My Chatter-Box

As most teachers do, I too have one student who does not know the meaning of the word quiet. He is a very bright boy, and extremely nice, but he can’t stop talking.

This has become an issue in my classroom, as you as teachers know if one starts talking, it spreads like a plague. In a matter of moments my classroom goes from a calm productive learning environment to what sounds like the penguin exhibit at the zoo during feeding time. Unfortunately the majority of my day is spent in a zoo.

To address this ongoing issue, a behavior contract has been put in place to try to keep my chatter-box in check. After a particularly rough day, I pulled the student aside and tried to explain how his talking disrupts the whole class. Although he may be capable of picking up topic quickly, it is not that easy for everyone in the class, and when he continually generates conversations not related to lessons, the rest of the class is getting distracted from what they are supposed to be learning.

My question to him was, “Why do you talk so much in class?”

After pondering the question for a moment he looked at me with genuine concern. “Teacher Toad, there just isn't enough time in the day for me to talk.”