When exercising discipline, it is as important not to discipline certain things as to discipline others. Things that are accidents or things that are not against the rules should not be disciplined, but handled in other ways.Due to the fact that children have a lot of physical energy to expend, occasionally they will do something that is innocent, but distracting. For example: swinging their feet and hitting the leg of the chair. When done in the front row, this can be pretty distracting - for the teacher, but not necessarily for the other children.
The temptation is to ask the child to stop. But consider this first:
- If the child is not able to swing his leg, he will probably find something else physical to do to. (Perhaps something less desirable than swinging his legs.)
- Most likely, swinging his legs is not against the rules of the club or class, so he is not breaking the rules. But if you ask him to stop and he doesn't, then he is breaking the rules and you must discipline him. Potential confrontation where one is not
The solution: It is your responsibility as the teacher to be so well prepared that little distractions like this do not throw you off course. Continue to teach and don't let yourself be bothered by it. Continually show love to each child and make your lesson so exciting that you will have the children on the edges of their seats. Enjoy the class and have fun!