Have you ever had to discipline a student, and how did you handle it?

Disruptive students are a common occurrence in the classroom, and the hiring manager may ask you this question to learn more about your strategies for ensuring that all students have an equal opportunity to learn. The principal of a larger school with larger classes may want to ensure that you can manage disruptions while allowing students to focus on learning. Many students are disruptive for behavioral reasons, and your response may be evaluated by the principal as evidence of your methods for ensuring disruptive students can learn as well.

Assistant principals are frequently required to discipline students, and the interviewer wants to ensure that you know how to do so effectively. When answering this question, explain what steps you took to ensure the student understood why they were being disciplined and that you followed school policy when disciplining them.

Answer as an example: "I once had a student who was constantly disrupting class by engaging in conversation with other students." I invited him to stay after class one day to discuss his behavior. He claimed he didn't realize he was distracting others, so I explained the gravity of his actions and assigned him to write a five-paragraph essay on the importance of listening in class. I returned it to him with a grade after he turned it in and let him return to class."