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	04/16/99

How to Handle Troublemakers

Q: There are three boys in my second grade classes with quick tempers and short attention spans. They repeatedly set each other off, disrupt lessons and frequently refuse to do their work. Their main focus seems to be on each other and getting the last word or poke in. Removing privileges hasn't helped. How do I get their cooperation and reduce the aggressiveness?

A: Here are some suggestions for classroom management of aggression and uncooperative behavior:

This link at KidSource is a good place to start. It provides constructive strategies to teachers and parents for dealing with aggression and uncooperative behavior. The site also contains many links to other articles on this subject.

You can also find information about a series of videotapes called "Understanding and Managing the Aggressive Child" at: http://www.nlbbs.com/~hastings

If you don't have a computer in your class, try to arrange to have one for at least part of each day. Children will often work hard to earn computer time and there are many cooperative skills involved in learning how to select programs and figure out rules, strategies and solutions while working on those programs.

Give the children words to substitute for aggressive behaviors and model how to use them. For example, "Tell _____ you want _____ instead of grabbing it." You provide the scripts at first; then prompt the children to create their own, on paper as well as during class discussions.

If parents routinely volunteer to help out in your class, encourage men as well as women to accept volunteer assignments. See what you can learn from the different ways the volunteers handle student disruptions. Every time I go into a classroom, into the lunchroom or onto the playground, I get a few good group management ideas by watching other teaching adults in action.

Since several of your students have short attention spans, try shortening your lessons to a length they can handle. If 15 minutes is their limit, build in a short break (to draw a picture, get a drink or stretch) and then settle into another 15 minute stretch of concentrated work. Lengthen the work periods as their tolerance grows. Such structure can also have a calming effect on children who don't seem to structure their time well independently. It teaches them how to break tasks up into smaller parts, making the tasks more manageable for them.

Use incentives, but stay away from stickers and small toys. Try "helper" jobs, recognition of effort and improvement, and free time on short, independent games or other fun learning activities, as incentives for cooperation and self-control.

Confer with each child's parent(s). They probably see similar behaviors at home and can talk with you about their management choices. It helps to come up with similar or complimentary approaches to minimize confusion for the children. Emphasize positive approaches and discourage punitive ones. The attitudes children develop in the early years of school usually set the tone for many years to come.

Ask for suggestions from colleagues. Every teacher deals with daily challenges in their class full of unique personalities. No individual teacher has all the answers, but collectively, you probably do!
Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.
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