Early this fall a new student was added to our seventh grade class roster. After hearing terrible stories about him and his behaviors as well as learning about his 2 out- of- school suspensions during the first three weeks of school I was particularly worried. This particular student is violent, disruptive, and rude.
Despite all of these problems, this student is not classified in any way nor does he have in-class support. His intelligence takes leaps and bounds over any child in the class and because of his intelligence he is placed in all enriched classes. He is at the top of every class. However, he has behaviors that constantly disrupt the class. For example, he calls out, taps things with a pen, hits (students and teachers), gets up and walks around. He “gets into people’s faces” and, worst of all, he disrupts every other student in the class. He’s a powder keg and at a moment’s notice he is capable of having a major explosion. Any amount of confrontation or singling out will cause him to explode. He has already hit a teacher and guidance counselor as well as poked me with a ruler as I walked by his desk. He is a distraction to other students and their learning but has yet to be removed from our classroom or school because of his high intelligence.
If you were put in the situation of teaching this child in this particular class how would you handle him? What type of tactics would you use to control this students behavior?
As a 7th grade team we have met and come up with strategies such as:
- giving him 5 opportunities to raise his hand and speak,
- putting 3 post-its on his desk
- removing one every time he speaks
- asking him to do things around the classroom.
None of these strategies appear to work and as the days go on he becomes more of a distraction. What recommendations would you make to me as the student teacher and the classroom teacher in order to prevent this disruption?
I would like to know the rewards and ramifications of the strategies you and the other members of the 7th grade team have put in place. In light of our HIB training last Tuesday, I am also very curious - as this child's physical and verbal behavior is obviously interfering with every other student’s (and teachers’) day of learning - about the role of your school' s HIB team in this case. Without this information, it is a little difficult to offer advice, however, I would speak with the student (as the student teacher), initiate contact with his parents or guardian (as the cooperating teacher), and continue to document all incidents.
ReplyDeleteI have a student in 6th grade who is very similar sounding to the one you are describing. For now, his behavior has improved and he is supported by an in class aide. I think the strategies you are attempting are good but obviously seem to have reached their full potential. I would expect his behavior to be escalated to administration, a meeting to be held with the parent, and a discussion would be held about how to address this situation. Perhaps this student would be better off in an alternative school where his behavior issues could be better managed. He sounds like a potential danger to his fellow classmates and teachers. In addition, his learning is being impacted (as well as everyone else's) due to his behaviorial issues. I think this needs to go to the next level for proper resolution.
ReplyDeleteI think that once the situation escalates to where a student is resorting to physical violence, they have to be taken out of a typical classroom. At my school we have a program called flex where students with some of the same behaviors you have stated above are put in an inclosed classroom. I think though if your school does not ave this option I would try a token system similar to what you have. I would try to ignore the negative behaviors and try to make a really big deal when he did something good. I would also document everything you have attempted to do. I would also have constant contact with the child study team and or guidance counselors for the child.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking with the guidance counselor and scheduling a parent-teacher conference as soon as possible seems like the most logical answer to the situation. But aside from that, it seems that this student's reactions might also be due to the fact he does not respond well to being in a regular classroom setting. If this is the case, then even incentives might not work well and procedures like the sticky notes might only encourage the student to act out due to frustration. Singling out does not seem like a picture perfect solution, but maybe if he is given separate work and "allowed" to work apart from the class, both parties might benefit. In fact, it's a possibility the alienation might cause him to listen in on the class and then try and respond, to which a teacher could possibly use contribution as an incentive."
ReplyDeleteThe Gramma Edi comment above was contributed by Matthew Haines and posted by Dr. Ries
ReplyDelete