Once a student has done something bad most teachers will carry out some sort of punishment. There are many ways to do this effectively depending on the situation and the student(s) involved.

If you are in class and a child breaks one of your rules - Koki kicks you, instead of discussing what has happened in front of the whole class quietly take the child into the hall with you and privately talk about what has happened "Kick Dave Sensei ok?" and have Koki apologise to you. When you return to the room - fill the kids in on what has happened "Kicking ok?" and pretend to kick Koki. Some kids will laugh but if you keep a stern face they will understand that you are serious and when the laughter has died down have the students say "No kicking", perhaps even singling Koki out and getting him to say "No kicking" all by himself or asking him "Koki, kicking ok?". This humiliation will prevent future misbehaviours from Koki and hopefully other would be assailants!

The most basic punishment is to make a child say "I'm sorry" or "Gomennasai". Since we are teaching English "I'm sorry" is probably the most desirable. If the child cries keep a stern face and continue waiting for the "I'm sorry" after the child has said "I'm sorry" tell them ok and give them a pat on the head or shoulder to let them know they truly are forgiven and move on with the class, perhaps getting the whole class to repeat the rule "No spitting!", etc....

Many teachers favour the circle formation but if you are having trouble controlling students in a particular class try to stick mainly with having the students sit in straight lines and you will see how much more control you have over them.

Don't forget that the children in the back row want and need praise and contact with the teacher. If you make it a habit of going to praise the children in the back row they are more likely to stay focused instead of chatting with their friends. If this is just too hard because of the way the children are organized and you don't want to have to climb over children to get to the back row (which is the case in many schools) then try rotating the front of the class. What is the back of the class this week becomes the front of the class next week. Wherever you stand is the front of the class. Don't be afraid to change it up so all students get a chance to sit in the front row. The kids that are normally in the back row will love it!

If a child is continually disrupting the class have them come and sit next to you so you can keep a very close eye on them.

Start class with a strong voice to get children's attention and then get on with your lesson. Go through your opening hello _______ gumi, Hello Neil Sensei spiel and straight into the hello song, etc... The less down time you have the less chance of losing the children's attention. Use "Let's play a game" "Let's sing a song" "good job" chants etc... to fill the short gaps between activities when you are getting f/c or starting the CD player. Don't turn your back on the class and mess around with the CD player for 30 seconds or more than likely you'll have lost the children by the time you are ready to start.

For some classes competition drives them to do their best since they hate to lose. At the beginning of the class divide them into teams (boys and girls is easiest if they are fairly similar in number) and make everything a competition, from which team can stand up fastest and coolest, to who can sing the hello song loudest, to who can identify the f/c fastest. Every time the other team gets a point the team who didn't get a point will renew their efforts to win a point thus removing you from having to remind them to behave- just don't let the points get too lopsided or the losers may give up.

When it is hot they often don't feel like jumping around either, plan calmer activities. However if it's been raining and they haven't had a chance to play outside they will have a lot of built up energy and may lose focus easily, which makes a more active game a better choice.

If they are going to eat lunch right after English class it may be hard for them to concentrate on anything other than their grumbling tummies! Especially if lunch has already arrived at the class! Right after lunch they may be feeling too full so adjust your class and expectations accordingly.

In some schools preparing for a school event can be compared to preparing for the Olympics! During these times children will be under a lot of stress and many will be overwhelmed by the pressure put on them to perform. To top it off they will probably be more tired than usual as well. During these times make English class as easy, fun and stress free as you can.

The good job chant is a great way to encourage children to be good. Who doesn't like to hear what a good job they are doing? Using this at least once a class is not overdoing it. The children don't seem to tire of this chant. With older kids you can make funny dance moves or poses while you do it to keep it fresh!

Remember that the children in seika class may or may not be interested in learning English, however if you can make them laugh with silly gags, etc... they will all enjoy and look forward to English class as a fun event! Remember that we are dealing with small children whose goal in life is to have fun and laugh, if you can help them do that they will love you and English class all the more and you may have less trouble with naughty behaviour.

This can be used with individuals or the whole class and is billed as a pressure technique with a bit of humour to it. Simply ask the student(s) "are you really nen cho? " and then comment either that they seem to be more like nen sho or a baby. Another approach along similar lines is to comment that the nen____s are very good at doing whatever activities it is you are doing that the child/class isn't doing well. Yet another approach is to ask the child "how old are you? You're not a baby are you? You can be a good boy/girl like Shunsuke and do this.

If a whole class is misbehaving or is lacking enthusiasm simply tell them "______ Gumi was really good at this!" with gestures so that they students understand and then tell them Their gumi name is not so good with gestures, then encourage them to try to do it as well as or better than the previously mentioned gumi. They will usually smarten up and increase their efforts ten fold.

Simply start singing a song that the children know and like to stop the bad behaviour and regain their attention.

Sometimes problems are caused because children are having too much fun! This is sometimes unavoidable when playing a fun game with young children. However it shouldn't be ignored. One thing that can be done to calm things back down and get students following the rules is too take a point away from the team that is breaking the rules and at the same time reward their opponents with a point. This will usually work well to curtail the undesirable behaviour.

If the seika class is misbehaving as a whole and is generally out of control you can tell them with a serious face and voice (once you get their attention) that they are being bad and that maybe Shelby Sensei should say goodbye for today. This should also cause the Japanese Gumi teacher to awaken from her stupor and rally the children to improve. Even if this doesn't happen the children will object and want you to stay and then you can tell them that they need to behave properly. Again you should be willing to follow through on this if it came to it, although it normally won't. This technique should not be overused or it will lose its shock value. (Some teachers have reported equal success using this technique with a bit more humour - i.e. pretending to be really sad that the children aren't paying attention and threatening that you must leave)

This is a similar approach to the “Should I leave?” technique discussed above. However with "goodbye" the teacher actually stops the class and says "Goodbye" with a serious face and leaves the class at which time the gumi teacher would step in and scold or talk to the class. When the gumi teacher is finished the class can apologise to the teacher before class is resumed (This is only for extreme cases or perhaps would be effective in classes that are always troublesome. You need to make sure that the gumi teacher will be able to fulfil her role in order for this to be effective.

mmm

Approach the misbehaving student, bend down to their level and ask them with your serious face and voice "Are you ok?" “Please stop," and then continue with your lesson.

If individuals are breaking classroom rules put them on the spot. Putting a child in the spotlight for bad behaviour can be done in many ways, here are some of the steps teachers use;
1) Get them to stand up
2) Tell the class what happened "Sakura kicked Tim Sensei, is that ok?"
3) The class will respond "no!" (they often will respond yes and think they are funny but make it clear you don't find it funny and get the class to say "no!")
4) Have the offending child apologise and quickly accept the apology and forget about the incident
It is important to note that not all teachers include all the steps, some only do steps 2 and 3, others 2-4. There are no hard and fast rules.

Don't be afraid to do this. Once you have moved children a few times the students will clue into it and since most of them don't want to be moved away from their friends just the question "Do you want to move?" with body language may be enough in the future to stop unwanted behaviour!

Ask the gumi teacher to deal with the child. Depending on the gumi teacher you can ask for her help in many ways, here are some of the more common ways:
-verbally "Ishikawa Sensei, can you help me with Shugo please?" (even if she doesn't understand English she will more than likely understand your request, especially if you use gestures)
-make eye contact with her and indicate the problematic child for her to deal with
- lead the child to her and pass him off to her for her to deal with, perhaps gesturing what the child's offence was if she is unaware.
If the gumi teacher decides in her wisdom to confront the child in the middle of the class (literally) try to continue with your class as normal and move so the children's eyes can not easily move to the scene between their classmate and teacher.

If students are talking to their neighbours a quick and easy way to get them back on track is to simply look at them and say their name "Takeshi!" accompanied by a look that lets them know they aren't paying attention or a hand to the ear or whatever gesture you feels gets the point across to them that they should be listening instead of talking.

To quickly bring attention back to the teacher loudly clap out the rhythm clap clap clapclapclap (or your own personal favourite) and have students repeat it (this can be done 2 or 3 times in a row until all students are paying attention again (this technique shouldn't be overused as supporters of it claim it loses its effectiveness).

Although this approach, also known as "the chair", is widely considered to be a kagai punishment technique some teachers have used it in seika with success. Basically it involves moving a continually disruptive student to an isolated corner of the classroom (or a chair right outside the classroom door) and refusing to let them participate in the class. Most children don't want to be subjected to the humiliation of having to sit separately from the rest of their classmates and will usually fall back in line very quickly in order to avoid further humiliation. Often this technique can prove to be just as effective for many students without actually making them sit in the chair. The child can be led to the chair in the corner and asked if they want to sit in it, of course they will say "no" at which time they can be warned that if they continue with their naughty behaviour they will find themselves sitting in the chair. Make sure the child understands what you are saying before you release them.

Some teachers use this system in seika as well. If the students get 3 strikes then they lose the game or computers or something else that day. This approach will work better with smaller seika classes that last for longer periods and would probably not be successful with a 15 minute seika class with 36 kids!

If you teach English in an English room rather than in the regular classrooms this technique can be used in extreme cases. If a child is just not stopping their bad behaviour with less aggressive approaches you can tell the child with a serious face and voice -in your own words- that if they don't smarten up they will be sent back to their regular classroom.

If the students in seika are bad or don't follow the rules then take away the game for the day. Next time they will behave better!

A drastic measure that is probably only necessary if the gumi teacher is rather useless and unhelpful. This is a shocking technique that not only straightens out the offending child it also awakens the gumi teacher to the fact that there is a problem that she could assist with. If a child is repeatedly being disruptive OR disrespectful and is not responding to other techniques you can try this approach. You must move quickly and surely for it to be effective leaving the child without enough time to realise what is happening and react. Simply pick up the child, open the classroom door and place the child outside, closing the door leaving the child in the hall. This technique is used by many a gumi teacher but everyone in the class (including the gumi teacher) will certainly be shocked to silence if you do it. The gumi teacher will be forced into action to deal with the child in the hall. This sends a loud and clear message to the students that those who don't follow the rules and behave will not stay in the classroom. If the teacher brings the child back into the classroom allow them to apologise and rejoin the class without making any big deal out of it, maintaining a genki attitude.

These positioning techniques work well in controlling kagai classes:

This is a great preventative measure! You can decide where each child will sit at the beginning of each class. Each week you can change it a bit and that way you can keep students who shouldn't sit together apart before problems even start! Assigning the seats can be done by verbally telling the children where to sit or probably more effective would be for you to draw a quick diagram on the board and write each child's name in the position where they should sit so students can learn to "read" their name!

When children are sitting at the table resist the urge to pull up a chair and join them. If you move around the table you can maintain their interest because you are closer to them and you are also much better able to keep an eye on what they are doing.

Rewards are used to encourage good behaviour. Sometimes called bribery they can be a valuable assistant to a teacher working with young children. Rewards can take many forms.
Since praise alone is often not enough motivation to inspire young children to work hard and behave in a kagai type setting many teachers offer a tangible reward, more often than not accompanied by a points system of some sort. Here is a sampling of some of the various systems that teachers have developed.

The teacher awards children points throughout the class for various things done well by the children, often in competition with the other children - although not always. Children can earn points for such things as - printing their name the neatest of everyone in the class, singing the ST theme song/Hello song loudest, getting out their book/pencil/etc... fastest, completing their homework, Identifying a card correctly, sitting nicely when the teacher is talking, etc...... Whatever behaviour the teacher likes can be awarded a point in order to encourage all students to act in the same way. The student with the most points at the end of the class is awarded a special sticker, stamp, etc.... If you use this system you must make sure to "fix" it so that all students get a couple turns winning and the same student doesn't win week after week after week after week....
*If you use the assigned seating approach above in your class then you could let the student who had the most points last week choose their seat for this week as their reward!
**Some teachers said that if taking away points from a single student for his misbehaviour doesn't work then try taking a point from everyone in the class to exert some serious peer pressure on the little....misbehaver.

This is very similar to the "the most points" system except that points are awarded for doing anything well in a non competitive way - anyone who tries to sing the Hello song gets a point, the points in the games are added to the students own personal points etc. At the end of class everyone can roll a dice and add that many points to their score - this levels the playing field. The champion gets no prize other than the title of champion and a big cheer! It adds to the success of this points system if praise and a bit of a fuss is made each time anyone is awarded a point. If students misbehave usually threatening to remove a point is enough to put them back on track but if not then they lose a point. (In older kids classes the points champion might be allowed to choose a game to play at the end of the class or some similar type prize)

This system uses laminated medallions and stars made on Crayola Art Studio instead of points. The medals are given to the individual or team (depending which system the class uses) who is the champion of any given activity (the student/team who sings the hello song best gets a medal, the student/team that wins the game gets a medal, etc.....) The stars are given out to any individual student who puts extra effort into something- used in the same way as points. Keisuke works really hard while going through the phonics cards so he gets a star, etc... However if Keisuke later loses concentration and does something naughty then his star will be taken away. At the end of the class you can add up the stars and medallions as you would points to find the champion!

This technique is probably best suited for the youngest of your kagai classes but could be used with any level. Start with 10 blank hangman type spaces on the board and do a quick review of class rules (No talking Japanese, listen to the teacher, no standing up, etc....) Tell them if they get 10 smiley faces they can get an awesome sticker/stamp/ super jump, etc... and show them what they can "win". Every time they do something that at least most of the kids do well give them a smiley face (For example they sit nicely during roll call and all answer correctly - 1 point. They sing the hello song well - 1 point. etc...) Hopefully they will clue into the fact that when they do something well they get a smiley face. If any child does something wrong or against what you have said erase a face. Don't be afraid to keep erasing the faces until the rebellion has stopped. If you have a problem with kids being naughty before they even get any smiley faces then start them out with some smiley faces so you have something to take away. Make sure that whatever the "prize" is it is something that the children want and are willing to work towards. If you have time you can prepare a special sticker page for the children to put their special stickers on to showcase them. If not their book works well.

Divide the class into 2 or 3 teams at the beginning of each class (depending on class size). The teams can and should change each week so different students win each week. Throughout the class make everything a competition with the winning team getting a point. For example "homework out race!" and students race to get out homework, whichever team’s members complete the task first wins a point. The team with the most points at the end of class gets a reward (stamp, sticker, etc...) Some teachers have the teams sit separately to clearly show who is on which team and allow the teams to choose a name for that day. Trying to draw (as well as print) the name of the team can give students a good laugh since some of the team names can be quite a challenge to draw!

For students that don't respond to other points based systems you can try this original approach. Make the students one team and yourself the other team. Whenever they do something they shouldn't do (talk when they should be listening, stand up when they should be sitting, etc...) give yourself a point. See who the champion at the end of class is!

If everyone is good today you can get a stamp/sticker. Japanese children would in general sell their Grandmothers for an extra sticker.

Once you know a class's favourite game(s) you can use it to bribe them to do a task that is not so desirable, i.e… "First print in your notebook then Hide the cards!", etc... This technique also makes them work harder to complete the undesirable task quickly so they can get on with the good stuff!

Students are much more comfortable when they know the routine and they know "their part". For example if they know that as soon as the super tots theme song is over they have to run back to the table and quickly sit down to sing the hello song it gives them a sense of control since the teacher doesn't have to tell them what to do - they already know! Routine gives the children a sense of comfort since it allows them to predict what is going to happen in class and prepare themselves for it. Many children are very ill at ease if there is no routine and may misbehave as a result.

From the very first day (if possible) teach the children exactly where and how to place all their belongings (their bag, hat, backpack, etc......) When they have completed it correctly give them lots of praise with a huge smile and a high five. Then next week pile on the praise for those who remember everything you taught them the week before and help the ones who don't remember and praise them when they get it right and give them a high 5! This keeps the class organised and starts it on a happy note every week since children will be able to come into class and put their things in their proper places and know that it makes you happy and gets them some praise before the class even starts!

Ask the children to help you with specific jobs. (Yuki, please close the door. Satomi erase the board please. Kenta can you help me with the tables please, etc..... you are not only helping them improve their listening skills but you are also helping children stay focused on what is happening in the classroom and making them feel like important members of the class! Most young children are very happy to be given a specific job from the teacher and feel special that they were chosen to complete the task so make sure to vary which students you ask to help you with things!

If you can occasionally give extra praise to your problematic kagai kids during seika time it may make them more willing to work hard for you during kagai. Also choosing them to help model a game, etc… can score points with them and make them better behaved in kagai class. Don't overdo it though - it isn't fair if you always pick Takumi to help you model the game etc.

Ask the children to help you with specific jobs. (Yuki, please close the door. Satomi erase the board please. Kenta can you help me with the tables please, etc..... you are not only helping them improve their listening skills but you are also helping children stay focused on what is happening in the classroom and making them feel like important members of the class! Most young children are very happy to be given a specific job from the teacher and feel special that they were chosen to complete the task so make sure to vary which students you ask to help you with things!

If you are having problems with a kagai child and you never see their parent - for whatever reason - don't leave it too long before contacting the parents. If the child never does the homework have your office call and tell the parents that their child is not completing the homework and what we can do to resolve the problem. Remember that parents that you never get to see may not even realise their child has homework! One teacher had a student who never did homework for a year and a half and finally the teacher met the father one day and took advantage of the chance to tell him that his son had homework that week - and every week. The father was furious with his son since he had asked his son about homework but the child always said he had none. Since that day the child has done their homework every week.

Just because it is kagai doesn't mean it is time to be completely serious. The kids are still very young and it is important for them to learn and have fun. It is vital that we don't turn the children off of English by being too heavy during kagai time. Of course they need to learn and we have goals that we need to strive to reach with them but remember they are still the young children you teach seika to and a silly gag in kagai to make them laugh will often put them in a happier mood to work and learn! Find a balance!!!