What is Misbehaviour?

                 I think it is difficult to pin point exactly what misbehaviour is, because misbehaviour can be defined so differently by all teachers. When I was reading other classmate’s blogs I noticed a similar attitude, in that many of us believe misbehaviour coincides with a specific context and I totally agree with this idea. I think a classic example of context appropriate behaviour would be noise levels in the classroom. Many teachers become ecstatic when they hear their students explore, justify, and discuss educational topics amongst their peers and a loud, talkative classroom is perceived as being a positive learning atmosphere. Nevertheless, there are times during the day where students need to be listening in order to understand concepts and instructions, and a quiet, no talking environment is perceived as being an ideal learning environment. In the latter situation, I would define misbehaviour as talking when the teacher is giving instruction, however in the first situation more talking and discussion is encouraged. I believe specific learning contexts correlate with specific behaviours. The cliché statement “there is a time and a place”, makes sense when observing misbehaviour in the classroom.

                Therefore, as educators, I believe we need to be clear when we are establishing our classroom rules. We need to ensure students understand their boundaries. Since misbehaviour is often context-oriented and is ambiguously defined, teachers need to model appropriate behaviour in its specific context. 

                During my 405 practicum in a grade two classroom, My SA informed me that being creative with classroom management is essential. She explained students will become unresponsive to monotonous classroom management techniques. I definitely noticed how receptive students became when a new method was administered. Every couple of weeks,  I was practicing a new technique and I realized certain techniques could only be used in specific situations. Some methods I used were, thanking students who were modeling appropriate behaviour, creating a traffic light in which specific colours meant specific expectations in the classroom, and asking volunteers to describe a characteristic of appropriate behaviour and share it with the class. Ultimately, I believe misbehaviour is defined through the context it is found. As educators, we need to be specific with our expectations so students do not become confused with what is expected.