Making Problem Behavior Not a Problem

I was listening to Freakonomics Radio on Stitcher where the hosts discussed drinking in college.

Alcohol abuse can be a serious problem and should not be taken lightly. That is why most colleges take the stance that alcohol is not helping achieve the academic standards of their school...so they do not allow the sale of alcohol at sporting events.

Understandable.

As well as naive.

West Virginia noticed that students were still getting drunk...alot!

So they changed 2 of their policies. First, they stopped allowing re-entry into the stadiums after you leave (i.e. no leaving for halftime to drink and coming back in) and second, they started selling alcohol at games.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME! THAT IS WHAT THE PROBLEM IS HOW CAN YOU ALLOW IT?

Turns out, they have seen a drop in arrests on game day...35% less.

Seems like educators could learn something from this.

Hopefully students aren't smuggling beer into your class. However many teachers have rules that students love to break.

• No food or drink in the classroom
• No Gum
• No Cell Phones/texting/web-surfing
• No talking or passing notes
• No enjoying school

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) the intent of rules like the ones listed above is that they can be a distraction. But also naive.

Student's will stop at no length to get around your rules.

The pursuit to get what they want is more distracting than the behavior.

The problem is...you give an inch and they will take a mile. 

Students take advantage of nice/easy going teachers.

I'm not suggesting you throw rules out the window. Sound classroom management is key to having a positive learning environment for your students.

But fighting about chewing gum may not make the most sense...you may have less problems if you allow it than you would if you disallow it.