"I do like you, but I want my gum back!"

I don't think I'll forget being screamed at this week. It made me reflect on how, despite everything you get told about behaviour management, the only person you can control in the classroom is yourself.

Strategies employed (all of which I still regard as useful!):

• Greeting at the door with a smile.
  
• Ending with "thank you" rather than starting with "please".
  
• Giving choice.
  
• Clearly explaining consequences.
  
• Planning a lesson with competition and challenge.
  
• Tonnes of praise.
  
• Reminders of past glories.
  
• Having a chart to record praise and the winner each week gets a phone call home.
  
• Using the school's rules and discipline system.
  
• Lowering my voice.
  
• Appealing to their empathetic nature.
  
• Finally, emotional blackmail...
  

It apparently has no value at all if a student "needs" his chewing gum back!

After 15mins of being screamed at, he finally left as my next class arrived. At the end of the day, I did get a beautiful apology. So maybe something did work. Either that or he does like me after all!