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This question was sent to me via email and I thought I’d post it and the answer to this blog in case other teachers are having similar difficulties.

Question: This is my 3rd year teaching, and I’ve taught 1st grade for all 3 years.  I need some more ideas for managing classroom behavior.  My kids are great, but there are 3 of them that need extra attention. I’ve been doing the stop light thing the past couple years, but I don’t really care for it, and for the kids that are my behavior problems…it doesn’t seem to be working.  I talk to all their parents on a regular basis, but I want to take a different approach on handling their disruptions.  As for the girl,  she has great potential, but she does not stay focused on anything, which causes her to get into trouble several times throughout the day.  If there is any advice or ideas that you can give me I would be very grateful.

Answer:

Student misbehavior can occur for the following reasons (and more):

A) The child is bored

B) The child is frustrated - work is either too easy or too hard (or at least the child perceives that it is too easy or too hard)

C) The child is dealing with issues at home and is releasing pent up feelings in the classroom

D) The child is not used to structure and being held accountable for his/her actions and is rebelling against them in the classroom

E) The child is trying to get your attention

Trying to identify the root of the misbehavior is a good first step towards determining how to redirect that student in more positive ways.

Secondly, ask yourself - do you focus more on misbehavior and consequences or on positive behavior? Putting the focus on positive behavior often motivates students who misbehave to get their act together. I do not mean that you should implement a reward system in the classroom if you do not already have one, but rather take the time to compliment students on their good behavior and offer lots of praise. With students who typically misbehave, it is especially important to effusively praise when you catch them doing something positive in the classroom - making a good choice, working hard, cooperating, following directions, etc. Reward systems, when properly implemented, can be a big motivator to students.

One strategy I especially like for younger students can be implemented with your traffic signal system already in place. Give each student a large popsicle stick. At the end of each day, students who are still on “green” get a sticker. When the stick is full on both sides with stickers (usually 10 or so), the child gets to choose something from a treasure chest (or gets a certificate to take home). This type of system allows students who misbehave to have an equal chance at earning a reward. It may take that child longer, but he/she still has the opportunity to earn the stickers for their popsicle stick. This is much better than a system that takes away a reward for misbehavior occurring during the day or week. (That kind of system is actually a negative/consequence type system posing as a positive reinforcement system.)

Next, do you notice the child having difficulty with the work or showing signs of frustration? Think back over the past several months. Have you seen frustration in the child’s face and actions? Often, if a child is frustrated on a daily basis, there comes a time when they no longer try to do the work (or even try to behave), but instead give up before even starting. You might see signs of this if a child pushes away a paper or refuses to work on it at all. This kind of behavior can even be a hold-over from the previous year of school. With a child who is frustrated or feeling “stupid,” it is vital that you build up success stories for him/her. Praise, praise, praise every time you see the child succeeding at something.

You also need to monitor how quickly different children complete their work. Many bright students get into a lot of trouble because they finish their work quickly, or it is so easy they are bored immediately. When bored, the child begins to focus on other students, what is happening outside, a new book in the book corner, etc. Usually children tend to focus their attention on others either to “tattle,” offer “help” on the work, or simply irritate in the hopes of getting something to happen that would be more fun than sitting bored. To alleviate this problem, work on bringing in activities that are more challenging to these kids. Jigsaw puzzles, mazes, brain-teasers, and any kind of puzzle are great sources of challenging work that also stimulate higher brain activity. Offer these as “rewards” for students who finish their work early. This may motivate those who don’t focus on their work to get it done quickly and correctly so they get a chance to work a jigsaw puzzle or maze. Have a variety of easy to difficult puzzles available as you will have different levels of ability. If the puzzles are too easy, you are back to square one with the boredom issue. You can find word, math, and logic puzzles for children on the MENSA website and different gifted/talented websites through a Google search.

If you have a child you feel is dealing with other issues at home that are affecting his/her behavior in school, go see the counselor and get advice from him/her on how to handle the situation.

Children who are not used to structure at home have a difficult time adjusting in the classroom. The best thing you can do for these and all of your children is to have a set of expectations and procedures (routines) that occur in your classroom every day. Write these on posters and post them around the room. Then be consistent in following them every day. If students do not follow the expectations and/or procedures, stop what you are doing immediately and remind students of what they are supposed to be doing. Practice, if necessary, until students follow the expectation or procedure correctly. Do not hesitate in taking time to do this during class. You are reinforcing the fact that students must follow the structure and guidelines you have set up in your classroom. When students see that sometimes you make them follow the expectations, but not always, it gives them room to goof off and not follow directions. It also gives the message that the expectations and procedures are not as important as you led them to believe. This reduces the effect of any statements you make to your students because they no longer fully believe what you say.

Think about it this way — Let’s say you are in a small town and run a red light with a cop sitting at the intersection. The cop pulls you over, but just gives you a warning. The next time the cop doesn’t pull you over at all, but lets you get away with it. A third time the cop warns you again, but you never get a ticket. How likely are you to keep running that red light? Do you think the cop will let you get away with anything else - like not having a drivers license or stealing a coke from the convenience store? Who knows? He/she has already shown that the rules are treated haphazardly. You might even be tempted to try something else after a while just to see what happens. Your trust and respect for the authority of the cop is basically gone. Now, what if you were given a $250 ticket the first time you ran the red light? Would you be a little more careful? Let’s say the cop gave you a second ticket for $250 and warned that the third time your license would be taken away. Would you believe him/her? Wouldn’t you be more likely to stop at the red light because you know the cop means business and will not let you get away with anything? You have a firm trust that this cop will do what he/she says because of his/her past track record with you. It is the same in the classroom. Our track record speaks louder than our words.

Lastly, if you feel you have a student or two who are misbehaving to get your attention, then it is time to turn that around and only give “attention” when the student is behaving correctly. Does this mean that you ignore the misbehavior? Absolutely not. However, do not draw attention to the misbehavior. Quietly and quickly give the consequence without arguing with the student, and then move on. Don’t raise your voice or spend extra time with the student. Conversely, when the student does something well or behaves exactly as you have asked, be exuberant in your praise! Spend extra time telling the student what a great job he/she did or how proud you are that he/she followed directions. Give a huge smile, a hug, and a thumbs up. Go overboard with your praise. This sends the message to that child that you will give him/her far more attention when they behave correctly than when they misbehave. Once you see a consistent change in behavior, continue praising, but taper it down a bit so that the child does not grow dependent on always hearing praise for every little thing he/she does.

I know that this is a lot of advice, but unfortunately it is difficult for me to know exactly what issues you are facing with these three students. The issues I’ve listed above are the most common. However, please keep in mind that unless you have the basic building blocks for positive classroom discipline, ie- expectations, procedures, and training/consistency in those expectations and procedures, no amount of “strategies” will help correct the situation. If you do not have this in place, it is never too late to start. If you do have this in place, remember that every child is different. It is the interaction between you and the students and between the students themselves that creates a positive classroom environment. While you are responsible for putting in place the foundation, the students must do their part as well. You may be dealing with a child who is particularly stubborn, frustrating, and unreachable. If this is the case, you can only do your best. Some years are simply more challenging in terms of dealing with misbehaviors and no matter what we do, it remains challenging. I deal with those years by doing my very best to reach my kids and remembering that come June they will move on and I will get to start over with a new batch of kids.

Another resource I highly recommend is Jim Fay’s book, “Teaching with Love and Logic.” You can find his book on www.amazon.com.

Anyone else have ideas to share with this and other teachers? I’d love to hear your comments!