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In this episode, Dan explains how behaviour management effects not just learning, but lifelong learning.
Episode 55 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Show notes
Things to avoid
- Yell at a student… ok to raise your voice to get attention but yelling at a student is not ok
- Avoid belittling students in front of others… try and address behaviour separate from the main class
- Avoid favouritism and sarcasm
You are the authority in the classroom responsible for their safety, so do address unsafe behaviour quickly and appropriately
Students learn better in a safe and respectful environement
- Our goal is to have a safe and respectful environment for our students
- We need to set the example of respectful interactions.
- I have seen many times where teachers demand obedience and respect without giving any to the student
- It is particularly hard to do this when a student is already being disrespectful
It all starts with expectations
- Make sure you set everything up well at the beginning of the year and remind students of the expectations frequently
- Possibly mention each relevant section for each lesson
- Then stick to what has been set up, but apply it with equity NOT equally
- Explain “fair” to the students it will help them understand your approach
Address root-causes NOT just the symptoms
- Poor behaviour is often the result of something else this could be:
- Feeling disempowered
- Broken relationships (family, romantic, friends etc)
- Medical reasons
- Learning difficulties
- Boredom
- Etc
Provide a correct way they could address the cause
- Once the root is identified, provide the student with various ways they could have expressed or addressed this that is safe and respectful:
- Make a clear statement
- Ask the teacher for help
- Alert the teacher of a need to “escape”
- Organise a meeting to address the issue
- etc
Restore relationships – Where appropriate
- Have the person who was disrespected or worse provide a description of what they would like to happen to the student (not that it will happen but to identify the level of offense etc)
- Hold meetings with the students that seek to allow both sides to communicate their perspective on what happened, and how it made them feel.
- Try to develop empathy and perspective with each student or even the teacher and the student and find a solution that will allow them to move forward
- Consequences should still follow and should aim to help restore the relationship that has been broken, and develop the student’s maturity.
Students learn through the issue
- Not only does poor behaviour impact the classroom, but it is important to remember that students will learn how to deal with conflict by how you model it to them.
- We are teaching students how to modify their behaviour to be respectful and safe and they are learning
- The system is against us. If kids have been sitting still for 6 hours, you are bound to have a difficult last period of the day… so plan for it. Do something that meets them where they are.
Fantastic, so informative and many constructive ideas for staff.