Nip it in the Bud

“You know what you have to do, Andy? You have to nip it in the bud! You read any book on child rearin’ and they are all in favor of bud nippin’!”

I just love this quote by Barney Fife from an old episode of The Andy Griffith Show because it still holds true today.  Since most of us are returning – or have already returned – from Summer Break, it is a good reminder for us in this new school year: Nip it in the bud!

Let’s take some time to explore how we can apply” bud nipping” as a classroom management tool.  At the start of the new year, students are usually a bit timid on those first few days. However, after the first week, they begin to explore if you really mean what you say.  I assume that you have gone through your classroom rules and procedures with them and now they are going to test you to see if you are truly going to follow them.

Usually this will start small, but be warned, it will grow if you let it.  So, obviously, my advice is…don’t let it even start growing! Let me give you a few scenarios where you can see how to put this into action.

Scenario one: 

You are lecturing at the front of the room and two girls in the back begin to whisper to each other.  I always assume one of them just had a brief question and if the conversation ends after just a few words, I will let it slide.  However, if this continues, then I will stop what I am doing and will ask the girls if there is a problem. Then I will remind them that they are to raise their hands if they have an urgent request and that one of my rules is that while I am talking, they are not. Then I will move on with what I was discussing.  This is usually pretty effective. If I allow them to continue to whisper, it will grow into a louder issue. Also, if I ignore it, other students will notice that I am not enforcing that rule and then they will begin to break it, too.

Scenario two:

Two boys begin to elbow each other every time one of them gets up to perform a task.  On the way to the pencil sharpener…elbow. On the way to throw something away in the trashcan…elbow. Returning to his seat …elbow. This behavior can seem harmless (unless you have been in the classroom for several years), but believe me – this is a behavior you definitely want to “nip in the bud”.  It is probably good-natured, but if one of them has a bad day or elbows a little too hard…now you have a problem! 

You can handle this one in a couple of different way.  First, you can stop what you are doing and call them out on this and let them know that it is not appropriate.  The other option is to talk to the boys individually. I almost always have some sort of group work or a lab as part of my class, so I will use that opportunity to “do a little classroom management.”  I will let the boys know that this type of behavior is not appropriate and if I see it continue then they will receive my first level of consequences. This little conference counts as their first verbal warning.

The most important part of nipping it in the bud is to be aware of your rules and to enforce them.  If you do this early in the year, you will have fewer behavior issues as your year progresses.

I hope everyone has a great start to their year!  If you have an example of “bud nippin” let me know in the comments below. Or if you just want to check in and tell me how your year is going, I would love to hear that, too.

  (You can view the excerpt from the Andy Griffith show here.)