What is Misbehaviour?

Misbehaviour is defined as behaving in ways that are unacceptable and disruptive to others. However, I like the question Rochelle rose on “to whom is it unacceptable?” There are a variety of social norms and cultural values that define what appropriate behaviour would be; there are also particular situations that could occur in the students’ environment that lead them to “misbehave.” The student who is calling out or distracting fellow classmates may not be getting enough attention from the teacher, and tries to seek acceptance by acting a particular way; the student might be feeling the same way at home, so decides to act on it in the classroom. Furthermore, besides through revenge—physically or emotionally hurting others—and assuming disability, wanting power is something I noticed often in the class I volunteer in. Sometimes students want to take control of the situation, so they try to create distractions by picking on other students, talking back or calling out things. This does not necessarily have to be defined as misbehavior, as the students feel the present activity is not right for them; thus, the teacher would use strategies to respond to the situation or find ways to prevent it from occurring again in the future. If teachers calmly talk to the students, explain the rationale for particular activities, and offer choices, then they may act differently and avoid the troublesome behaviour from reoccurring.

Moreover, if we find ways to create a positive learning environment for students, then perhaps we will not have students calling out or getting up and moving around. Contracts like Helen mentioned are one of the things I see all the time in classrooms, which students can refer to as reminder of what the class came up with from the beginning. If teachers develop an understanding relationship with the students and organize activities according to their learning styles, then students will be more interested and willing to do the work.