No, not freely. Students should never be allowed to talk socially in class whenever they wish.
However, when narrowly defined, giving your students the option to talk with their friends for a minute or two during the school day is a smart idea.
Here’s why:
It improves your likability.
It’s important your students like you because it gives you more leverage and influence over their behavior choices. It also helps make your rules and consequences matter to them.
Allowing your students a few moments to catch up during the day is a simple little thing, but they’ll appreciate you for it immensely.
It improves focus.
60-90 seconds or so is all it takes to “clear the boards.” It purges their thoughts from being dominated by what they desperately want to tell their friends.
Once behind them, they’re better able to focus on the here and now. They’re better able to lock in on you and the challenges you place before them.
It combats boredom.
Sitting too long causes excitability and restlessness. Short breaks throughout the day relax the body, clear the mind, and promote better listening and production.
I allow students to get up and move around the room when they talk because it gets their blood moving and helps keep boredom at bay.
It improves behavior.
Because occasional breaks assuage excitability and cause your students to like and appreciate you—and therefore want to please you—they’re less prone to misbehavior.
It’s the Law of Reciprocity in action. Meaning, they’ll want to pay you back for your kindness and understanding.
It allows you to join in.
Chatting with students with no strings attached is a great way to build rapport and mutual trusting likability.
It’s also fun and gives you a chance to prove that you don’t hold any grudges. It communicates that you like and appreciate all students, even your most challenging.
Teach It
You can’t, however, simply allow your students to get up and wander the room. You can’t say one day out of the blue “Go ahead and talk with your friends.”
This will only cause more headaches, not less.
You must teach and model exactly what one minute (or more) of socializing looks like. Your students need to know exactly what is and isn’t okay—including appropriate topics of conversation.
They must be assured that if they stray outside the parameters you’ve set up, you’ll hold them accountable.
If you’re a high school or middle school teacher you may want to allow a minute or two midway through the period. The beginning of class as they enter the classroom also works.
Elementary teachers should plan for it a couple times of day, perhaps once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
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