I was teaching a lesson that I thought was touching the spiritual lives of my students. I was just getting to the good part when one of my students said, “Your shoes don’t match.” Students can be hard to teach because they have the strangest habit of distracting each other from the lesson.

Okay, the truth is my shoes don’t match. I wanted some Merrill walking shoes. I tried on about 10 pairs before I decided on the ones I liked. About a month of wear later I discovered that I had accidentally bought two similar shoes instead of two matching ones. I guess I mixed them up when I was trying them on in the store. But, is that any reason to interrupt the lesson? I mean, an adult might have noticed the slight difference in my shoes, but they wouldn’t have pointed it out in the middle of class. Well, they probably wouldn’t have.

Sometimes students become distracting just because their teenagers. They are still acquiring some of the adult filters that will eventually keep them from blurting things out in class. In other situations, students can be intentionally distracting.

• Sometimes students cause distractions because they are bored. This may be because you are not engaging them in the way they learn best, or it may be because they have no interest in spiritual things.

• Sometimes students cause distractions because they want attention. Some students just need to be the center of attention and will do most anything to get the attention from you and the class, even if it is negative attention.

• Sometimes students cause distractions as a way to protest when they really don’t want to be there. They may have been drug to church by parents; or they may have come to be with friends and resent having be in a Bible study. “Can’t we just run wild through the sanctuary?”

Regardless, you can never teach a group of students if you don’t deal with students who insist on being distracting. Here are some strategies that have worked for me:

• Keep the lesson moving. If you have young students, get them doing something different about every 10 minutes. Don’t try to discuss the Bible for the entire lesson; most Middle Schoolers don’t process information well enough to do that. Use simulations, story-telling, creative writing, videos, and stupid art projects to help them understand the truth of the Bible and determine what difference it should make in their lives.

• Build relationships with students that make them feel loved and accepted. This is especially important with kids who are a constant distraction. When they know you love them, they will be much more hesitant to interrupt your teaching time. Besides, they will be more receptive if you have to confront their behavior if  they are confident that you love them.

• Use peer pressure. When a student continues to disrupt the class, try just getting quiet. Often when students perceive that you are frustrated, they will begin to put pressure on the disruptor to quiet him down.

• Use your presence to quell distractions. If you are sitting, try standing to teach. Sometimes just standing up will get students to calm down. Move closer to the student who is being loud. Sit between students who are poking at each other.
• If a student appears to be out of control, isolate him or her. Smile and tell him you need to talk to him in the hallway. Only do this in extreme situations because it will likely embarrass the student. Avoid lecturing or yelling at the student once he or she is isolated. Use “I messages.” Try something like, “I’m frustrated right now because I am having a hard time accomplishing what I think God gave me to teach you guys this morning. How can I help you to calm down and engage with what I am trying to teach?”

Distractions can be frustrating but if you keep a sense of humor, express genuine love for students, and let them know that you believe what you are teaching them is important, they will usually come around.