I have been taking a classroom management course at Walden University. Through our discussions and content I have begun to considered how I would handle a student who is defiant or is displaying frequent behavior issues.
I do not usually have behavior issues in my class because we spend a lot of time moving around. This means that for all you parents who are concerned about how your very active child will do in my class, you need not worry. I actually prefer students who are active and energetic because it goes so well with my high energy class environment. Now granted, there are the occasional minor disruptions where a student becomes excited and needs to be refocused. But these are not really what I am going to discuss in this blog.
I am the type of person who does not really appreciate it when people correct me openly in front others. Call me crazy, but I kind of get embarrassed and a little frustrated at the person correcting me for being so insensitive to my feelings. I would much rather that my corrector bring their issue to my attention respectfully and discreetly. As it turns out I am not the only one who feels this way; so do the students. Since this is the case, I have decided that in the event that a student displays frequent misbehavior I will do my very best to handle the situation as discreet as I can. Dr. Vern and Louise Jones explain that one method for handling misbehavior is to make contact quietly with the student. I feel that this is important because it shows the student that your relationship with them is important. You care about how they feel, and the truth is that I do. This contact could be done in many different ways. One is to simply look at the student. Dr. Vern and Louise Jones describe another where I use my proximity to the student to help him or her refocus. The way that I prefer is one where none of the other students would notice at all. I imagine this method happening while the rest of the class is working on the assignment and I would be able to talk with the student at my or their desk. Remember the goal here is to be so conscious of the student’s feelings that we respectfully approach the child in a way that will not be embarrassing, but rather the student will see the respect I am showing them and they will reciprocate it.
In these sessions where the student and I are discussing what the behavioral issue is and how it is affecting the class, I would like to create a plan for better behavior. The plan is really a set of goals and techniques that the student and I create which will help them to overcome their behavioral issues. I believe that since this process is done in a problem-solving way the student will not feel threatened and will feel a sense of investment. We will work on it together - their input will be treated with the same level of consideration as mine. As we go through this process I would inform the parents and get their input as well. I am confident that in presenting the idea of a behavioral plan where the student is able to contribute, the student will feel a sense of responsibility and respect for themself and me. Somethings that I might consider for the student’s plan is, as implied by Dr. Vern and Louise Jones, to take a short break when they start to feel frustrated. Another might be to allow the student to stand while they work.
Once this plan is discussed I would like to actually create a little contract that the student, the principle, and I all sign. Then I could laminate it and give it back to the student or maybe put it some where in my room. I think that this is a very fun and yet serious way of showing our commitment to the new behavioral plan.
The last thing that I will do with the student is to do some follow-up. I could take the student out of regular class for a few minutes and see how they are doing. Another place where this would work very well is during lunch. The truth is that the student may actually consider me eating lunch with them as a reward.
Which brings me to my last point: it is imperative that the student feel as though they are moving forward in this process. I would do my best to encourage and verbally acknowledge them in class and out. I could imagine myself writing, as suggested in a Laureate Education video, a positive referral to the principal where the student is sent to the office to be rewarded for their good behavior.
References
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Creating an effective classroom learning environment [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
