How to stop classroom interruptions from photo and video documentation
Teaching assistants constantly interrupting lessons to film or photograph kids for parents disrupts the flow of instruction and makes it impossible to maintain focus. This relentless pressure to capture every moment forces teachers to spend valuable class time managing distractions instead of actually teaching.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Having days of quiet, independent work with silent work time
- 2Removing disruptive students
- 3Contacting parents about disruptions
- 4Talking casually with the other colleague to clarify if the student is manipulating the situation
- 5Sending an email to the other teacher to ask why the student keeps showing up late
- 6Putting it on the student to make up all of the missed work
- 7matching or countering student energy
- 8using silence as a powerful tool
- 9isolating disruptive students near the front of the room
- 10setting strict boundaries and modeling appropriate volume levels
- 11relying on caffeine and cortisol
- 12sending problem kids to the office or ISS room
- 13Trying to change one's mental frame of mind and emotional reaction to stress
- 14Setting strict time limits on work done at home
- 15Trading timeout students with a fellow teacher
- 16Establishing behavior plans and messaging parents
- 17kicking disruptive students out of the classroom
- 18trying to ignore them
- 19yelling at them to sit down
- 20having students teach a lesson
- 21seeking help from a mentor teacher or administration
- 22Assigning detention
- 23Writing students up
- 24using textbook work and silent work time
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Student centric and active learning is just opening up opportunities for misbehavior”source ↗
“This current generation does not have the social skills nor the self control for engagement strategies nor movement around the room.”source ↗
“Most student lead learning environments just become social hour”source ↗
“I feel like this student is missing out on some of my work required.”source ↗
“This student can be kind of sneaky though and I'm wondering if my student is saying well "my math teacher said I could stay late so just write me a pass"”source ↗
“Daily and that’s why I left to teach high school. Couldn’t keep up, I made it 7 years.”source ↗
“It's kinda sad that behavior has gotten so bad that you have multiple kids submitting stuff like that.”source ↗
“I feel like I spend more time redirecting behavior than actually teaching.”source ↗
“The problem is that if it doesn't work, you try to take it farther next time.”source ↗
“Sooon as I start the pondering, BAM, my TA runs in with her phone out, ready to document for the parents.”source ↗
“And every fucking time she comes to mine, it's either after the kids have finished all the cool, fleshed out dialogue, or it's when I'm sat there looking an idiot wondering the best way to get them to write something down.”source ↗
“This constant need for parents to have 700 videos all the damn time is stressful for everyone.”source ↗
“I have three students this year who are making teaching really hard.”source ↗
“How do I not get stressed out by their behavior?”source ↗
“My mental health is being impacted by this.”source ↗
“I had a student fart for the third time this school year. It sounds silly, but when a kid farts class is interrupted for five minutes.”source ↗
“Following because i have the same issue!”source ↗
“my kids almost run the show at this point especially my later class periods i usually have the reigns before lunch and after lunch idk if i give up or what but kids start slapping each other i have 1-2 that run around the classroom can’t sit down idk if i should ignore them kick them out or yell at them to sit down i’ve tried all three and none work so i’ve resulted in kicking them out so that the majority can still learn something”source ↗
“A kid made a sex joke about Katniss and Peeta during The Hunger Games. I had to tell him that while it was funny, it was inappropriate and I HAD to write him up.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 13What do you call students who copy or police classroom instructions?
- 3How to stop hallway distractions when door windows can't be covered
- 6How to handle a chaotic last period elective class
- 5Why do administrators nitpick classroom observations?
- 6How to balance classroom control with letting students talk
- 4Students constantly forgetting materials, am I overreacting?