R is for ranting. I wrote this blog a year ago... I am pulling it out now because I am exhausted and don't have the energy to think up an awesome blog to impress you. So enjoy...
I am going to talk about a problem that I face almost every day as a substitute teacher. Every classroom has a student with behavior problems. Some classroom have multiple students, some only have one. I have found that EVERY classroom has at least one. Sometimes the teachers leave a note warning you about the student, and other times they like you to just have fun figuring that out on your own.
The problem I have, is how the school district handles these students. For example. I recently subbed for a 2nd grade class. There was a problem student that I wasn’t warned about. Sometimes, when I am given a heads-up, I immediately approach that student and comment on their work. Flooding a “troubled” student with praises is sometimes all it takes for a sub to make it through the day. All I need to do is stand over her/him and say, “Oh my gosh, you ROCK at that! I can’t believe you have completed that much already, and look...they are right!” After filling that student with praises, only makes them want more, in turn they work harder. I also ask that student questions I might have throughout the day, to make them feel special or make them feel like a leader. Ninety-five percent of the time, this works well. Not only is the “trouble-maker” eating out of my hands, but they are working hard. I can’t tell you how many paraprofessionals have commented on how amazed they are, saying things like: “I have never seen her/him act that good! I have never seen her/him work so hard and complete his/her work!” Don’t worry, I am not letting my head swell. I am fully aware that this is easy on a short-term basis. If I were the everyday classroom teacher, the compliments and encouragement may wear off a bit. I understand that. So when I am NOT warned, I am not really able to approach it with this attitude. Back to the story. So I was in the second grade class and had a problem student that I wasn‘t warned about. So we go out to recess, and I see this student punch another student. I immediately run over and tell him that is NOT acceptable behavior and that he needs to come with me. He turns to me and screams, “SHUT UP!” Stunned, I step back. He heads the other direction. He is walking, and I am walking behind him telling him he needs to stop. He turns at screams at me again to shut up. I continue to follow him. One of the other teachers on duty sees me and approaches me saying, “He does this all the time, it is best to just let him go and ignore the behavior.”
Therein lies the problem.
I’m sorry. A child that punches another student, and screams at me to shut up, gets ignored? Please tell me your kidding. I ignore her and continue to follow him. I follow him into the school, through the cafeteria, down the hall, past the front office (where I poke my head in and inform them they have a student walking out the front door), and through the front door. I am jogging to keep up with his fast pace. I am pleading with him to stop. Finally the principal runs up to me and says, “I will take it from here.” She walks over to him, where he screams at her. She says a few things to him and then walks him over to me. She said, “I am going to take him to the playroom to wind down.” For those of you that aren’t familiar with the schools today, many of them have a padded room. They call it many different things, but basically it is a room that has padded walls and a jungle gym or exercise equipment of some kind. They have this room available for kids to work off a little energy...kids that misbehave for the most part. Excellent, lets reward them with their own special room. So she takes him.
I am standing there half stunned. Where the hell is my apology? Let me explain what the school system has resorted to for whatever reason. They take the out-of-control kids, and the allow them to treat teachers, adults, and other students like crap, and they just turn the other way because that is just how he is. You know what? I bet I can fix him the old fashioned way...the way they did it when I was a kid. Grab me a three inch thick piece of wood and I guarantee you I will fix him. No, No, No, the better solution is to let him go play for a while. Then send him back to the class to repeat the episode when he wants to go play again. Excellent. God, we are smart.
Am I the only one that thinks this is absurd? I mean this isn’t just a little odd. This is preposterous! What does that teach them? I will tell you what it teaches them. It teaches them to continue the behavior, because not only do they not get punished like all the other kids, but the get to have free time away from the class and away from work. So instead of fixing the problem, we are encouraging it.
I want to make it very clear that I am not talking about SPED kids (thats a whole other blog topic). I am talking about kids with behavior issues...aka good old brats. I know this is going to be one of my biggest challenges as a teacher. Being politically correct. I struggle with it now. Maybe it is the way I was raised, maybe it is because I am old fashioned. But allowing children to control adults is setting them up for failure as an adult. We are teaching them they will always get their way. We are teaching them they don’t have to follow the same rules as anyone else. We are labeling them “problem kid,” which will follow them through high school. We are allowing them to think disrespect, anger, frustration, and childish behavior is acceptable in society. They need to have consequences for the outlandish behavior. By consequences, I don’t mean reward.
I am definitely going to need prayers when it comes time for me to have my own classroom. From the moment they meet me, they will understand where my boundaries are. I absolutely WILL NOT allow a student to stand up in my classroom and make a scene because it’s just the way he is. I WILL NOT allow a student to talk disrespectfully to me or to another student. I will draw those lines on day one. They will be clear. I really feel that if the rules are clear from the beginning, maybe I won’t have as much of a problem. I am fully aware I am going to still have these challenging kids in my classroom. Part of that excites me as a teacher. I WANT to be able to have a challenge. If a teacher isn’t challenged, then what fun is teaching? I want to make a difference in the lives of EVERY student. Not just the ones that behave, but the ones that don’t too. I want to show these students that boundaries are important. I want them to get an education, they deserve that. I understand there are rules by law that I will have to follow, and of course they will be followed. I just think there is a better way to handle these kids. I WILL be successful. I WILL love these special children. They will KNOW I love them. They will KNOW I respect them enough to encourage them to behave. In school I had a teacher that didn’t take crap from NO ONE. Ya know what? She is the reason I went to school to be a teacher. She made a difference. Even the kids that were behavioral problems, were perfect in her class. I want to have that kind of influence on a student. THAT is my goal. I am going to make a difference. I am going to fill these trouble makers with love and compliments. I am going to be understanding to their needs, but I am not going to lie to them. I am not going to let them carry on this label of “problem kid”. It ends in my class. I will make each of them my goal for the year. Wish me luck and pray for me.
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