misscalcul8: When kids go to sleep or just do nothing in class, do you write them up or ignore them or...how do you deal with it?
@CrysHouse: @misscalcul8 I don't tolerate sleeping. If I can't nap, neither can you.
@CrysHouse: @misscalcul8 I usually warn once. Then I make them stand for the remainder of the period without leaning on furniture.
@CrysHouse: @misscalcul8 Generally, that's effective. If they continue to work, I don't make them keep standing. They have to "earn" their seat back.
@shanr55: @misscalcul8 get them involved. Give them a task, important and purposeful.
@Vvelasquez2: @misscalcul8 Depends on the students. I give leeway to special students, but still stay on them. Some students I try to regroup them.
@JamiDanielle: @misscalcul8 Wake them 100x til they get annoyed enough to swear at me, then write them up. Lol. #truthtelling
There's one week of school left so I give up on making them stay awake but I need a better plan to avoid this next year.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who struggles with this so I thought would share my responses from Twitter.
Any other ideas besides being more awesome?
I like "give them a job to do."
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you are in the habit of randomly selecting students to call on to make a guess/share results/show their steps/what have you, and everyone knows they could be called on at basically any time...it's manipulative but it works.
Also, is it always the same kid who can't keep his eyes open? A phone call home might be in order. "I've noticed that Billy is struggling to stay awake in class, and I'm afraid it's affecting his ability to be successful in this course. I just wanted to let you know, in case changes can be made to his eating or sleeping habits that would help him stay awake during the school day."
I usually call their name, if they cannot respond in five seconds, then I write them up for a detention & call their parents. I know that they are still sleeping, but honestly, that is the student's fault, and it isn't fair to take time from everyone else's learning to try and keep them awake.
ReplyDeleteThe first year that I did this, I wrote 2 kids up for sleeping the whole year, that's it.
I usually call their name, if they cannot respond in five seconds, then I write them up for a detention & call their parents. I know that they are still sleeping, but honestly, that is the student's fault, and it isn't fair to take time from everyone else's learning to try and keep them awake.
ReplyDeleteThe first year that I did this, I wrote 2 kids up for sleeping the whole year, that's it.
How about the kill them with kindness approach? Sometimes that works best because you're leveraging your relationship with the kid.
ReplyDeleteThings you can say:
* "Hey I know you're not trying to be disrespectful by sleeping in my class, so would you like to go to the bathroom and maybe get a drink of water and come back?"
* "What we're doing today is very important because _______, so I'll need you to do your best for me, OK? Try to hang in there."
* "I wouldn't disrespect you by sleeping when you're talking to me, so why would you sleep during my class?"
* "I am concerned that you're too tired for class. Either we can call your parents and I can send you home, or you need to stay awake in my class."
If it's repeated offense, you say, "Hey is everything OK? I noticed that you've been really tired lately in my class, and I'm starting to be concerned." The kid will probably tell you why they're sleeping. You should offer some suggestions and then say that it's not ok for them to keep doing this; they need to find a way to get more rest / stay awake in your class, or you will have to talk to their parents about your concerns.
These are all great suggestions. I'm not very good at the whole calling home thing. :(
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school my math teacher told us if we chose to sleep in class then it was up to us to copy notes from someone and she wasn't going to spend the whole hour trying to keep us awake. I liked that idea, even as a teacher, because it avoided confrontation. But now I see a handful of kids sleeping a lot and never catching up. I can't let my non-confrontational preference be an excuse for them to fail.
This, along with mot issues I deal with, could be avoided if I would just write up the person who did it the first time. I know that. I understand that. But inside I am just a big softy who thinks they didn't really mean to do that. Which is dumb of me. I'm already psyching myself up for the speech I'm going to give at the beginning of school next year.
The "please give me your best so I can give/feel motivated to give you my best" works sometimes.
ReplyDeleteA zero tolerance for sleeping rule and addressing the issue head-on right away consistently seems to work too.
Of course, I had a teacher once that used to sprinkle her kids with glitter...that did the job...and we all got a laugh if it didn't! (Something tells me that wouldn't fly these days.)
I'm just fearful that the student might NOT just be sleeping. So I'd tell the kid exactly that and ask if she needed to go to the office and lie down or call home if feeling ill. A parent would really appreciate a call/email though if it happens more than once.
ReplyDeleteWhen I taught in Brooklyn, I had a student who would sleep during my class occasionally. I talked to her about it, in private, and I found out that her mother likes to have her friends over for parties until 3am in the morning on a regular basis, and she'd rather sleep at home but could I please talk to her mom about it?
ReplyDeleteAnother child slept in my class, but it was because he was sleeping either on the street, or in the homeless shelter, and did not feel safe enough to sleep in those environments, so he came to school where he felt safe.
A third child would stay up late playing video games with his friends from Japan because it was amongst his only social interaction at the time.
My suggestion? Get the whole story before you react. A punitive measure that ignores the reasons (which I've seen other people suggesting) why the student is sleeping is probably not going to make them more likely to learn during your class.
I second David's point about getting the whole story, especially if it's a repeat offender. To me, it's not really a punitive thing, but an issue that the kid is having that can be worked out together. For example, I am teaching a kid for the second year that has a lot of sleeping issues and stays up crazy late playing video games and whatnot. We just have a signal worked out (tap on shoulder) where he goes and gets a drink of water or does some stretches in the hallway and comes back to class. If you think talking to the parents would help, you can totally do that too, but as a partner in helping the kid, not as a disciplinary approach, is how I would frame it.
ReplyDelete