

4. Know your church's policies for handling discipline problems. When should the director or parents be engaged and how? What physical contact is allowed?

5. Team up with a partner. Many congregations have learned the advantages of staffing two deep, placing at least two adults in each classroom. The benefits are obvious, and it is not as difficult as you might believe. It is easier to enlist both volunteers, since they know they will have support in the room.

God bless your good start as you teach His children His Word!

The Second Secret to Enlisting Volunteer Teachers

It flies in the face of logic for some people, but it is easier to enlist two people to teach a Sunday School class than to enlist just one. And, of course, it is easier to enlist a second teacher to work with a teacher you already have on board.

Filling your teaching positions two deep addresses a number of issues and concerns.

• As mentioned last week, it eases concerns about the time commitment involved; each teacher has some guaranteed backup if an absence is required.
• It reduces discipline issues by lowering the student-to-teacher ratio. It also provides the option of one teacher removing a child from the room (maybe because of behavior, but maybe for a medical concern or restroom break) without leaving any child unsupervised.
• It allows a bit of specialization; one teacher might be good at crafts, another may really enjoy dialog with the students.
• It provides a sense of fellowship and partnership that most teachers enjoy.
• It provides for the "two deep" staffing that many churches strive for (and some insurance companies require) to avoid an adult being isolated with a child or group of children.

As you enlist teachers, then, you might look for pairs.

• A husband and wife
• A mother or father and a daughter or son
• Two teachers who are close friends

And, if you recruit your teachers face-to-face (which is a wonderful plan; the more personal the invitation the better), arrange to meet both candidates together to share the job description, the teaching material, information about orientation and training, and Sunday School policies.

What other advantages can you think of for enlisting two teachers for each class?


God bless you as you teach His children His Word!

Proactive Discipline

Whenever I'm asked to lead workshops (and I'll be out again this weekend), discipline is the most common concern among volunteer teachers. They want to maintain control in their classroom and not have to deal with out-of-control students.

Winning the Contest
My take is that if the teacher has become engaged in a discipline contest with any student, he or she has already lost a lot of ground. It's not that I don't want to help that teacher, but how much better it would be to avoid the contest in the first place. The volunteer teacher has very few options in dealing with unruly students, almost no real power in the situation. The child who says "You can't make me!" is all too often absolutely correct. Let's try not to go there.

Avoiding the Contest
The keys to avoiding discipline contests are almost always found in the teacher's preparation.

• The teacher has thought through the lesson and the students who would be in class.
• She has planned to be present in the classroom before the first student arrives.
• She has removed or covered distracting elements in the classroom and provided constructive options for pre-session.
• He has planned to engage the students' interest immediately and guide interactions between students into positive activity (rather than allowing mischief that develops to fill a vacuum).
• She understands how she wants the lesson to progress and can move on if an activity fails to keep the students engaged.
• He is able to teach knowledgeably and in a manner that engages the students and keeps their interest.
• He is able to follow a tangent briefly when it benefits the students and reconnect seamlessly with the lesson.
• She has chosen ahead of time to omit or adapt activities that will not engage the students.

Another aspect of preparation will be that the congregation has prepared a procedure for dealing with an unruly or out-of-control child and that the teacher knows how he or she will handle those situations. (Some key points, in my opinion, might include not touching an out-of-control child unless necessary to protect the child or others, but maybe that's another blog.)

It's Not All about Teacher Preparation
But so much of classroom control depends on preparation. If the teacher is thoroughly prepared, the chances of a contest-free session are greatly increased.

Does this "proactive discipline" strike you as realistic?

How do you avoid, or deal with, discipline issues?

Thanks for teaching God's children His Word!