essay on being quiet in class

Teaching the Quiet Child in the Classroom

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There are days where I leave work and my head is filled with nothing but noise. All I can hear is the roar of student voices, garbled and (sometimes) annoying. Social is the word that defines the students. Social, instead of obnoxious, rude, or narcissistic. If you separate them they still talk, either to whomever is sitting close to them, or to their friend across the room.

The noise doesn’t really bother me. What worries me is the student who comes in alone, sits alone, never speaks, or even looks at anyone else. Some of these students are “tough guys” in disguise, but those aren’t the ones that worry me; even if they don’t have friends in one class, they have other friends in the school.

I worry about the truly quiet ones. I have always considered myself “compassionate” by not putting them on the spot, but deep down I have always thought that I am doing them a disservice by allowing their quietness to continue to be such a barrier. Students depend on teachers to help them overcome problems, and I have a tendency to ignore the quiet students while allowing the noisy ones to monopolize my time and energy.

Then I read an article by communications scholar James McCroskey that contends: “When asked what one should do to help a child that is quiet, the most frequent suggestion of the teachers with whom I have worked is to give them more speaking experiences. While this approach may be helpful to some people, it is very likely to be harmful to most. Not all quiet children are alike.”

I realized that “homegrown” remedies could prove unhelpful, and possibly harmful, so I started looking for ideas on how to actually help these students.

Renee Gilbert is a licensed clinical psychologist with some interesting ideas about working with shy students , such as giving them small jobs, or recognizing them daily in some non-threatening way.

I think about one student who honestly hid in the restroom for the first two weeks of school. I thought she was a no-show, but one day the counselor brought her to my door. She would not even come in the room. It took many attempts, days, to get her in the classroom. She only said a couple words all year except when I called on her, which I rarely did.

Seeing the pain in her eyes was more than I could stand. I spoke one-on-one with her a few times, but she answered in one-word sentences. I had other students sit in her group to try to bring her out of her shell, and although she would smile and seem to enjoy the conversations, she didn’t participate in them.

I will never know where the fear and pain came from—I will always wonder, and wish I could have done more.

Another idea that Gilbert suggests is to display the work of all your students, but especially the shy ones. This is helpful because some of the most “verbal” students are unsure of themselves.

Psychologist Jere Brophy gives this example : He “surveyed effective teachers to find out how they responded to shy students. They most commonly mentioned responses included (1) changing the social environment (e.g., seating them among friendly classmates or assigning them to a partner or small group), (2) encouraging or shaping increased responsiveness, (3) minimizing stress or embarrassment, (4) engaging shy students in special activities, and (5) involving them in frequent private talks. Conspicuously absent from these teachers’ responses was emphasis on threat or punishment.”

So encouraging research exists; I am not alone in worrying about the students who are reluctant to participate. And this affirmed my opinion that there are other ways to engage quiet students than by calling them out or putting them on the spot. As we prepare for the new school year, we must be confident that we will be able to reach those students—those “mysteries.”

Please share your approach to working with quiet students.

Sherry Armstrong is a 9th grade English/language arts teacher in Houston, Texas. She has been in education many years and is now working on a master’s degree, with a concentration in adolescent literacy.

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Why quiet should play an important role in education

• Jamie Thom, self-confessed introvert, English teacher, TES columnist and host of the TES English teaching podcast, explains why quiet should play an important role in education...

What led you to write your book A Quiet Education? Basically, I’m a fully fledged introvert myself. I was very quiet at school and I’m quite a quiet adult. Obviously, as a teacher, you’re conscious that schools can be hugely extrovert-designed places, full of group work, collaboration and communal space.

Also the way quiet is referred to in schools isn’t often the best: “They are a brilliant student but too quiet.” I wanted to challenge that narrative and offer something a little bit more celebratory about the values of quiet that can exist in schools.

How can we build more effective relationships with quieter pupils? You will have kids who just sit down, who don’t want to engage or happily get on with the work. Should teachers be looking at that and try to bring them out? Or should they just encourage them to learn?

I think we’ve got to respect the fact that some people have innate temperaments. We shouldn’t try to impose an extrovert ideal on particularly younger children. There are insecurities that come with that: am I too quiet? Am I not like my friends who are much more, on the surface, gregarious and chatty. I think one of the things we have to do as teachers is celebrate the quieter quality, the deep concentration that our introverted students will be capable of and the questioning they will be doing internally of what’s being shared in the lessons.

Teachers can be quiet as well. What can we learn from them? One of the lovely things about writing the book was finding out how many teachers consider themselves to be more introverted. It’s a profession that, on the surface, demands a degree of being an extrovert. You have to perform in front of groups of young people and bring a certain degree of enthusiasm and vibrancy.

Not that introverts aren’t capable of that but I think that’s the stereotype, that introverts are hidden in the cupboard with a book, whereas the reality is that lots of teachers are channelling more extroverted performances in the classroom.

For myself, that’s actually one of the joys of teaching, that sense of ease that you might get in a classroom where you’re free to just perform and be a slightly more extreme version of yourself.

I’m conscious of giving space for silence in my lessons. Partly for my own selfish, restorative need. But partly because I recognise that any real deep thinking needs silence to facilitate that.

If you are that quiet a teacher, how can you allow yourself to restore, to have a long career in education, particularly primary teaching. My mom was a wonderful primary school teacher for years and years but the most introverted human being you can ever meet. And I think she helped me out a lot in terms of what can more introverted people do to restore themselves?

But it’s not just the classroom that quiet teachers have to deal with, is it? The other real challenge of being a teacher is the huge interpersonal and communication demands. That’s where you’ve got to have a degree of selfishness. If you know that you are an individual who needs quiet to restore yourself then you have to find out what works for you to switch off.

I spoke to so many teachers who had amazing things they did, from marathon running to bird watching. Anything that will help you to find the quiet and find the recharge you need to do the job well.

There’s lots of research correlating introversion with more burnout. That’s why you just have to be able to let work go, as easy as that sounds, and at the end of the school day you have that cut off point. You have to bring some of that introverted discipline to a work/life balance because otherwise it’s a career that can swallow you up.

People can get lost in the system or feel overwhelmed and, especially if you’re introverted, it may be difficult to reach out for help.

What skills can introverts bring to the classroom? There are certain skills that are introspective, that all our young people would benefit in more attention being paid to, such as developing listening skills. In our extroverted and loud society, particularly in primary schools, the capacity to teach young people to listen to each other with intent and consideration is a valuable life skill.

How is the concept of quiet beneficial to teaching? In teaching I think silence becomes something that’s quite draconian in the classroom and quite didactic: “Your behaviour has been outrageous so you’re going to work in silence for the next ten minutes.”

I’m trying to reframe that narrative and teach silence as something that’s really positive. Working in silence it’s about us showing what we’re capable of doing individually. I call it sacred silence in my lessons and try and get as much focus on that being something that can’t be broken because then we’re letting each other down.

One teacher I spoke to uses silence as kindness in his classroom. So silence represents something kind, something nurturing that we’re doing for each other, rather than something punitive.

What would you want people to take away with them after reading the book? I think schools are incredibly complex and diverse places but they really should represent celebrating human nature in its glorious diversity. My takeaway is that we should be recognising and celebrating that quiet can be something remarkably powerful in our skills. And remarkably important for young people to develop as they get older and mature.

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• Mar 12, 2023

The power of silence - 6 ways to incorporate quiet reflection in your classroom

Updated: Jul 19, 2023

It's no secret that I'm an introvert. I like to talk and share what I know (useful traits for a teacher), but most of the time I prefer to keep quiet. I also like my space to be quiet, but since that definitely isn't happening in my active, project-based classroom , it is critical for me to set aside some time in the day for some much-needed silence. Many of my students (and yours) need this time as well, but are they getting it?

School - a place of overstimulation

"...it may not be an exaggeration to say that there are few, if any quiet spaces available for children to really focus at school."

Schools are loud. A typical day is filled with the sounds of enthusiastic children, classroom discussions, lunchroom gossip, educational videos, bells, assemblies, and announcements. A 2015 study of 185 secondary classrooms across 13 schools in the UK found that the average noise level during lessons was 64.2 dB, roughly equivalent to a loud conversation, although it can reach much higher at times. According to another study from Quebec, Canada , the average volume in physical education classes was found to be 83 dB, with peaks as high as 115 dB. That's way above the limit considered to be safe, putting children, and perhaps PE teachers most of all, at risk for chronic hearing loss.

It is well-documented that noisy environments interfere with learning by negatively affecting speech recognition, reading comprehension, and memory tasks, as well as standardized math scores . Consistently loud classrooms may also be associated with physical and mental health issues , including hypertension and depression. Additionally, some behavioural issues may be compounded by noise, as research indicates that so-called 'problem students' may be the most affected by noise and distractions. You might be tempted to think that such problems could be solved with more effective classroom management, but it's not quite that simple.

Both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that noise levels in unoccupied classrooms should not exceed 35 dB , which is somewhere between a whisper and a quiet conversation. In reality, the vast majority of classrooms are not able to meet this standard for a variety of reasons, including externally produced sounds, noisy heating and cooling systems, and just plain bad design. To be clearly understood, teachers and students must speak at 15 dB above the background noise level. Thus there is a clear correlation between classroom background noise levels and lesson noise levels .

Taken together, it may not be an exaggeration to say that there are few, if any quiet spaces available for children to really focus at school. That seems absurd when you consider how high the expectation is from parents and teachers for students to do just that, but the data certainly seems to indicate a problem. For many young people, then, school may not be the ideal learning environment that we imagine it to be.

The social media dilemma

As a teacher, I find persistent noise and socialization to be incredibly draining, but I felt the same way when I was a student long before the days of smartphones and social media. How would things have been different if I had been born 20 years later? Well, for one thing, I probably would have replaced whatever downtime I had with screen time, the way most modern teens do.

To be fair, I played a lot of video games growing up (a TON of video games, actually), but these were mostly single-player experiences tethered to a gaming console, not mobile or online games that I could whip out and play whenever I wanted. When I left the house, or my room for that matter, the screen stayed put. Not so for today's teens, who carry their devices around in their pockets and make use of them throughout the day, regardless of school policies. A 2018 survey found that 43% of teens check their social media constantly or hourly during a typical day. Among the social media apps used by students, Youtube is king with 95% usage rates, followed by TikTok and Instagram.

It is now widely acknowledged that despite its name, social media can actually increase feelings of loneliness, isolation, and depression. A recent study in Nature , for example, suggests a negative association between social media use and life satisfaction, a trend most significant in 11-13-year-old girls and 14-15-year-old boys. This roughly correlates with peak puberty times, when students may be more developmentally vulnerable to the harmful effects of social media and screen addiction. Furthermore, social media use was up 40% during the Covid-19 pandemic as students struggled to stay connected. Except for one-on-one video conversations, the effect on student well-being was mostly negative. It is probably too soon to tell if social media usage rates have begun to return to pre-pandemic levels.

The benefits of quiet reflection

We have a strong cultural bias towards speech , especially in the classroom. Thus quiet students are often seen as less successful than talkative ones, and silence is mostly viewed as an awkward void to be filled as quickly as possible. By stuffing our lessons with discussions, speeches, lectures, and group work, we are robbing young people of the benefits of introspective thought.

I think our students have the idea that everything worth knowing can be found out there in the world and that nothing of value can be generated from within. After all, when a student encounters a difficult problem, is their first response (or yours, for that matter) to think about it for a while, or to simply ask Google for the answer? By skipping any sort of personal investigation, we are denying the value of internal thought and therefore missing out on opportunities for discovery. I seriously doubt whether prolific scientists and thinkers like Kepler, Newton, and Darwin would have become household names if they had had access to streaming services and social media.

Thankfully, serious and considerable research has been done to show how important silent and reflective thought can be in our lives. Keep in mind that I'm using the term 'silence' to mean "the absence, not of sound per se, but of noise which is obtrusive or salient", as David Cooper, a professor of philosophy at Durham University points out .

The value of 'wait-time', or 'think time' - intentional pauses used by teachers - has been known since the 70s, when Mary Budd Rowe identified that waiting at least 3 seconds after questioning produces far better responses . Since then, numerous studies have elaborated on her discoveries and suggested additional areas where wait times can be used effectively. A recent literature review identifies at least 13 uses of silence in the classroom, from 'time to think' to 'time to reflect'.

Eva Alerby, a professor of education and the author of many articles on this topic , asserts that silence is not only a valuable pedagogical strategy, but an important listening strategy as well.

1. Make ample use of wait time

As mentioned above, wait times are crucial for giving students a chance to think before responding, and can be used in many situations. Admittedly, this is an area I could improve upon as a teacher as I find student silence to be unnerving. It's easy to interpret silence as a sign of boredom or confusion, but rest assured, the science definitely backs the value of waiting a few extra seconds before eliciting responses.

2. Create quiet spaces for students

The library is an obvious place for students to escape the chaos and focus, but this isn't much help to you in your classroom on a daily basis. Instead, work on making a quiet, comfortable space in your room where students can think, study, work, or reflect. A 'calm corner' is kind of an elementary school concept for kids who need a safe, quiet space, but we can adapt this to middle and high school by focusing on making a dedicated thinking area instead. This can be as simple as a few comfy chairs and tables in the corner and a small, undecorated partition to prevent unnecessary distractions. Encourage your students to make a similar space for themselves at home, and actually set aside a bit of time to teach them about how to do this.

Really put some thought into the space in order to discourage discussion and allow students to think freely. You can provide noise-canceling headphones for students who need them, if available, but I recommend making it a device-free area otherwise. Of course, you can always use this space for kids who need to calm down during conflicts as well.

Beyond the classroom, there are many options for providing your students with quiet spaces to think and learn. One case study involved a school in Australia that provided its students with a silent area on the playground known as the 'peace area'. Surveys of students indicated that this was a highly valued resource.

3. Take your lessons outside

Plenty of studies suggest that nature has inherent benefits for your students , as well as being generally calm, quiet places where kids can explore or simply reflect. If you're going to read aloud, why not do it sitting on the grass in the sun, or in a forest? Go outside and paint something. Collect leaves or insects and view them under portable microscopes. There's no need to organize a complicated or expensive field trip if you have a decent playground or park nearby.

You can also start a school garden , which is an inexpensive and fun way to engage kids outdoors, and it's hard not to get some thinking done when you are working with your hands.

4. Implement silent reading or study time

DEAR, or drop everything and read is a program many schools adopt to get kids reading for a dedicated length of time on a regular basis. We did this at my school for 20 minutes a few times a week, and I'd say it was successful, although it's important to make expectations clear. We found that it was also critical to make sure teachers were reading as well. Of course, there will always be a few students who don't seem to be doing much reading, but consider that perhaps they are getting some thinking done instead, and maybe count that as a win. After all, there are far less productive things they could be doing during that time.

Study periods can be potentially useful for students, but they need to be monitored effectively or that time will likely be wasted. You can encourage students to be productive by insisting that they remain quiet, avoiding the use of devices where possible, and helping them to prioritize and manage their time.

5. Let your students work in ways that help them focus

This will depend on the teacher, but consider allowing your students to work in ways that suit their learning styles. Many students like to listen to music while completing their work. As long as they have headphones and don't distract others, I say go for it. Some students love to work in pairs, while others prefer to work alone. I allow both (although I sometimes insist on group work since teamwork is a valuable skill as well). Even sitting at a desk is sometimes too restrictive for students who would prefer to sit on the floor or walk around a bit.

"Expecting students to concentrate in a noisy classroom might be difficult for some, and impossible for others..."

Be conscious of what each student needs and give them the freedom to be successful in your class, within reason. I once worked with a very experienced social studies teacher who would sometimes send her students outside to walk or run around the building once before the lesson began. This helped them clear their heads or burn off some energy and ultimately made her lessons go more smoothly. On rare occasions, I've even let kids sleep for 5 or 10 minutes with the understanding that they're going to work when they wake up. Sometimes they really need it!

6. Consider classroom acoustics

Chances are you didn't build or design your classroom, but you probably have quite a bit of control over what goes on inside it. You may not be able to insulate your space from outside noise, but you can still reduce what is known as the reverberation time (or the time it takes for sounds to decay) by adjusting what's in your room. Long reverberation times are known to reduce learning effectiveness in much the same way as noise.

A quick fix that will reduce reverberation significantly is to carpet your room (a couple of rugs will help if professional carpeting is not feasible). Other acoustically absorbing materials include pillows, carpets, and wall hangings. According to one study in the UK , an absorptive classroom with carpeting has half the reverberation time of one without. This will make voices and sounds much easier to discern, leading to improved learning.

Lastly, consider shutting off things that contribute to background noise, including fans, projectors, heating/cooling systems, and so on. Even the lights may generate a small amount of noise and may not be necessary at certain times of the day. Use your own judgment to determine whether or not you truly need these devices to be on at all times.

I hope I've convinced you that creating time and space for quiet thinking is valuable for staff and students alike. Expecting students to concentrate in a noisy classroom might be difficult for some, and impossible for others, so don't waste your energy trying to keep everyone on task. Instead, try some of the strategies I've mentioned above and find what works for you and your students.

I'll end this post with a quick tip for the biology teachers. Whenever I teach the circulatory system, I ask students to find their pulse and measure their heartbeats for a minute. Then I enjoy the most silent minute of the entire school year. You're welcome!

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When you get home from work, do you often feel hoarse from telling the kids to stop talking and exhausted from trying, in vain, to keep your kids on task? Do you fantasize about a quiet classroom in your private moments?

Discipline and classroom management are, by far the top battles that you must win in the classroom. Without focused and relatively quiet students, you might as well forget about hard work and significant academic achievement.

Believe it or not, it is possible to quiet your students and keep them on task with simple nonverbal routines that save your voice and your sanity. The key here is to get creative and do not expect one routine to work forever. Many times, effectiveness wears off with time; so feel free to rotate through the various methods listed below.

Here are some teacher-tested student discipline strategies that meet the objective of maintaining a quiet classroom with ease.

The Music Box

Buy an inexpensive music box. (Rumor has it that you can find one at Target for approximately $12.99!) Each morning, wind the music box up completely. Tell the students that, whenever they are noisy or off task, you will open the music box and let the music play until they quiet down and get back to work. If at the end of the day, there is any music left, the kids receive some type of reward. Maybe they can earn tickets for a weekly drawing or a few minutes towards end-of-the-week free play time. Be creative and find the perfect no-cost reward that your students will really want to quiet down for. Kids love this game and will quiet down immediately as you reach towards the music box.

The Quiet Game 

Somehow, when you just add the word "game" to your request, the kids will generally snap right into line. They get 3 seconds to make as much noise as they want and then, at your signal, they become silent for as long as possible. Students who make noise receive dirty looks and peer pressure to quiet down again. You can set the timer and tell the kids that you going to see how long they can stay quiet this time. You might be surprised at how well this simple technique works!

Eye the Clock

Each time your students get too loud eye the clock or your watch. Let the students know that whatever time they waste by being noisy, you will subtract from their recess or other "free" time. This usually works really well because the kids don't want to miss recess time. Keep track of the time lost (down to the second!) and hold the class accountable. Otherwise, your empty threats will soon be discovered and this trick won't work at all. But, once your kids see you mean what you say, a mere glance towards the clock will be enough to quiet them down. This is a great technique for substitute teachers to have in their back pockets! It's quick and easy and will work in any situation!

Another nonverbal way to quiet your class is to simply raise your hand. When your students see that your hand is raised, they too will raise their hands. Hands up mean stop talking and pay attention to the teacher. As each child notices the cue and quiets down, a wave of hand-raising will envelop the room and you will soon have the whole class' attention. A twist on this is to raise your hand and count one finger at a time. By the time you get to five, the class needs to be quietly paying attention to you and your directions. You may want to quietly count to five along with the visual cue of your fingers. Your students will soon get used to this routine and it should be pretty quick and easy to quiet them down.

The key to any successful classroom management plan is to think carefully about the goals you want to achieve and act confidently. You are the teacher . You are in charge. If you don't believe this underlying precept wholeheartedly, the kids will sense your hesitation and act on that feeling.

Consciously design your discipline routines and teach them explicitly. Students love routines as much as we do. Make your hours in the classroom as productive and peaceful as possible. Both you and the kids will flourish under such circumstances!

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An Approach for Helping Quiet Students Find Their Voices

• March 15, 2018
• Rich H. Kenney, Jr.

“I’m afraid I’ll be the only one to think my thoughts, that no one else will see it the way I do. I don’t want to be wrong.”

That was the response by a student to a comment I made asking him to consider participating more in class discussions. The conversation took place one day after class toward the end of the 2017 spring semester when he asked me to sign an academic progress report. He was a good student and submitted quality papers on a timely basis. Yet, while he paid attention to my lectures and everyone’s remarks in class, he rarely spoke.

I told him how much I enjoyed reading his assignments, that they were creative and insightful. Although he seemed to appreciate the feedback, he said, “Still… it’s what the others might think.”

His words inspired me to develop, “Another Way to Say It, Another Way to See It.” The approach provides an opportunity for quieter students to express their thoughts and ideas with written contributions. I define quiet students as those who do not speak in class or who speak seldom and, when they do, they do so with great difficulty due to anxiety and/or lack of confidence.

I implemented the project during the fall 2017 semester in my face-to-face Introduction to Social Work class. Here are excerpts from the letter I posted online for students to read:

“Have you ever been reluctant to share your thoughts in class? Are there times you wished you had weighed in on a class conversation but, for some reason, did not?

‘Freshman Year’ can be a little overwhelming and I know that some of you may experience anxiety when it comes to speaking in class. That’s why I’ve created this optional forum, a temporary way for you to ‘say it’ in writing until you develop enough confidence to ‘say it’ in class.

Please know I want to hear your thoughts, especially the ones you feel are unique. Don’t worry about being “wrong” or what others think. Share your insights. You may very well be onto something that no one else sees.

And… what could be better than that?”

The Reactions

After discussing what I had posted online, I asked the students to submit a two-paragraph reaction to the idea. Here are some of their comments:

“I have social anxiety and every time I talk in front of a group of people, my face gets red and I start to stutter. I think this program will help me to begin feeling more comfortable expressing my ideas to the rest of the class.”

“Typically, in school, I’ve always been the kid who mumbles the right answer under her breath and waits for someone else to say it out loud. I’m not very confident in classroom settings. Having an outlet to type my thoughts rather than attempting to speak them in a jumbled mess is something I appreciate.”

“I am shy to ask questions, sometimes, because it could be embarrassing. It’s a very judgmental world and this is a good way to help those less confident feel better about expressing themselves.”

At the end of the fall 2017 semester, there were 43 comments posted in the forums tool. Nine of 27 students contributed to the forum. Here are excerpts from posts after a class discussion about living conditions on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, approximately 50 miles from Chadron State College:

“I am filled with such heartbreak anytime I go to the reservation. I am obviously white but have never had thoughts of being better.”

“I understand how you feel concerning ‘the rez.’ It causes an aching heart to drive through it, to see hopelessness on the faces of those who survive the place.”

“What we don’t realize is that these conditions are in our own backyard.”

Value of the Project

Each of the quiet students who contributed to the forum eventually spoke in class and, each time they did, they did so with growing confidence. One student spoke for the first time in Week 10 and several times thereafter.

In a general class discussion about the value of the project, several quiet, forum-contributing students stated that they found it useful and would like to continue writing (and speaking) in the spring semester. Of the quiet students who did not contribute to the forum, several said they would consider trying it in the spring semester. Their reasons for not posting ranged from being “too busy” to “not knowing what to write.”

What’s Next

Encouraged by the students’ responses to the project. I plan to offer the program again in the spring 2018 semester. For those students who responded with “too busy,” I will continue to plug the program in class, using the opportunity to discuss effective ways of managing one’s time.

I will also offer specific examples of the types of posts they can write in hopes of motivating those who responded with “not knowing what to write.”

As one student said, “The forum allows you to get your side of the topic out there. And that can be helpful for everyone.”

Rich H. Kenney, Jr., is an associate professor and director of the social work program at Chadron State College, Nebraska.

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Staying Quiet in Class

Staying Quiet in Class addresses blurting when a student isn’t called on. It establishes the unspoken classroom rule that we balance our classmates’ needs to share ideas with our desires to share our ideas.

Preview an SEL skills lesson: Staying Quiet in Class

Narrator: Blurting means we talk out loud at a time we aren’t supposed to. When we talk or answer questions in class, we have to wait to be called on. It can be hard to wait if we really want to say something. But it’s important because it affects your teacher and your classmates too. Let’s see what blurting looks like and how it makes others feel.

Teacher: So, we’ve been studying earthquakes. Does anyone remember the name of the scale we use to rate them? 

Jack: (raises hand)

Teacher: Jack?

Jack: The Ric…

Madison: Richter Scale!

Teacher: Please don’t call out, Madison. Who can tell me what a fault is? Jack?

Jack: It’s the earth on either side where the ground splits.

Teacher: That’s right! It’s the line across the earth’s crust that’s moved…

Madison: I saw a show about earthquakes! Do you know what the biggest earthquake was? I do!

Teacher: Madison, it’s my turn to talk right now.

Narrator: Madison keeps blurting in class. How does this make her classmates feel?

Jack: (thought bubble)  Madison keeps yelling out answers. It’s really frustrating when I’m trying to answer.

Narrator: Jack feels frustrated when Madison blurts out. He raised his hand and waited to be called on, so it was his turn to speak. Madison is disrupting the whole class when she yells out. She’s really excited because she knows a lot about earthquakes. But she needs to keep these thoughts in her head until she finds a good time to say them. Let’s watch Madison try not to blurt.

Teacher: So, we’ve been studying earthquakes. Does anyone remember the name of the scale we use to rate them?

Madison: (internal thought) I really want to say the answer, but I should wait until I’m called on. It would make Jack feel upset if I answered for him.

Jack: The Richter Scale.

Teacher: That’s right! Who can tell me what a fault is?

Madison: (raises hand)

Teacher: Madison?

Madison: The fault is the area where the ground moves.

Teacher: That’s right! It’s the line across the earth’s crust that’s moved during the earthquake.

Narrator: Madison did a great job keeping her thoughts in her head until she was called on. She knew she would make others feel upset if she blurted out. Once the teacher called on her, Madison was able to answer the question. Even if we’re really excited about something, it’s important not to blurt out in class. We can wait our turn and give everyone a chance to answer.

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500 word essay on being quiet in class

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Helpful classroom resources, 14 ways to quiet a noisy class.

Quieting a class is the 1st step in managing them! The following are few tried and tested behavior management ideas you can use today.

Behavior Management Ideas that work across grade levels:

• One of the best ways to maintain a quiet classroom is to catch students at the door before they enter. You can do this in a number of ways. First, you can train them to enter the room silently or quietly. One way to do this is to use a “teach-to”. ( Described here. )
• During class, proximity is a teacher’s best friend. Simply walking over & standing next to a talkative student’s desk will often be all they need to refocus.
• Here are a few other ideas you can use throughout the day: Flicking off the lights, ringing a bell, hand gestures like raising 2 fingers, and using a chime or rain stick as a signal to stop talking.
• Whispering is a great way to change the cadence of your instruction. If you start to lose them, continue what you are saying in a whisper. They are caught off guard and listen!!
• As my mama always said, “You get more with honey than vinegar”. Compliment those doing the right thing ( in hope of the others following suit ), before asking for less ideal behaviors to stop.

How to Quiet Kindergarten – 3rd Grade Students

• Something that worked like a charm for me in the primary grades was when I would say, “I’m closing my eyes, and when I open them I’d like to see everyone ( doing whatever it is I wanted them to do )”. I’d cover my eyes while saying this, drag out the words, and “POP” my hand open to say thank you to the beautiful behaviors I saw.

• I have 2 seating posters that are probably MY FAVORITE posters in the classroom. Why? Well, when I need my students’ attention I simply walk over and point to the posters. This is a voice saver!!
• I have also seen teachers ask students to pop in a marshmallow. They puff up their cheeks and purse their lips. It’s hard to speak with an imaginary marshmallow filling your mouth.
• You can blow magic “hush-bubbles”.
• Call backs can be fun. It’s important to keep them simple in primary. There are tons of different saying you could use. I’ve said: “Class, class.” The students reply: “Hey, hey.”
• There are quite a few tech solutions too…. like a stoplight for talkers. Other digital methods include the Super Sound Box, Class Dojo, or the Too Noisy App — an Apple and Android tool that determines noise level and produces an auditory signal when voices become too loud.

How to quiet Upper Elementary children

• Call backs work in upper elementary too. “1,2,3 eyes on me…1,2 eyes on you,” works well in 2nd – 5th grade. Catchy little advertising jingles can be funny too.
• The “Silent 20” is a way to conclude an activity. If students return to their seats and are completely quiet in 20 seconds, they advance one space on a Game of Life board (shown below). When they reach the last square (which can take approximately one month), we have a popcorn party. 
• Another idea is to use a content “word of the week” to signal that it’s time for silence. Examples: integer, renaissance, or circuit.

**A note: As a general rule, I try to use a silent signal before using my voice. Doing this is less interruptive overall and saves my voice.

I hope you found something you’d like try! It really takes a good mix of strategies to keep students engaged. I’d love to hear what’s working for you in your classroom in the comments below.

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2 thoughts on “ 14 ways to quiet a noisy class ”.

I really like the thought of the Silent 20. I would love to see an example of your gameboard.

I would love a copy of your game board as well!

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How to Avoid Talking in Class

Last Updated: July 2, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Katie Styzek and by wikiHow staff writer, Madeleine Criglow . Katie Styzek is a Professional School Counselor for Chicago Public Schools. Katie earned a BS in Elementary Education with a Concentration in Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She served as a middle school mathematics, science, and social studies teacher for three years prior to becoming a counselor. She holds a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in School Counseling from DePaul University and an MA in Educational Leadership from Northeastern Illinois University. Katie holds an Illinois School Counselor Endorsement License (Type 73 Service Personnel), an Illinois Principal License (formerly Type 75), and an Illinois Elementary Education Teaching License (Type 03, K – 9). She is also Nationally Board Certified in School Counseling from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 82% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 140,071 times.

Sometimes it's so hard to stay quiet in class. When you think of something truly hilarious, it almost feels painful to wait until the bell rings to share it. It's perfectly normal to want to talk, but it can also make it difficult for you (and your classmates) to focus. Try out these methods to help you keep side conversations or random remarks to a minimum! You'll have plenty of time to talk after school.

Move to the front of the class.

• If the spots at the front are taken, look for a quiet student and sit by them. Chances are they won’t start a conversation with you like your best friend might!

Try to be like the quiet students.

• For example, maybe this student sits quietly and takes notes. Follow their lead and get your own notebook!
• Another student might participate a lot in class but always makes sure to raise their hand first. Try that out, too.

Think before you speak.

• If it’s at all disruptive, like "This subject is boring, is class almost over?" don’t say that out loud.
• Another good trick is to raise your hand. While waiting to be called on, think about what you want to say. If it's not related to the subject your teacher is discussing, put your hand down and remain quiet.
• Always raise your hand when you have a question about class. Not talking during class doesn't mean your questions about the lesson should go unanswered.

Keep a notebook at your desk.

• Classroom notes should take priority, but if you think of a joke you want to tell your friend, write that down, too. That way you can remember it after class and share it with your friend!
• You can also use your notebook to write down anything you want to talk about after class. For example, instead of talking to your friend during a lesson, write down, "Remember to tell Jimmy that my mom said it was okay for them to stay the night this weekend."

Put your phone away.

• You should also avoid passing notes during class, A.K.A. texting the old-fashioned way.

Avoid responding to classmates.

• While you're in the hallway before class, try taking your talkative classmates aside and say something like “I’m not going to talk during class anymore, so can we talk at lunch instead?”
• Try not to be impolite if your friends talk to you during class. Always be kind and ask them nicely not to pester you while you focus.
• Yelling "SHH!" across the room is no better than talking.

Ask your friends for help.

• Ask a friend that doesn’t usually talk in class. Try something like, “Hey Sam, I’m trying to do a better job at not talking in class. Next time I try to talk to you, can you tap a pencil on your desk as a cue for me to stop?”

Ask your teacher for help.

• After class, tell your teacher something like "I'm trying really hard to stop talking during your class, but I'm still struggling with it. Could you please help me?"

Use a visual aid like a sticky note.

• Try writing something like “I can talk when class is over” or “silence is golden.”

Set realistic goals for yourself.

Don’t get discouraged if you struggle to keep quiet.

• Let’s say you accidentally blurt out a joke in class. Instead of beating yourself up, tell yourself something like, “I just made a mistake and that’s okay. Now I just have to be quiet for the rest of class to make up for it!”

Reward yourself for succeeding.

• Talk to your parents about a reward system that you both agree on. Maybe your mom can take you out for ice cream at the end of the week if you promise to be quiet and focused in class!

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://news.wisc.edu/top-ways-to-stay-focused-in-class/
• ↑ Katie Styzek. Professional School Counselor. Expert Interview. 28 October 2020.
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/peaceful-parents-happy-kids/201506/8-steps-help-your-child-develop-self-control
• ↑ https://news.rutgers.edu/cellphone-distraction-classroom-can-lead-lower-grades-rutgers-study-finds/20180723#.XNpXjo4zZPY
• ↑ https://undergraduate.northeastern.edu/peer-tutoring/resources/students/classroom-etiquette/
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/help-obstacles.html
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-psyched/201207/learning-through-visuals
• ↑ https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/how-to-help-your-child-set-and-reach-goals
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/family-affair/200809/rewards-are-better-punishment-here-s-why

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I'm introverted - shy, often quiet in class, and like to be alone

wolflover60 2 / 4   Oct 29, 2013   #2 I know that my opinion goes unnoticed by most, but when a teacher cares about their students and wants to see them succeed, it is one of the most important things in my life and I am grateful to have some if not the best teachers who understand how important it is to ask for my opinion and get me involved in the communication in the classroom since I am such a quiet person. This is a really long sentence that seems to ramble on. I think you could split it into a couple of sentences to make your point more clear. Also I don't think you should start your essay with the restatement of the prompt. Try to creatively introduce the subject rather than using the same wording as the prompt. It is to me feel important, I don't know what you're trying to say here. I would also look over the grammar for the essay. You're missing a lot of commas and I think you should vary the sentence structure more.

SIphotography/Istock/Getty Images Plus

When I started teaching in the mid-90s, student disclosure of terrifying and heartbreaking memories felt sacred. It was even before I heard the phrase “hold space,” but I realized that I was indeed being tasked with holding something carefully and gently. Simultaneously, I was attending to other students’ reactions so that the classroom could be an open and comfortable space for discussion of highly charged and complicated issues.

I even recall in 2002 having a student who shared that the reason she had enrolled in my family violence class was because she was insistent on breaking the cycle of it in her own family. Her grandfather killed her grandmother, her great grandfather killed her great grandmother, and her stepfather threatened her mother constantly. And my student, too, was abused by her stepfather, sexually, when her mother was working the night shift as a nurse. Not only did she share the horror of that, but she also shared another secret that felt equally brave: she had once considered folding rat poison into a casserole, hoping to kill him.

I read so many papers detailing family dynamics similar to this. And I remember trying to catch my breath as I was reading, letting my heart and my head catch up with each other.

The terror of it all gripped me, but perhaps what was the most compelling—and which had the strongest hold on me and still does—is the resistance that such students conveyed. It was also because of that resistance that I was able to help students make meaning of their experiences, most often by sharing with them sociological concepts and theories that would give language and voice to what they had endured.

Resistance can take many forms, and in my students, I’ve witnessed it in terms of writing and other art they’ve created and shared with me that wasn’t done for class but for the purpose of their own healing. I’ve also watched with profound admiration as students have organized events, rallies and concerts on the campus to assert their voices. Over the years, I’ve also invited some students back to speak at my classes about their experiences of survivorship, resistance and healing, and in so doing, newer students have seen them as real mentors.

A Different Context

Fast-forward to the present moment, and I’m struck by something else. I realize that I’ve come to think about student disclosure in a different way: It doesn’t look quite as brave anymore. Not because of anything that the students really did wrong, but because the social context for their sharing differs so significantly.

When I started to teach, students weren’t posting every hiccup of their private lives on social media, performing for the crowd. Nor were images of others doing that swirling around them. And they were talking about their struggles years before this country announced that young people were having a mental health crisis.

Nowadays, when students share, there’s a flattening to it that’s in keeping with their more overall flat emotional affect. Whereas students used to display great angst when disclosing things, they now share such information in a routinized, mundane way. I still hear about brutal transgressions that students have witnessed and endured in their lives, experiences that are every bit as horrific as years back. Yet, today they share it in a tone and cadence similar to how they tell me or their classmates what they ate for lunch. That steely cold reporting reveals the way that students are actively relying on and using what they know to be true in the culture. They are drawing on the messages that they know are concerning to adults.

While I don’t mean the word manipulating in a malicious way, students are indeed manipulating the language and the telling. For example, when students express themselves, they are not simply sad, they are depressed. They are not nervous, they are anxious. They are not having performance anxiety about an upcoming presentation or test, they are having full-blown panic attacks. Words like trauma even lack meaning now when people use it to describe anything and everything distressing, and we begin to lose sight of what those words truly mean.

Students announce in classes that they’ve attempted suicide. So hungry for a diagnosis, they’ll refer to themselves as having depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, even if they’ve never sought counseling. In large classes, they very publicly report their diagnoses—self-proclaimed or offered by professionals—unlike students from years past, who spoke of such things in hushed tones in my office upon realizing they could trust me after a long conversation.

The Allure of the Reveal

These current students have quickly bought into a paradigm of disease—fully medicalizing any sort of feeling ill at ease. And in all our talk about the mental health of college students, nowhere are we really seeing an important discussion about what all this disclosure means and will mean going forward.

Judith Herman , whose groundbreaking work on incest changed the field of family violence and gave it new direction, refers to what she calls a crisis of disclosure. It describes what happens both when a survivor of sexual abuse goes through the process of disclosing a series of traumatic events and the fallout of that for not only the person but the constellation of the family in light of the secrets and silence. As a sociologist, I want to extend the idea of a crisis of disclosure beyond the family unit to see that we are now in the midst of a public crisis of disclosure on our college and university campuses.

But the concern isn’t just in the telling; it’s also in the way that meaning is lost. Catharsis is not enough. My former students from years back know this well. Disclosure was contextualized, and classroom concepts became a container for holding the sharing. Together with their peers, I’d push them to see the connections to what we were learning, as well as encourage them to take positive action in the form of volunteering, advocacy and social change.

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When I think about catharsis, I think back to when I was writing a book about caregiving for my adoring and abusive father, and people often asked if it felt cathartic to me. I found myself perpetually confused by the question as it seemed to reduce the writing of such a book into a series of tawdry diary entries or the like. So much more was at stake, and so much more was involved.

Of course, I trusted that the question was well-intended and that people asked because they wanted to know that I was OK—they wanted the reassurance of healing. And in some cases, they wanted to know if they themselves set out to write whether they, too, might be able to expect catharsis.

But the problem is that disclosure on its own may not be enough. Neither disclosure nor catharsis are enough. And that’s because the heart of the telling and the heart and art of the healing are firmly rooted in the meaning of the disclosure—or you might say the meaning-making of the catharsis.

As a culture, we are caught up in the allure of the reveal. We see this in happy events like a pregnancy announcement complete with a dramatic gender reveal. We also see it in the titillation that some people have revealing family secrets. But if the real purpose of revealing secrets is to break the silence and initiate a healing process, then what is most transformative goes far beyond the telling. It goes to the kind of acts of resistance and meaning-making that I’ve previously described.

And that’s where we as educators are responsible for not just holding space, but holding students accountable for what and how they share so that it is not gratuitous, but instead meaningful. By doing this, we help students move beyond the paralysis of despair and empower them to change the course of their lives; we walk our students to the farthest edge of courage, all the while helping to ensure that they don’t fall.

Deborah J. Cohan is professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina Beaufort and the author of Welcome to Wherever We Are: A Memoir of Family, Caregiving, and Redemption (Rutgers, 2020).

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Here’s a look at questions about Tim Walz’s military record

Walz’s military record under scrutiny as Vance, GOP question his service

FILE - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, is pictured at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Republicans are questioning Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military record after Vice President Kamala Harris named him as her running mate this week.

Here’s a look at the issue:

He retired before his unit’s deployment to Iraq

Walz served a total of 24 years in various units and jobs in the Army National Guard. But it’s his retirement in 2005 that’s prompting criticism from some Republicans who are suggesting he abandoned his team to pursue a campaign for Congress.

As he ramped up for a congressional bid in 2005, Walz’s campaign in March issued a statement saying he still planned to run despite a possible mobilization of Minnesota National Guard soldiers to Iraq. According to the Guard, Walz retired from service in May of that year.

In August 2005, the Department of the Army issued a mobilization order for Walz’s unit. The unit mobilized in October of that year before it deployed to Iraq in March 2006 .

There is no evidence that Walz timed his departure with the intent of avoiding deployment. But the fact remains that he left ahead of his unit’s departure. In a statement, the Harris campaign pushed back on GOP characterizations of Walz’s service, and also noted that he advocated for veterans once he was elected to the U.S. House.

“After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families,” the campaign said.

Before leaving Detroit, where she and Walz played up their support for organized labor , Harris on Thursday responded to a question about the criticism of her running mate’s record.

“Listen, I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country,” she said. “And I think that we all should.”

Walz didn’t serve in a combat zone

Earlier this week Harris’ campaign circulated on X a 2018 clip of Walz speaking out against gun violence, and saying, “We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.” That comment suggests that Walz portrayed himself as someone who spent time in a combat zone.

According to the Nebraska Army National Guard, Walz enlisted in April 1981 — just two days after his 17th birthday — and entered service as an infantryman, completing a 12-week Army infantry basic training course before graduating from high school.

While attending the University of Houston in 1985, he was reclassified as a field artillery cannoneer as a member of the Texas Army National Guard, later serving as an instructor with the Arkansas Army National Guard.

In 1987, Walz returned to Nebraska’s Guard detachment, continuing field artillery assignments while he completed a college degree. By 1996, he transferred to the Minnesota Army National Guard. In 2003, he deployed to Italy in a support position of active military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he was not in a combat zone himself.

“Do not pretend to be something that you’re not,” Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said Wednesday as he campaigned in Michigan. “I’d be ashamed if I was saying that I lied about my military service like you did.”

Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating high school, serving four years as a combat correspondent, a type of military journalist, and deploying to Iraq in that capacity in 2005.

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Neither Trump nor Harris has served in the U.S. military. Trump received a series of deferments during Vietnam, including one attained with a physician’s letter stating that he suffered from bone spurs in his feet.

The Harris campaign statement said Walz “would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country” and “thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way.”

What about his rank?

Harris’ campaign has referred to Walz as a “retired Command Sergeant Major,” one of the top ranks for an enlisted soldier. He did in fact achieve that rank, but personnel files show he was reduced in rank months after retiring. That left him as a master sergeant for benefits purposes.

Minnesota National Guard officials have said that Walz retired before completing coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, along with other requirements associated with his promotion.

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Trenton Daniel and Richard Lardner contributed to this report.

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Trump rally shooter Thomas Crooks: Neighbors, classmates, employer speak

A 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania fired multiple shots at former President Donald Trump at a rally on Saturday evening.

A bullet grazed the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's upper right ear , leaving him bloodied but not seriously injured. One rally attendee was killed in the gunfire and two others were "critically injured," authorities later said.

Here's what we know:

Who is the shooter at the rally?

The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the person behind the assassination attempt. Agency officials released little additional information, saying its investigation remains active and ongoing. They did not indicate what Crooks' motive might have been.

Crooks worked at a nearby nursing home. An administrator there told USA TODAY that the company was shocked to learn of the shooting and that Crooks had passed a background check for his job.

What did Thomas Crooks do at the crime scene?

During the shooting Saturday, Trump's right ear was injured, seconds before he was whisked off stage by Secret Service personnel.  One man attending the rally was killed  and two others were injured; Crooks was then killed by Secret Service agents , authorities said.

FBI special agent Kevin Rojek said on a call with media Sunday afternoon that authorities found "a suspicious device" when they searched the shooter's vehicle. Bomb technicians inspected the device and rendered it safe. 

"I'm not in a position to provide any expertise on the specific components of any potential bombs or suspicious packages," Rojek added. 

Rojek said law enforcement is sending the rifle and Crooks' cell phone, along with other evidence, to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia "for processing and exploitation."

"We're in the process of searching his phone," Rojek said.

Maps and graphics: What happened in the Trump assassination attempt

What is Crooks' background?

Crooks is registered to vote as a Republican in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, according to county voter records. His voter registration status has been active since 2021.

Federal Election Commission records show that in January 2021, Crooks made a $15 donation to the Progressive Turnout Project, a group working to increase voter turnout for Democrats.

Born Sept. 20, 2003, Crooks does not have a criminal record in Pennsylvania, nor has he been sued there, according to state court records. There is no record of him in federal court databases, either.

Where did Thomas Crooks work?

Crooks worked as a dietary aid, a job that generally involves food preparation, at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, less than a mile from his home. In a statement provided to USA TODAY on Sunday, Marcie Grimm, the facility's administrator, said she was "shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement."

"Thomas Matthew Crooks performed his job without concern and his background check was clean," Grimm said. "We are fully cooperating with law enforcement officials at this time. Due to the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further on any specifics. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Former President Trump and the victims impacted by this terrible tragedy. We condemn all acts of violence."

The facility is owned by Kennett Square, Pennsylvania-based Genesis Healthcare. A job posting from the company for a dietary aid in the Pittsburgh area puts the pay at $16 an hour.

Thomas Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania

Crooks' home address is listed in Bethel Park, a suburb in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, voter records show. That three-bedroom brick house has been owned since 1998 by Matthew and Mary Crooks, who appear to be his parents. Telephone calls to the couple were not returned overnight.

Near the Crooks home, Dean Sierka, 52, said he had known Crooks and his parents for years, as neighbors separated by only a few houses. Sierka’s daughter attended school with Crooks from elementary school through Bethel Park High School, and said she remembers him as quiet and shy.

Dean and his daughter said they would see Crooks at least once a week, often when Crooks was walking to work.

“You wouldn’t have expected this,” Dean Sierka said. “The parents and the family are all really nice people.”

At Bethel Park High School

Thomas Crooks graduated two years ago from Bethel Park High School, the Bethel Park School District confirmed. He was included in a 2022 local news article about recipients of a National Math & Science Initiative Star Award at the public high school, which enrolls about 1,300 students.

Jason Kohler attended Bethel Park High School with Crooks and said he remembers the 20-year-old sat alone at lunch and was “bullied almost every day.” Kids picked on Crooks for wearing camouflage to class and his quiet demeanor, Kohler, 21, said.

Since hearing Crooks has been named as the shooter, Kohler has been speaking with classmates who knew him, most of whom are stunned by the news.“It’s really hard to comprehend,” he said.

Sean Eckert said he went to school with Crooks from 5th through 12th grade. He said Crooks always went by “Tom.“

They shared classes together in elementary and middle school. Eckert said Crooks, though "fairly smart," was quiet and rarely spoke up.

Eckert said Crooks did not seem to have many friends. He didn't recall Crooks being playing any sports, being involved in any clubs or student groups or going to popular campus events. He often wore hunting clothes, so Eckert assumed he hunted.

No one in Eckert's group text from high school seemed to know Crooks very well, he said. They were shocked that someone from their town had done this. They were even more surprised that it was Tom Crooks.

Nursing aide turned sniper: Thomas Crooks' mysterious plot to kill Trump

The gaming-oriented online site Discord said Sunday that it had found an account that appeared to be linked to the shooting suspect. The site removed the account, which “was rarely utilized, has not been used in months, and we have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident, promote violence, or discuss his political views,“ according to a statement from a Discord spokesperson, adding that the company will coordinate closely with law enforcement.

Crooks was a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, a shooting club about 8 miles from his home. It is a sprawling complex of 180 acres with rifle, pistol and archery ranges, an area for dog training and a clubhouse, according to the club website.An attorney for the club, Robert Bootay III, confirmed Crooks' membership in an email to USA TODAY, but would not offer additional details.

Where is Bethel Park, Pennsylvania?

Bethel Park is a suburb of Pittsburgh and home to more than 32,000 people – about one thousand fewer than four years ago, according to the latest Census estimates. 

The majority-white, mostly college-educated community has a median household income of $102,177. 

Described as a charming retreat from the hustle and bustle of the big city to its north, Bethel Park boasts tree-line streets, friendly neighborhoods and a low crime rate.

Bethel Park is about 42 miles south of Butler, where the Trump rally was held. The leafy suburban street was alive with law enforcement overnight amid a multi-agency response to the shooting. A member of the Allegheny County bomb squad told reporters his team was headed into the house around midnight, but did not say why.

For hours afterward, the scene remained quiet, with deer passing under the police tape and an occasional neighbor stepping out of their house to see what was happening.

John Wolf, a local construction superintendent who lives down the road, said he’d talked with several worried neighbors.

“People are scared,” Wolf said.

How did Crooks shoot at Trump?

Crooks had been positioned on a rooftop more than 100 yards from the rally site, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said. Law enforcement recovered an AR-style rifle from the scene.

Joseph Price, special agent in charge of the ATF in Pittsburgh, said the weapon used by the shooter was a rifle.“It was nothing special,” he said in an interview in the parking lot of the Butler Township Municipal Building.

Law enforcement is following up on a “number of suspicious occurrences,” said Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police, including accounts from witnesses who said they tried to flag police about the activity of a person outside the rally moments before the shooting.

The FBI said in a news release that the situation “remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or videos online at  FBI.gov/butler  or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

Contributing: Stephanie Warsmith, Tim Evans, Aysha Bagchi, Jessica Guynn, Bryce Buyakie

Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025

The former president and his backers aim to strengthen the power of the White House and limit the independence of federal agencies.

Donald J. Trump intends to bring independent regulatory agencies under direct presidential control. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times

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By Jonathan Swan Charlie Savage and Maggie Haberman

• Published July 17, 2023 Updated July 18, 2023

Donald J. Trump and his allies are planning a sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government if voters return him to the White House in 2025, reshaping the structure of the executive branch to concentrate far greater authority directly in his hands.

Their plans to centralize more power in the Oval Office stretch far beyond the former president’s recent remarks that he would order a criminal investigation into his political rival, President Biden, signaling his intent to end the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence from White House political control.

Mr. Trump and his associates have a broader goal: to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House, according to a review of his campaign policy proposals and interviews with people close to him.

Mr. Trump intends to bring independent agencies — like the Federal Communications Commission, which makes and enforces rules for television and internet companies, and the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces various antitrust and other consumer protection rules against businesses — under direct presidential control.

He wants to revive the practice of “impounding” funds, refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated for programs a president doesn’t like — a tactic that lawmakers banned under President Richard Nixon.

He intends to strip employment protections from tens of thousands of career civil servants, making it easier to replace them if they are deemed obstacles to his agenda. And he plans to scour the intelligence agencies, the State Department and the defense bureaucracies to remove officials he has vilified as “the sick political class that hates our country.”

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