Hope you are not an English teacher that value English reading and writing. I wonder, was the college you went to; helped you study with this very subject!!!

Teacher is the best gift from God. To be able to teach, God bless a person with all the capability to teaching someone. Teacher is tough when it comes to right and wrong and discipline the students. As the same time teacher is sensitive with love and care. The stress out days could mean rewarding. Through your knowledge that you given, someone else also get a blessing from God like you. Don’t let anything like soft spoken be you down fall as a teacher. Hang in there and determine that you will make it with times and experience.

I was in the same situation that you are right now.

I started the class by telling them something that just happened to me like a fun story. If you don’t have one you can made it up. If you do this the students will pay attention because is something different and you can then join the topic with the objective of the class.

On the other hand you are the professor and you have the authority in the classroom so of course that you can punish the older girls. No matter how they are you need to apply the same rules for everyone.

If they are not paying attention get them out of the classroom with an assignment and tell them that they can’t go back to the room if they don’t bring it.

If in the middle of the class you see them bored you can stop the class again and say another comment about something not related to the class. This was something that I did.. only for the indiscipline groups and it worked very well.

Also make them participate, this will increase their attention. And be yourself, don’t try to change your personality in the classroom.

Good luck!

I myself am generally a laid-back, soft spoken person myself. However, when I did my student teaching, I learned quickly that you have to be in control of your classroom or your students will have control of you. You need (if you don’t already) a set of class rules and consequences if the rules are not followed. And you need to stick to it. Children are quick to notice if you make threats you do not follow through on.

You need to be firm and fair. Remember not all of the students will like you…I know you’re probably close to their age, so you feel like you want to be their friend more than teacher, but you need to distance yourself from that. You might need to raise your voice, but not scream at them–that does not work either. I found sometimes just being firm and then keeping quiet until they were worked sometimes, too.

These students are testing you and seeing how far they can push you…remember that you cannot budge an inch on discipline issues. There are many good books written on discipline in the classroom and you might find it helpful to read a book about the experiences of other teachers. I wouldn’t go to the principal, it then seems like you can’t handle it…talk to other, more experienced teachers and ask advice. I’ve found they are happy to give it!

Good luck–the first 3 years are the toughest!!

I believe that I answered a similar question from you on this site. I see here that you do not have support from the headmaster. If that is the case, than that is part of your problem, and you just have to work without him. That is unfortunate, but there is nothing to be done about it.

One time I had good luck with rewarding the students at the end of the class with a joke. If we (the class and I together) worked hard, I would tell them a joke at the end. It sounds silly, but it worked very nicely.

It is hard to know just what to advise you, since I know so little about your situation.

Would it be possible to get the class working towards some sort of special project like a field trip or special presentation to some other class? If you can make them all feel like they are working hard toward a special goal, they will be cooperative and excited about coming to your class.

It is very important to be well prepared and businesslike.

Is it possible to send these disruptive girls (better if you can pick on the one main troublemaker) out of the class. When I have students in my grade 12 class who are talking and gossiping, I tell them that if they are not ready to work, they should leave. I say the rest of “us” are here to do work, not to fool around. I tell them to come back when they are ready to learn and work. Usually they stop talking and get back to work. If they do leave, I mark them absent for the class.

Put your foot down. Forget that you’re soft spoken and gentle by nature and start implementing discipline. I’m a college student and I know from experience that having a teacher who is really nice but really relaxed and easy to disobey is way worse than having a strict teacher. I think teachers should be strict, it’s their class! If I was a teacher I would be the kind that every kid hates because they’re so strict. Who cares if the girls hate you? They’re just random students that you teach, eventually you’ll learn that you can’t make everybody like you and it’s a teachers job to be hated at times, just like being a parent.

as a teacher, you need to establish control and discipline, no matter how young or soft spoken you are. teachers do not just teach these days; they are also disciplinarians, so they need to know how to manage a classroom…

instead of punishing yet, be more stern and assertive to let the students know you mean business…if they don’t follow through, then make sure there’s a consequence…