Teacher shares 4 basic things parents can teach kids about good behavior in classrooms

Being a teacher is not an easy profession. Handling several kids with different personalities and behaviors while imparting knowledge surely requires a whole lot of skills and expertise. When it comes to middle school children, their hormones and changing personalities add to the chaotic nature of the profession. Teachers can use all the help they get from parents to make classroom time more tolerable and worth cherishing. A middle school teacher shared 4 things in a TikTok video that parents can discuss with their kids to help encourage classroom etiquette and prevent many conflicts and problems between students.

In her video, the teacher spoke about how it is tough to handle and quiet down several middle schoolers and how she has often been approached online for help by parents. “I had originally shied away from this because I don’t have any kids but the truth is I’m with middle schoolers day in and day out,” the teacher shared. She further explained that she is well-versed in kids’ behaviors, experiences, communication patterns and so on. “In a way I think, it would be better to hear from someone who doesn’t have kids,” the teacher mentioned, adding that she could offer an objective opinion.

Moving to the 4 things the teacher recommends parents to discuss with their kids, the first was “actions have consequences.” The teacher stressed the need to not only let kids know that their actions have consequences but also follow through with them. She shared an example saying, “I would tell my kids you have two classroom noise warnings.” The teacher clarified that she allowed the students to speak but the minute the volume exceeded and became noisy, she’d render 2 warnings. “Hey, this is your second noise warning. If I have to call you out again for being too loud we will stop whatever activity we’re doing,” the teacher said.

However, the teacher explained that when students receive 2 warnings, still make noise and have to deal with the consequences, they’re all bitter. “You would have thought hell froze over,” the teacher said, sharing the chaos that followed. She urged parents to make kids understand that people follow through with consequences. The next point was face-to-face communication. While the teacher acknowledged that technology is good for communicating and many parents may not be able to inculcate face-to-face communication due to busy schedules, it is still crucial.

“Kids are struggling with face-to-face communication,” the teacher remarked. The third point was the need to teach kids about kindness and empathy. “For some kids, this comes naturally. For most kids, this is a skill that needs to be taught,” the teacher highlighted. She shared a few examples saying, “Hey, this is not the way we talk to people or hey, you don’t make fun of someone’s weight.” The teacher stressed the fact that students may not know these things by default and need to be taught as well as reminded. Lastly, the teacher shared the need to teach kids about internet literacy and safety. 

“It is concerning what we overhear sometimes,” the teacher added. “If we all pitch in little by little, we’ll get there,” she said. Several commenters and parents agreed with the teacher’s perspective. @Deblackford said, “As a mostly freshman teacher, this is right on. Wish parents would understand that teachers are part of the village, not against them.” @janetormctx said, “As a parent of a middle schooler, thank you for this!”