Joe, you need to pay attention. Sit up, Peter! Lisa, what happened there? All day and every day, we use our students names when they are off task, when they are fiddling, sleeping, or simply not performing to the high standard we have set for them. We make snap decisions, judge them, and punish them as we continue on with our lesson. We don’t always have the time to dig deep so we assume we know why they are fiddling, we assume we know why they are not paying attention, and so we correct, coerce, call out their names until they are with us again.
Their names. Something that is so intricately linked with who they are as a budding person. Their names so linked with their identities. And yet we use them to our advantage, simply to remain in control of the classroom. One more tool to make sure all eyes are on me!
This week I asked my students to finish the sentence: “Being a good teacher means…” and what Nathan wrote really hit home: “Don’t yell out the kids name that does something wrong.” At first, I scoffed at this notion, after all, what else are we supposed to do as teachers when our students are off task? Calling out their names is one of the most efficient ways to re-direct them because that is really all we are doing, right? Wrong, calling out a student’s name in front of the whole class means that the whole class knows that the student is not doing what they ought to. Calling out a name means that what one student is doing (or not doing) becomes the focus of the entire class. Yes, you achieve your goal of attention redirection, but you also publicly humiliate that child. It is time to stop with the name calling.
So what can one do instead, because we all know, there are times when even the most attentive student gets off-track
Well, I first re-evaluate myself, after all if they are spacing out, what am I doing to cause it? After all; if I was actually doing something interesting they might be well interested.
If I find that I am indeed offering up something interesting, I wonder if they need a body break? Even the most exciting topic becomes mundane after I have spoken about it for more than 10 minutes in my good “preacher” voice.
If this doesn’t seem to be the root of the problem, then perhaps, a gentle tap on the shoulder or a silent hand signal can help the student re-direct? Often, I can do this from across the room, catching only the eye of the student in question and helping them re-focus.
When this fails, and sometimes it does, particularly if the student is quite engaged with the drawing or thing they seem to be doing, then I either walk in their direction and whisper in their ear, or I simply stop speaking. Silence is one of the greatest tools a teacher has in their toolbox for attention; after all, students are not used to teachers being quiet!
And sometimes all of this fails, and that is when I am reminded that my students live full lives that sometimes interfere with our school day. This is when I take the time to stop and talk and ask if everything is alright, is there anything I need to know? Sometimes they are just so excited about something happening that they cannot focus, other times it is lack of sleep, of food, or they are distracted by life situations. Sometimes, they will just tell you they are having an off day. That is alright too, after all, we all have off days.
This isn’t a perfect system, nor is it intended to be. It is rather one more step in learning how to be a better teacher, one that doesn’t cause embarrassment for their students, one that takes the time to figure out the real reason behind distractions and then works with the student rather than just dolling out punishment.
So once again, my students teach me how to be a better teacher. I should not be using their names to call attention to unsavory behavior unless they are in a dangerous situation. Nathan taught me that and for that I am thankful. He had enough courage to tell his teacher the wrong of her ways, and lead me to deeper reflection. When we ask our students questions, we may not like the answer, but there is always a great reason for that answer. A reason that should not be taken lightly, but rather explored, reflected upon and then acted upon.
Their names. Something that is so intricately linked with who they are as a budding person. Their names so linked with their identities. And yet we use them to our advantage, simply to remain in control of the classroom. One more tool to make sure all eyes are on me!
This week I asked my students to finish the sentence: “Being a good teacher means…” and what Nathan wrote really hit home: “Don’t yell out the kids name that does something wrong.” At first, I scoffed at this notion, after all, what else are we supposed to do as teachers when our students are off task? Calling out their names is one of the most efficient ways to re-direct them because that is really all we are doing, right? Wrong, calling out a student’s name in front of the whole class means that the whole class knows that the student is not doing what they ought to. Calling out a name means that what one student is doing (or not doing) becomes the focus of the entire class. Yes, you achieve your goal of attention redirection, but you also publicly humiliate that child. It is time to stop with the name calling.
So what can one do instead, because we all know, there are times when even the most attentive student gets off-track
Well, I first re-evaluate myself, after all if they are spacing out, what am I doing to cause it? After all; if I was actually doing something interesting they might be well interested.
If I find that I am indeed offering up something interesting, I wonder if they need a body break? Even the most exciting topic becomes mundane after I have spoken about it for more than 10 minutes in my good “preacher” voice.
If this doesn’t seem to be the root of the problem, then perhaps, a gentle tap on the shoulder or a silent hand signal can help the student re-direct? Often, I can do this from across the room, catching only the eye of the student in question and helping them re-focus.
When this fails, and sometimes it does, particularly if the student is quite engaged with the drawing or thing they seem to be doing, then I either walk in their direction and whisper in their ear, or I simply stop speaking. Silence is one of the greatest tools a teacher has in their toolbox for attention; after all, students are not used to teachers being quiet!
And sometimes all of this fails, and that is when I am reminded that my students live full lives that sometimes interfere with our school day. This is when I take the time to stop and talk and ask if everything is alright, is there anything I need to know? Sometimes they are just so excited about something happening that they cannot focus, other times it is lack of sleep, of food, or they are distracted by life situations. Sometimes, they will just tell you they are having an off day. That is alright too, after all, we all have off days.
This isn’t a perfect system, nor is it intended to be. It is rather one more step in learning how to be a better teacher, one that doesn’t cause embarrassment for their students, one that takes the time to figure out the real reason behind distractions and then works with the student rather than just dolling out punishment.
So once again, my students teach me how to be a better teacher. I should not be using their names to call attention to unsavory behavior unless they are in a dangerous situation. Nathan taught me that and for that I am thankful. He had enough courage to tell his teacher the wrong of her ways, and lead me to deeper reflection. When we ask our students questions, we may not like the answer, but there is always a great reason for that answer. A reason that should not be taken lightly, but rather explored, reflected upon and then acted upon.
Pernille Ripp 
Love this post! Great insight, Nathan! I do break down and use a student's name at times, but I will try harder to find another way. It is funny to see all of your student's suddenly look at you when you just stop talking. In general, love your blog. I have to read it every day, just like I need my morning cup of coffee. Thanks!
Great post! Curious about the Alfie Kohn tag? Thanks!
Loved this article how true it was. I thought the activity with "Being a good teacher means…". Is fantastic. I'm going to try it with my Y5 class tomorrow.David @ thought_weavers – Staffordshire, England, UK
Dear Beth,Yes, Nathan got me on this one. I try so hard not to do this but obviously falter, the students are our greatest teachers if we only listen to them. Thank you for your comment.Pernille
Dear Debbie,Ah yes, the magical Alfie Kohn. I started on e journey prescribed by him this year,zoo homework, no rewards, and with that I tie in the no punishment stuff, thus the tag.Best,Pernille
Dear David,I will be adding you to my twitter and look forward to learning with you. Let me know how your students react, could be interesting to reflect cross pond.Best,Pernille
I loved how you found multiple ways to bring your classroom focused on your students. The activity where they completed the sentence seems like a wonderful learning experience for you as a teacher. I imagine you got a couple or responses you didn't expect to get! How you observe your classroom is also something I hope to learn how to do. They way you can evaluate their focus level and even ask them what's going is something I think that most teachers miss out on. They'd rather presume that student to be lazy than take the time to understand what's going on in that child's life. Thanks for your post!
Insightful post. I might add that this probably works in adult situations such as groups of employees, volunteers or the rest of the family. Learning to build each other up, especially when we're falling down is truly an art.
As a pre-service teacher, it is posts such as this that I enjoy reading the most. I love hearing about 'tips of the trade' from other educators so i can begin using them as soon as possible. Thank you for this!
Gerard, now that you have brought up the adult perspective I am stuck thinking about it. How often do we do this as adults, even sometimes using our teacher voice as we do it. Yikes. Great point!
I learned how to redirect attention when I was a substitute teacher. I never knew anyone's name and had to get really clever about how I got through to the students. Thanks for the reminder though. I think knowing names has made me lazy.
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