Dealing with Misbehavior

Dealing with student misbehavior can be tough. But it’s even harder when teachers may be the cause of it. This post shares some of the top ways teachers may be unknowingly “encouraging” student misbehavior.


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5 Ways Teachers “Encourage” Student Misbehavior

What is one of the top reasons teachers quit their teaching jobs?

According to the American Federation of Teachers, behavior problems from students ranks pretty high on the list.

Student misbehavior can wreak havoc on classroom community and learning.

When you are dealing with negative attitudes and disruptions all the time, you feel burned out and discouraged.

But could our habits as teachers lead to more student misbehavior?

Here are some of the top ways teachers unknowingly contribute to behavior issues.



1-Enforcing Too Many Rules Guarantees That Students Will Break Them

Many Pinterest classrooms look gorgeous with every wall and bulletin board covered with classroom rules posters.

These look great as decorations but aren’t effective for positive student behavior.

Too many rules overwhelm students to the point where they don’t know which rules to follow.

So they just DON’T follow ANY of them!


What 3 essential rules do you need students to follow every single day to keep a positive and engaged learning environment?

Once you know the answer to that question, you should consistently focus on these main rules instead of several rules for students to keep up with.


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A Bonus Note on My ONE Classroom Rule

It may be hard to believe, but I only post ONE rule in my classroom that we focus on ALL year long! It took me some time to refine using only ONE classroom rule. You can read all about it HERE.


2-Not Practicing Procedures & Expectations

If you’ve spent any time around this blog, you probably have heard me refer to the “king” of procedures: Harry Wong.

During my first year of teaching, my mentor teacher recommended that I read his book The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher (Book & DVD)

This book has changed my teaching life! I continue to refer to it every single school year.


Teachers unknowingly encourage misbehavior from students when we do not teach them clear procedures.

Once we make our procedures and expectations clear, it helps to practice those procedures with students.

Just like we do with math drills or repetition with other academic content, we must practice behavior routines that will help students be a success.


3-Failing to Follow Through with Consequences

Another way teachers may be “encouraging” student misbehavior in the classroom is by failing to through on consequences.

Empty threats, idle statements about what you are going to do, and more can weaken your authority as the teacher in the classroom.

Imagine this: you have three students who are loudly talking in the hall after you’ve told them not to do that. So you walk over to them and say, “Tomorrow you are going to have silent lunch and I’m calling your parents.”

If you don’t actually do what you said you were going to do, these students will be more likely to talk loudly in the hallway again, because they will assume that you aren’t going to do anything about it.


4-Telling Students What NOT To Do Instead of Teaching Them What To Do

  • No Running
  • Don’t Talk While the Teacher is Talking
  • No Pushing Each Other When You Line Up

Each of these examples tell students what they CANNOT do.

We assume they will automatically know the alternative.

But they often don’t.

Only telling students what NOT to do instead of telling them what they SHOULD or CAN do instead, is another teacher habit that could be leading to student misbehavior.

Here are ways to turn those negatives into positives as you talk to students:

  • Please walk carefully with your arms by your side.
  • You can speak when you raise your hand quietly, and I call on you.
  • You may line up by walking quietly with your hands to yourself to our Line-Up spot.

Help students succeed by teaching them what they should and can do. Then be sure to practice your expectations with them.


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5-Lack of Engaging Learning Activities Encourages Off-Task Behavior

This tip may feel obvious since teachers are always on the hunt for engaging learning activities.

We know that student misbehavior is almost a guarantee when kids are not engaged with something meaningful to do.

Students who are bored WILL find something else to do.

What they find to do WILL be something aggravating or disrupting!

If you want to know how you can AVOID boring your students, grab this FREE guide with activity planning pages AND 20 ways to keep students engaged!

One way I combat this sneaky misbehavior starter is by having center rotations in my class three times a week.

The activities I choose for my centers are not so frustrating that students feel tempted to quit and misbehave, but that aren’t so easy that students finish in two minutes!

4th grade literacy centers
Feel free to see the types of literacy centers I use in my classroom by clicking THIS IMAGE.

I try to keep a mix of games and activities that push students academically but are also fun for them.

When I teach whole-class lessons, I infuse a lot of movement with brain breaks. I also keep “lecture-style” teaching to a minimum.

Keeping our learning engaging and active helps decrease student misbehavior.


Posts on Centers You Will Enjoy:



BONUS TIP–Lack of Teacher Organization Could Be Causing Student Misbehavior

How much is disorganization costing you?

When teachers aren’t prepared for lessons and spend class time trying to locate materials that are buried underneath a mountain of stuff, it leads to a cluttered classroom atmosphere.

This leads to student misbehavior.

The same is often true when we aren’t prepared for quick and smooth transitions due to disorganization.

I often find that when I am organized with everything lined up for learning, my students have less time to goof off and misbehave during transitions.

If you are looking for some simple organization hacks for teachers, you will love this post HERE on ways you can become more organized as a teacher.

Not only does better organization make YOU feel better as a teacher, but it could also improve the overall tone of your class.


Dealing with Misbehavior

Dealing with student misbehavior zaps your teacher energy and creativity, but you are not alone.

I made ALL of these mistakes as a teacher, and learned very quickly that my habits were the cause of the some of my classroom issues.

Once I implemented the tips shared above, plus started using this positive classroom management system HERE, the difference in student misbehavior was overwhelmingly positive!!

Here’s another helpful post about classroom management that you might enjoy: The 7 Habits of Highly BORING Teachers.


What Are Your Biggest Struggles with Student Misbehavior?

Could you please let me know in the comments below the biggest issues you are currently facing when it comes to student misbehavior!

It always helps to have several teacher-brains working together to solve classroom challenges. I look forward to reading your comments below!

The Butterfly Teacher

One Response

  1. Disrespect from ODD student, “I don’t have to listen to you or any of the teachers in this building” . Yelling at me and talking over instruction. When ignored the student gets louder. Refusing to complete assignments, crumbles it up and throws it on the floor.

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