Teachers Day 2018- 5 Ways To Discipline Students as a Proxy Teacher

As a substitute teacher you will have good days and bad days. There will be students that will help you through your day and there will be students that will try to undermine you at every turn. Inevitably there will come a time during your teaching assignment that you will have to discipline a student or the entire class.

Disciplining students as a substitute teacher can be daunting. After all, the students are fully aware that you will probably only be in the class for one day, maybe two. Despite the challenge, it is important to be able to discipline students effectively so you can maintain a well-run classroom and fulfill your duties.

* Earn Respect

From the moment your students come into the classroom, earn their respect. Earn it by letting the students know what will be expected of them, by getting to know their names, by being fair, consistent and respectful and even by dressing appropriately. Have some fun with your students. Laugh at some of their jokes and tell them a little bit about yourself.

* Be Familiar with School Rules and Regulations

As a substitute teacher you are responsible for your class. You are not just a figure head filling in a chair for 8 hours. Arrive early and go through the materials that the teacher may have left as well as the substitute teacher folder that is normally found in every classroom.

* Don't Let the Students Take Charge

"Mr. Smith always lets us do that!" Every substitute teacher has heard this many times and if you hear it, there is a 99% chance that Mr. Smith does not let them do that. Explain to the students that Mr. Smith is not in school today and that you are in charge of the class. You will be letting them know what they will be doing for the day. If the teacher has left lesson plans for the day, use them.

* Sentence on the Board

Write a sentence on the board and explain to the students that when they misbehave you'll erase a letter from the sentence. Let them know that if there is any part of the sentence left on the board by a certain time (say a half hour before school ends), the class will play a game. It's amazing how well this trick works.

* Turn out the lights

If the class starts getting too loud or wild, give them a warning and let them know that if they don't settle down, the lights will be turned off and the students will have to lay their heads down on their desk for a few moments. This will help settle them down.