We also need to respond to misbehavior in ways that show all of our students that we will keep them safe and see to it that classroom rules are observed. To do this well, however, we adults must hold on to empathy for the child who misbehaves while holding her accountable. Just as when we teach academics, we can use students’ behavioral mistakes as opportunities for learning. In fact, having these experiences-and seeing how adults respond to them-is one way children learn about how to behave. William takes a pencil from a neighbor’s desk and refuses to return it when asked by his classmate.Īnnie grabs the ball from two smaller children, telling them they’re not allowed to play.Īs they learn to negotiate social expectations, children test limits, get carried away, forget, and make mistakes. Janna rolls her eyes and snickers as Hector shares details of his weekend visit with his cousin during Morning Meeting. They’ll forget the rules, their impulses will win out over their self-control, or they’ll just need to test where the limits are. No matter how carefully we teach positive behavior, students will still sometimes misbehave. OctoCategories: Classroom Management & Discipline / Discipline
