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I first heard about this technique as a college student in my own pre-service teacher program, but I haven’t seen the term around since then, so I thought it was worth re-circulating it for any teacher who hasn’t heard of it.
Here’s how it works: Imagine you’re in class and you start to notice the very early signs of a problem; maybe a student is getting fidgety, two students are irritating each other, or a student seems to be feeling extra anxious or overstimulated.
In this situation, you might think you only have two options: The first would be to ignore it. Doing this is often the best choice, because it allows you and the rest of the class to continue on, and the issue might just go away on its own. On the other hand, it might not, and if you know your students well—which is the foundation of all good classroom management—you’ll quickly learn which situations are ignorable and which are true warnings of bigger problems on the horizon. The second option would be to address the behavior directly. Doing this might solve the problem on the spot, but if the student is having a really bad day or is quick to get defensive, it might actually escalate things. This approach also interrupts whatever is happening with the rest of the class and could draw extra attention to the student, which could end up making them go twice as hard with whatever they were doing.
So I’m offering you a third option, an additional tool you might opt to use in these situations: the antiseptic bounce. When you see small early signs of off-task behavior or indications that a student might be headed toward an anxious or overstimulated emotional state, give that student something to do—maybe ask them to return a book to the library or take a paper to the office—something that will get them out of the classroom for just a few minutes to reset. You can even make something up, maybe set up an agreement with another teacher in advance that any time a student brings a copy of Beowulf to their room, they are actually on an antiseptic bounce and that teacher should act like they were expecting the book.
Just in case the name of this strategy doesn’t make sense to you, here’s a quick explanation: the bounce is the departure, the sending them out of the room. It’s antiseptic because things that have antiseptic properties slow the growth of microorganisms that cause infection; in other words, they prevent bigger problems from happening. By the way, I didn’t make this term up—Google it—but I think it’s kind of catchy.
A couple of notes on using this strategy: (1) It’s important that you act as if you’re sending the student on a legitimate errand, not that you are deliberately removing them from class as a punishment. Sending a message of “punishment” will likely only make things worse. (2) You also don’t want to give students the impression that you are rewarding the “bounced” student for being off-task; the move should be very subtle and done as if you just chose the student at random. If you do it before the behavior is obvious to the rest of the class, that will be easy to accomplish. (3) This is NOT for problems that are already big. If a student is clearly becoming hostile, violent, or visibly upset in a way that would need more care, other actions would be more appropriate. It is also only for situations where it would be safe for that student to be walking the halls of your school: If the student is very emotional or angry, they need to still be supervised for their own safety and the safety of others.
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I’ve used this strategy for the last 9 years…but had never heard of Antiseptic Bounce! In the district where I work, we call it “Pipe thread”, which doesn’t exist! Kids are sent to a teacher on the other side of the building. The originating teacher starts with a pass that notes “Pipe thread” and the time and the first teacher to go to and the rest of the teachers track the student from there. Depending on the kid and how they’re doing, we may continue to send them back and forth across the building until they have been to a number of teachers. It’s a great strategy for when the teacher needs a time out too!
Hi Jennie! I held on to your comment for a few days because I wanted to reply thoughtfully, then Adrienne (see below) added her thoughts and the link to the “Red Folder” film, and she articulated perfectly what I wanted to say. When I used the word “act,” I was hesitant, because I never wanted to send the message that we were trying to dupe students in any way. Watching the Red Folder makes it clear how confusing and painful that can be. I can’t quite tell from your description of the Pipe Thread whether it’s done in the same spirit as the Red Folder or not, but the idea of a student going back and forth across the building, while their teachers are the only ones in on the real story, is troubling. My hope is that anyone who uses a strategy like this does it with the goal of helping the student reset so they can rejoin the classroom as quickly as possible, and that it’s always done with the student’s dignity intact. Again, this may be exactly how your colleagues are doing this, and I may have misinterpreted the spirit of it, but just in case, I thought I should offer this caution.
Thanks, very helpful
At one point I checked out the heaviest book in our school library and had an agreement with a teacher on the other end of the building. We sent that book back and forth as needed to provide our students subtle breaks. Love this term for that!
YES! I had an agreement with the curriculum specialist that I would need the entire box of fountas and pinnell assessments sent back and forth when it was time for an antiseptic bounce. It was really helpful.
LOVE THIS! I’ve never heard anything like it before (if it was shared previously, I missed it), and I was so impressed I shared with my entire co-faculty. I’ve already heard back from a few that they are glad to hear the strategy. I’ve actually got a list of students 😉 that I’ll be using this with, so thank you, again.
Glad you found it helpful, Elizabeth!
We have used this strategy with a few of our three/four-year-olds. We do it in the classroom setting because the child is not old enough to move through the building without an adult. It usually works beautifully because the child doesn’t feel “disciplined” and is excited to be helping the teacher.
I like this idea. I use a modified version inside my classroom (due to covid we have limited access to other school spaces like hallways etc) by asking a student to help me inside the classroom with something (yes, I often make these up). Ideally, I’d like to have a system with word or picture prompts that I can place on the student’s desks (if I’m otherwise engaged) directing them to alternative task (such as: Library check, Centre pencil container check…etc). This is a work in progress….thank you for the resource.
This strategy can work for young children in elementary school but should be used with caution for older students in middle and high school. Older students can generally sense when an errand is really necessary vs. just a cover for another purpose. They will eventually figure out if you’re just asking them to do a fake errand, and the consequences of that could be costly if they realize we aren’t being honest with them. With older students, it would be better to have an honest conversation beforehand with them about using this strategy. That way, they know the true reason they’re being asked to deliver that item. Involving them in the problem solving process and getting their input would be a more respectful way to treat our students, rather than “acting” like we’re sending them on a legitimate errand.
This is a short film called Red Folder, which shows how using the antiseptic bounce strategy could potentially backfire if not used carefully: https://vimeo.com/139254033
Adrienne, we definitely agree that this strategy is meant to support, not punish students, and that the context in which it’s used makes all the difference. We appreciate you sharing this resource as well.
Thanks and welcome
Thanks for sharing that short film. There are so many important messages packed into it.
Another reaction is to give praise to another student who is behaving properly.
Catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
Rules, Approve, Ignore, Discipline.
Lots and lots of praise to the kids who are doing it right is fantastic for everyone, including the emotional energy of the teacher – so often the good kids get ignored and the attention-seeking misbehavior wins.
We do this with a few of our middle school students. There is a large bin of legos that both a social work in the building as well as a speech pathologist use with regularly. At one point, it was going back and forth so often that the speech path and social worker were going to split the tub into two. Instead the OT suggested this be used as an antiseptic bounce. “Student, I was supposed to bring a bin of legos from Mrs. Socialworker to Miss Speechpath. Can you do me a favor and run down to their office and bring that over to the other office, please? Thanks! “. It has worked for so many students in so many situations.