References​
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Excerpt taken from Scholastic 2014, Five Tricky Personalities- And How to Handle Them, viewed 15th September 2014, http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/classmgmt/trickypersons.htm#chatterbox
The Debater
Strategies in Action
In another upper-grade class, I noticed Bradley hadn't started his work. I walked over and casually asked, "Bradley, I notice that you haven't started. Any problems?" I was pleasant. To his response, "Yeah, well, I haven't got a pen, have I?" I replied, "That's okay. You can borrow one of mine." (Whenever I teach an upper-grade class, I take pens, pencils, rulers, and erasers with me — preventive management.) He muttered something, then said moodily, dropping his voice and eyes, "Yeah, well, I haven't got a ruler, have I?" Here I pointed to the box of materials on the teacher's desk: "You can borrow one of mine." His voice took on a frustrated edge as he said, "Yeah, well, I haven't got any paper. Gee!" Poor chap! I was disrupting his game. I was tempted to be sarcastic, but I said, "There's paper on my desk, as well." I pointed. "I'll come and see how you're doing later." Faced with this last helpful comment, he swore under his breath. As I moved away I saw him go to the teacher's desk to find what he needed. Later in the lesson, I gave him some encouragement that he received with controlled grunts. It's hard being civil.