Stock-standard responses

a guide for classroom teachers and teacher aides

Stock-standard responses help teachers to automate their work.

Much of what you will learn in terms of behaviour management (and teaching in general) is simple. All effective techniques, strategies and programs (no matter how complex they seem at first) are centred on a few simple ideas. A stock-standard response is one such idea. Experienced teachers collect a repository of phrases that they use in specific situations. These phrases are tools that can be called upon at a moment’s notice and they can get you out of a spot of bother. Some of these phrases are comical or humorous; they are used to de-escalate a situation or placate an argumentative student so they don’t lose face or feel the need to fortify their position.

Stock-standard responses help teachers to automate their work. They allow them to respond to situations in a predetermined manner thereby reducing stress and fatigue, as well as allowing easy management of multiple issues at one time. In short, stock-standard responses are efficient and improve productivity.

Hint: You will come up with new stock-standard responses as you carry out your work. You will also hear them on TV or even while shopping. You might even hear another teacher say something that will come in handy later on. Despite your best intentions, it is not possible to remember them all. Keep a list of stock-standard responses and continually add to your list.

Use your stock-standard responses on a regular basis so your students learn them as well. Here are 10 common stock-standard responses to get you started:

1. Inside voices please.
2. Eyes on me, 3, 2, 1.
3. Walk, don’t run.
4. Sit up straight, hands on the desk, feet flat on the floor.
5. There and back quickly, nothing else (when asked for a toilet break).
6. The first to pack up is the last to leave (when someone packs up early).
7. Rubbish. Chairs. Desks. Stand quietly. Wait for instructions.
8. If you choose to talk, you are choosing to move.
9. Take it step-by-step (or ‘do it properly the first time’).
10. What do we do first? …second?

Hint: This book is full of stock-standard responses that can be used in an innumerable number of tight corners.