Keeping Students in Class and out of the Principal’s Office

February 2nd, 2009 By: Diane Trim in Articles, Teachers' Corner

Most of students’ challenging behaviors have their roots in factors that come from outside the school, said Allen Mendler, Ph.D., author of Discipline with Dignity. “It’s mostly out-of school factors that are at the core of most discipline problems such as dysfunctional families, unsupportive parents, violence in our culture, garbage on TV, erosion of respect and morality, and drug and alcohol use,” he said.

Researchers from the advocacy organization Connecticut Voices for Children studied the causes for out-of-school suspensions in Conn. In their report, “Missing out: Suspending Students from Connecticut Schools,” the researchers wrote that the students who are sent home from school are those who need to be in the classroom the most. These are the kids who are struggling in their classes and struggling in their homes.

The researchers found that the students who are suspended spend their out-of-school suspension days unsupervised while Mom and Dad are at work. These kids aren’t cracking books at home; they’re often causing trouble in the neighborhood. They view their suspension not as a punishment, but as a vacation, and their behavior in class is unlikely to improve as a result.

The researchers conclude that out-of-school suspensions don’t encourage positive behavior changes. The best way to improve a student’s behavior is to keep her in school and teach her the skills she needs to be productive both in school and in the community, the study’s authors wrote.

Mendler agrees that educators have to keep these students in class, even if the student is making life in the classroom hard for everyone. “This is really where being a professional educator comes into play. As an educator, or job – our obligation – is to make it difficult for students to throw their education away. I want to make it difficult for them to get themselves kicked out of a class,” he said.

Students need to feel a connection. Teachers should strive to make a connection with students, Mendler said, because belonging is such an important human need. “The kids who feel disconnected usually let themselves be known in a classroom through their attention-seeking behaviors.”

One way to make connections is to welcome the student to class every day. “Make that student feel like they are important, at least to us, which I know is hard to do with difficult students because they’re hard to be around,” Mendler said. “It’s important just to remind ourselves on a regular basis to notice that student and say hello.”

Students need to feel competent. “Some kids act out really as a way to mask their inadequacy; they give up or they act out as a way to mask their belief that they’re just going to be unable to succeed,” Mendler said.

He suggests giving students a homework assignment with options. “Tell kids, ‘If you can get them all done, awesome, but if you can’t get them all done, number three is the one I want from you, because that’s the one I’m going to be asking you to work out on the board tomorrow,’” Mendler said.

Students who ordinarily pass up assignments might actually put in some effort on that one problem. “We can begin to give them a sense that they can be successful in our class,” he said.

Students need to feel in control. When students feel like they have no influence in their world, no autonomy, and no control, they often misbehave or get into power struggles with the teacher, Mendler said. Sometimes they refuse to work or participate as a way of flexing their muscles.

“With these students, it’s really important to ask their opinion, put them in charge at least some of the time,” Mendler said.

Often these students make great mentors for younger students, he said. “I often recommend to schools that are establishing a discipline committee, that they invite at least a couple of students who are discipline problem students to sit on that committee. If you think of it, who better than they to know all about why it is that kids break rules, and giving them a voice in coming up with some ideas that can actually solve problems around the school can a lot of times influence their behavior.”

Tags: behavior, discipline, motivation