Talking about Behavior

With Principal Lauenstein

Taking questions in the library

Notice anything different? I'm barefoot! In all classrooms and the library, students and teachers remove their shoes. 

All the teachers from the school (K-13) attended and had many good questions about my presentation. We watched a TED talk by Angela Duckworth, covered positive reinforcement strategies and then learned how to be behavior sleuths in the classroom looking out for the four common functions of behavior: Attention, Escape, Tangibles and Sensory Needs.  We covered strategies to support students and provide "replacement behaviors" as new skills are taught. 

I had teachers give me their "burning questions" before the talk and am now working my way through crafting answers which I will post in the Teachers Resource Room.  

Here are some examples.... are these questions US teachers might have? 

• Why do students feel so comfortable criticizing/laughing at each other’s mistakes (11th, 12th, 13th)?
• How do I control a class without introducing fear? 
• I really need help in making two kids in my classroom calm down. What should I do?
• What to do with the student who ignores instruction even after constant reminders?
• Attention span of two of my students is really short. They get so bored in class yet they politely listen. It is so sad. I don’t know how to change that, though I try new methods. 
• How to manage time to give individual attention to each of the students, especially the struggling ones?
• How can we get them to be good listeners, especially when the teacher is giving instructions because it so happens that the student look like they’re listening when were instructing be it regarding the seat work or an activity but when they go back to their seats they have loads of questions which was already cleared during the instructions.

And here are some that might be more culturally bound:

• Students not sitting on a right posture (much of instruction is delivered with students sitting on the rug)
• How to help students be disciplined and show self restraint. 
• Need help with the students who do not open up after much effort. 
• How could I make students who don’t follow a lesson, voice their concerns without them feeling “smaller”?
• How do we balance between being too strict and friendly with students?