need help with disruptive student

[wei]

I have a student who will not comply with anything :wanders the room at will. Time out results in throwing tantrums and sometimes objects. Reward systems result in the student pushing more limits behaving as if that child is the teacher. The psychologist has been in to observe, and I'm waiting for help there, but in the meantime, today all I did was deal with behaviors, trying to keep other kids safe, and having to physically stop this child from throwing/breaking objects. The worst is that this student is learning very little, the assessments were depressing. Any/all suggestions are welcome. Thankyou.

 

[anonymous]

kindergartner

I had a student last year who would throw screaming tantrums whenever



I had a student that would throw a tantrum every time
she didn't get her way (she wasn't picked first . . she wasn't the line leader . . she didn't get the pencil she wanted). I was very careful about explaining the procedures and I praised students who were patient and caring . . (i.e. "I like the way that Sarah waited for me to pick her. She knows that she can't always be picked first. She is being fair to her classmates"). Every morning I started the day praising something that this student did . . . before anything negative could occur. This student really wanted attention. She would brighten up when I said something wonderful about her. When she threw a tantrum I would follow through on a consequence (five minutes of lost play time). I let her know ahead of time that if she refused to accept consequences for her behavior then she would have to go home. She was sent home one day. The second time she refused to cooperate I told her that she had two choices. She could either sit out for five minutes and then play with her friends or she could go home. She stomped her foot and continued to scream. I blew my whistle. I lined the class up. I told the class that we had to walk to the office because ******** needed to call home. She sat on the bench and yelled "Fine!" and gave me the meanest glare. She sat for her time out. When it was over I told her how glad I was that she had decided to stay at school with us. She suprised me by giving me a hug and then ran off to play.
I also made it a point to sit her next to the most mature student in my classroom. He is socially very mature and is a real helper. He provides reinforcement when she is doing her work. He will tell her what a great job she is doing when she is working quietly (he is a God send). She loves the attention. I tell the class how wonderful it is that they work together as a team. I have the class clap for her and other students when they show superior social skills (i.e. helping a friend, sharing . . . ). Keep working with him/her. Socialization may be the goal this year.

 

[LD]

Helping Children Cope with Anger

Wow, What great ideas last poster. It may be helpful to read the following article under teacher articles at www.kellybear.com .

 

[theresalsr]

disruptive behavior

I do not have many suggestions, as I have the same situation. I have to TRY to teach the other students while I have three who are doing pretty much what you are describing. I can call the parents and get yelled at or wait until one or all of them does an offense serious enough to write an office referral. I must have already contacted the parents and written the office referral before they will come to get them. Our in-house classroom for disruptive students is in agreement with me and say, "I don't know how you do it!" I say prayer, patience, and stress management needs to happen on my part. In the meantime, all my students are falling behind because I am spending so much time dealng with these students. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Friday I spent a considerable amount of time loving on my most difficult kindergarten student during Writer's Workshop. Within the hour he had created enough turmoil that I had to write him up. I was hoping that the extra attention was a key, but it didn't help much. I cannot give these students enough attention, even if I only had three students. It is beyond my ability. They need parents to take charge, and they probably need professional help. Hang in there - the alternative is to leave teaching and have unqualified teachers teaching these kinds of kids. We are the ones most trained to teach children, so hang in there. Take a day off when you cannot take anymore. I injured my back moving classrooms and ended up doing physical therapy. The stretching that I was forced to do was a blessing in disguise. It is kind of like what some people get from Yoga. I have learned that I need to stretch every day to be okay. Maybe a similar regimine will help. Blessings to you!
Theresa