Class Clowns : How To Get Them
To Stop Their Silly Behavior

• - continually interrupts verbally - often with wisecracks
• - loves to be in the spotlight and will do everything possible to get and keep attention
• - often doesn't 'take the hint' that thigs have gone far enough - in other words, he doesn't know when to stop

What lies behind this type of behavior?

The motivation for such behaviour may be a natural high spirited personality, but it's more likely there's a much more negative driving force. Class clowns are often desperate to be liked and want to raise their status in the eyes of their fellow students. So resorting to behavior they feel will amuse others meets their need to 'stand out from the crowd', to get themselves noticed and, they hope, get approval for their actions.

Silly behavior often masks an inner anxiety and insecurity, these students often have low self-esteem and therefore lack the self-censorship that mature, well-adjusted students tend to possess.

It's worth pointing out that some class clowns are exactly the opposite - they are confident individuals with very high levels of self worth, but they love to entertain, although they sometimes fail to see that this may be inappropriate.

How to deal with this type of behavior

1. Give them the attention they crave, but on your terms.

For example, watch for an opportunity to acknowledge them when they're not messing around. A quiet word of praise when they're working sensibly will help to show them you're aware of their need to be noticed.

2. Use their desire to entertain for the benefit of the whole class.

Students like this are often genuinely very funny and can be useful if the mood of the class is dropping and spirits need to be raised. Some teachers find a couple of minutes in every lesson to say 'Anybody got a good joke to tell?', knowing that the class clown will usually jump at this opportunity. WARNING: make sure the class knows and adheres to the ground rules about what is and is not acceptable material and contexts for jokes in class.

3. Make sure the class clown knows what the boundaries and limitations are - he needs to know when to stop and what the consequences will be if he doesn't stop.

You may need to remind the student publicly in class - calmly and politely as you would remind any student. But you may also need to talk to the student privately outside of class. This conversation is an opportunity to say that you appreciate the student's sense of humour and that the student needs to appreciate that he is part of the class and his inappropriate behavior has the effect of preventing others from learning. Other students have the right to be able to learn properly and everyone has to abide by the class rules and routines so that everyone can be successful.

4. Explain that sometimes - maybe most of the time - the other students are laughing AT him, rather than with him.

This can be very powerful, as you're shifting the effect away from you on to the other students. The class clown won't want to alienate his 'audience', especially if it means that he loses the very respect he's trying to establish among his peers.

5. Use the silent response.

Silence and a serious expression can often communicate in a powerful, non-verbal way that this behavior is not appropriate and has gone too far. This can wrong-foot a class clown because they're expecting a more animated response from the teacher. Silence sometimes can be 'golden' when dealing with inappropriate behaviour.

6. Arrange with the student a clear signal which will leave him in no doubt he must follow your instructions.

7. Use classroom space to your advantage.

If it's possible, stand close to the student to 'close him down' a little - this is especially helpful if you require the whole class to be listening in silence, or you want students to be able to make individual oral contributions without being interrupted.

Be prepared to move the student strategically - near to you, or away from others - but acknowledge quickly when the student responds positively to being moved. And give them enough attention to bring them back on task as soon as they begin to misbehave.

Actions that don't work with class clowns.

1. Don't ignore this kind of behavior - it won't go away by itself.

2. Don't react angrily or try to embarrass them - embarrassment will only make their already low self-esteem even lower -and stir up resentment against the teacher.

3. Don't try to compete in the comedy stakes with them - eventually you'll end up embarrassing yourself.

4. Don't think it's cool and good for your 'street cred' to let students behave like this because you think they'll like you more - they won't.

You can find some great books to help with behavior management and classroom discipline at the Classroom Management Success Behaviour Management Bookstore.




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