At first glance, the answer just might be yes. It makes sense, right?
A student misbehaves and you give them a hand signal letting them know which rule was broken and the consequence. The benefits are:
- It’s quiet.
- It’s quick.
- It’s discreet.
- It’s respectful.
So what’s not to like? Well, a lot. Because in practice it doesn’t work. Here’s why:
They can’t see you.
When a student is misbehaving, it’s often hard to get their attention. If you limit yourself to a hand signal, then you’ll have to position yourself—often directly in front of them—for them to notice you.
They get confused.
No matter how demonstrative you are, hand signals can be misinterpreted. In fact, they often prompt students to ask you to explain. The younger the students, the more this is the case.
They don’t know who you’re targeting.
If you’ve ever tried using hand signals, you learn fast that it’s difficult for students to know who you’re targeting. You’ll often have two or three students gesturing and asking, “Me? What did I do?”
They don’t trust it.
Even if you have the attention of the rule-breaker and they understand the signal you give them, it’s human nature to want to be told. Verbalizing provides clarity and assurance. It’s why NFL referees have microphones.
What About Humiliation?
A common argument you’ll hear is that giving consequences publicly is humiliating for the student. This usually comes from an uninformed administrator.
This is nonsense.
Of course, you should never berate, raise your voice, or try to humiliate. But simply informing a student of what rule they broke and the consequence isn’t humiliation. It’s the truth.
You can’t hide it anyway. Even if you do try to use a non-verbal signal, your students can see the misbehavior. They can hear the disruption. Believing otherwise is silly.
Furthermore, if receiving a consequence in front of one’s peers adds an extra layer of remorse, so be it. It’s life. It’s not harmful to the student to have some accountability to the class they interrupted.
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