Week 21: Refocusing on Appropriate Behavior

Every year, I have one class that, for whatever reason, seems to have all of the chatty students together in one class. This year, that class is my 2nd period. As the year has progressed, I've had to impose stricter behavior regulations than in my other English 11 class because they are very immature and irresponsible as a whole. A few weeks ago, in fact, I had to talk to them about being careful and cognizant of what they are saying after a student, who knew I had a miscarriage the month before, made a joke about a pile of dead babies. The next day, I used the activity "Two Truths and a Lie" to help drive home my point that they never know what is going on in the lives of those around them. I wrote down three statements about myself - two of them true and one a lie - on a sticky note which I projected on the document camera. The statements were:

1. I knew someone who was murdered.
2. My uncle is gay.
3. My brother-in-law committed suicide.

One student, who is one of my worst offenders, immediately claimed he knew which one it was; I looked at him skeptically before giving my instructions to the class. I had them discuss in groups for a minute or two, and then I had them raise their hands for which statement they thought was the lie. The class was almost evenly split over the three statements, but statement #2, the lie (and only a half-lie at that because both my husband's uncle is gay and my mom's cousin, who I call "uncle", is gay), got the fewest votes. The students who voted for #1 and #3, including the boy who originally claimed he immediately knew which was a lie, looked at me in disbelief, shock, and embarrassment. I explained to them the stories behind the "truths," and then I asked them why they thought I had them do this activity. We talked about how we have no idea what the people around us are going through, so we need to be conscious of what we say in order to avoid offending them or setting them off.

After this activity, they got better for a while, but they soon fell back into their routine of throwing insults at one another (because they are an absolutely lovely group of individuals...). On the day the 10th graders took the CAHSEE, two of the boys spoke loudly about how "you had to be an idiot if you couldn't pass the CAHSEE." Since I have a number of English Language Learners in the class who have had a lot of trouble passing the test, I immediately corrected the perpetrators; I informed them that some students had trouble passing the test, especially if English was not their first language. This shut the boys up pretty quickly, but I knew that if my goal was to get them to start thinking before speaking, then I would need to do more. 

This week, as part of a grammar activity, I showed them a few pictures to write about. When I showed them this picture...

https://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/two-kids-under-a-banana-leaf-in-the-rain-indonesia.jpg

...one boy said, laughing, "They're so poor, they can't even afford an umbrella!" The class laughed, and I chided him because I know there are some students in the class who are, in fact, "so poor, they can't even afford an umbrella." Still not good enough, especially since the comment had managed to distract the class, and it took me a little while to get them back on track.

I was thinking about this when I was at home that evening. I realized that I needed to bring back my "refocus forms" that I used to use when I taught 9th graders. I thought through the logistics of this: I need to find the form, print it, make copies... I probably wouldn't be able to introduce them to the class until after Spring Break. Then it hit me: I could make a Form! Since I have a spare desk that I could turn to face the corner and Chromebooks that usually reside in my classroom, I decided to create a digital copy of the worksheet through Google Forms; this would allow me to introduce the new forms to my class the next day!

I found my original copy of my Refocus Form and quickly put it into a Google Form. When I came to the end of it, where I ask the student to write a four-sentence paragraph of apology, I paused. I remembered an article I read a month or two ago about teaching kids how to apologize; it is called "A Better Way to Say Sorry". When I read it, I was touched by how important it is to teach kids the proper way to apologize, and I immediately started using the method with my 2-year-old son. I decided I wanted to incorporate the ideas from the article into my Refocus Form as well. Here's what the finished form says (with the types of questions in italics):

• Last Name: Please type your last name. (text)
• First Name: Please type your first name. (text)
• Your Action(s): What did you do? (Check all that apply) (checkboxes)
• I was disrespectful toward Ms. Lewis, another teacher, and/or one of my classmates.
• I was talking while Ms. Lewis, another teacher, and/or one of my classmates was talking.
• I was not keeping my desk and/or the classroom clean.
• I did not get out my supplies when I was asked to.
• I was not working quietly and productively or staying on task.
• I was working on assignments from other classes.
• Other:
• Purpose: What did you want from your behavior? Why were you doing what you were doing? (paragraph text)
• Problem(s): What problem(s) did your behavior cause for Ms. Lewis and your classmates? (paragraph text)
• Acceptable Behavior: How will you behave when you rejoin the class? (paragraph text)
• Expectations: What does Ms. Lewis expect of you in class? (paragraph text)
• Consequence: If you do not behave again, what should your consequence be? (Choose one) (choose from a list)
• New seating arrangement
• Meet with Ms. Lewis to discuss the problem
• Call parents/guardians and tell them what you are doing
• Receive a class contract
• Sit in "jail" for the rest of the class
• Make up time wasted at Nutrition or lunch
• Conference with a counselor about your problem
• Apology: Please write a four-sentence paragraph apologizing to Ms. Lewis and/or whoever else you offended. (You will be expected to say this apology after you finish. Here are some sentence starters if you have trouble: "I'm sorry for..." "This is wrong because..." "In the future, I will..." "Will you forgive me for...?") (paragraph text)
• What next? (section header)
• Now that you are finished with the form, please sit quietly with your hand raised until Ms. Lewis acknowledges you. Do not submit your form until Ms. Lewis checks your answers and gives you permission to do so.

Here is the link to the sent form; here is a link to my copy of the form. (Remember, if you would like to use the form, you need to make a copy of it in order to save it into your drive. Do this by going to "File" and then select "Make a copy...") I made the list under "Actions" based off of the behavior expectations included in my course syllabus. If you have some sort of established class rules or norms, I highly recommend that you base your form off of what you expect of students in your classroom.

After making the form, I decided that I would also make a poster, similar to the one pictured in the article, that I could hang on my front whiteboard. When a student makes an offensive comment or does something else annoying, my plan of attack would be:

1. Have the student immediately apologize to me, the person targeted, and/or the entire class (depending upon the offense) using the 4-step system from the article. This is his/her warning.
2. If the student commits another offense, send him/her to the back corner to "refocus." There, he/she will work facing the back wall, so I can watch the Chromebook screen and make sure he/she is working on the form and nothing else. 
3. If the student commits a third offense, follow through on the action decided upon in the Refocus Form. 

The next morning in zero period, I made my poster. I tweaked the original version slightly to include good and bad examples for each of the sentences, which I took directly from the article. So, under the drawing of the "sorry" face, I wrote:

1. "I'm sorry for..."
1. Wrong: "I'm sorry for being mean."
2. Right: "I'm sorry for saying that nobody likes you."
2. "This is wrong because..."
1. Wrong: "This is wrong because I got in trouble."
2. Right: "This is wrong because it hurt your feelings."
3. "In the future, I will..." (use positive language)
1. Wrong: "In the future, I will not say that."
2. Right: "In the future, I will keep unkind words in my head."
4. "Will you forgive me?"

When I introduced both the poster and the refocus form on Wednesday morning, the kids laughed, but they all said it was a good idea. Immediately, a girl pointed to another student and said, "How much you wanna bet you are going to have to fill one of those out today?" The rest of the class laughed, but I stopped her and asked her to apologize. She said, "But I'm only stating facts!" To which I replied, "But you are implying that he is going to get in trouble, which is insulting. Please apologize." 

She sighed and started by saying, "I'm sorry for saying the truth." 

"Nope," I said, "try again."

"I'm sorry for... implying that you are going to get in trouble."

"Good... keep going."

"This is wrong because... you might not get in trouble. In the future, I will... keep these thoughts to myself. Will you forgive me?"

The boy said, "I'll think about it." And we moved on. I was glad I got to use her as an example right off the bat. 

Unfortunately, later on in the period, the boy she accused did have to complete a refocus form, but I was actually glad for that as well because this boy needs to do some serious reflecting on the things he does and says. Most students will shape up simply after apologizing, but the refocus form is there for the few students in the glass who just don't get it... the students who just can't seem to understand that they are actually responsible for the words that come flying out of their mouths. The refocus form also only causes a minimal disruption to the class because it allows me to quickly remove the student from the rest of the class and quiet him/her down. Now that the system is in place, all I have to say to a student is, "Refocus please," and he/she knows to go grab a Chromebook, head to the back corner, and complete a refocus form. Furthermore, I am forcing students to take a "time out" and actually reflect on what they said. And the best part? I am already seeing an improvement in their behavior.

-------
Ease of use: This is a very easy system to use, once you have it established. It only took about 5 minutes at the start of class on Wednesday for me to introduce it and go over it with my students. Now, they know; it is just another one of our routines. If you want to use this, but you want to go the old-fashioned route of paper and pencil, you can make up a handout and just have printed copies set in a designated area of your room. You can set up a desk in the corner, or you can work with a teacher close by who doesn't mind if you send a student in to work silently in the back of the room. You just need to figure out what you are the most comfortable with and what makes the most sense for you and your kids. Personally, I like having the "jail" in my own classroom, because then the other kids see how awkward it is for the student who has to "refocus," but, in the past, I've sent kids outside of my class, especially if I just really needed to remove them from my classroom.
Would I use this again: Yes; this is now one of our routines. I am planning on introducing it to my other periods after the break.
Downsides: Some students are very resistant to apologizing and admitting that they did anything wrong. For example, the student who I made complete the form on Wednesday tried to convince me that all he said to the girl was, "You're cool." We all knew what he really said was, "You're gay." He wrote an apology, but he still maintained the argument that he had done nothing wrong. And here is where I must make an appeal to all parents in the world: This student is an only child, and it is so obvious that he gets away with everything and anything he wants at home. Due to his egotism and narcissism, it is also obvious that his parents have told him that he is special. Please, please, please don't do this to your child! Yes, you can praise your child for doing a good job, for being courteous and polite, for being responsible, etc., but please do not say something like, "You are so smart! You must be the smartest boy on the entire planet!" If you want more information on this, please check out this article from the New York Daily News.
Applications: Classroom management