The Kid Whisperer Podcast Featuring Scott Ervin and Pat Kiely: Episode 22
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Topics in this episode include:
I am a 2nd-year fourth grade teacher. I have read your book and have been very eager to implement ideas from it. However, I have come to a standstill on how to help two students in my classroom. Let's start with the first one. This student will often refuse to do work. I have a "Nows" and "Laters" board, and anytime he tries to do a Later I try to remind him to do the Nows first, but then he will just shut down and start crying. I have been in communication with his mom and she is noticing the same behaviors at home with homework. I have tried using Noticing Statements with him and extra practicing. He thrives one-on-one attention, but I simply cannot give him this with 20 other students in my classroom.
Okay, now for the other student! This particular student has a major behavior problem. He cannot self-regulate his emotions. He will use our mindfulness center, but more often than not, he is there for an entire lesson if not the whole day. He gets very frustrated when he does not know how to do something and that is when his behavior gets intense with ripping papers, throwing things, and crying uncontrollably. He loves positive reinforcement, and I try to be proactive by giving him our mindfulness activities on a piece of paper that is taped to his desk. However, at the moment, he cannot seem to calm down and this has caused a major disruption in our classroom environment as I cannot teach because I need to try to calm him down.
I’ve been teaching 28 years. 20+ have been in Art. I see most of my students for 3-5 consecutive days a month. I just bought The Classroom Behavior Manual after being advised that I am too harsh with my students. (It sounds like you were teaching in the same environment that I work in.) How do I make your approach work in four 50 minute periods and resume a month later?