
When dealing with discipline issues in the classroom it can be difficult to know what is worthy of removing a student to the hallway or sending them to the office. Many times, sending a student into the hall is enough to remedy the situation, but there isn't documentation of the behavior that sent the student into the hallway. When interventions need to be created for students who are habitual offenders (and the thing to remember is that it does not have to be major offenses), there needs to be a paper trail. One of the things we have instituted at my school is a relearn behavior desk. If a student is becoming disruptive in the classroom, simply send them to the relearn behavior desk. This desk is in another teachers room, hopefully in close proximity to yours. Each teacher has a relearn behavior desk in their room. At this desk, the students will fill out a behavior report. The behavior report asks the question, "Why are you here?" This gives the student the opportunity to write out the reason they have been sent to the Relearn Behavior desk. This can help the student calm down without the need to send the student to the office. There is also a place on the behavior report for the student to write about how they are going to correct the behavior so that they do not need to be sent to the Relearn Behavior desk again. At the end of the period, the student may move on to their next class. Now the question of "What if the student does not fill out the paper and becomes disruptive in the other class. If a student becomes disruptive in the classroom they have been sent to, the student is immediately removed and sent to the office. This will put the decision about going to the office on the student. In order for this to be effective, make certain that you give a student a verbal warning about their behavior. This can be enough for some students. If the behavior continues, then send the student to the relearn behavior desk. Because you gave the student a verbal warning, they know why they have been removed from the room. By having the students sent to the relearn behavior desk, you are able to continue to teach while the student is supervised in another room. The student has filled out a paper, calmed down, and can move on to their next class at the end of the period. Try it out, and let me know what you think.