The news has never been my happy place, but it's been especially upsetting in 2018.  From mass shootings in places of worship and schools to mail bombings, our world is a scary place.  And obviously, we are all very upset about this.

But why are we not addressing mental illness in this country?!

Sometimes I feel like screaming.  There is never enough time in the day to get everything I need to get done.  I'm literally running at my highest capacity every minute of every day.  I've never felt so stressed in my life.

We are all running on high all day; intensifying and exhausting our emotional and mental capacities.  

Our students are feeling the same.

And now, we are both forced into the integrated experience of the classroom, where naturally, our actions and words affect the actions and words of others within the same microcosm of the classroom.  

Previously, students could be targeted and remediated on a case by case basis, but with today's prevalence, SUPPORTS MUST BE MAINSTREAMED.

And those supports MUST address our students mental health needs.

Okay, so this isn't going to be simple.  And we can start with baby steps.

In moments of heightened anxiety, we can stop, breathe, and re-center ourselves.  Similarly, if we insert these moments, forcibly, into our day, including our time with students, where we stop and breathe (i.e. a mindfulness activity, yoga, go noodle, etc.), we can stop running at such a high level, and perhaps, we begin to regulate our emotions as well.  

We need to teach this to our students because it does not come naturally anymore.  This is the world now.  This is us.  These are our students.

But how?


1. Build a Classroom Community

A classroom community means that students trust and support each other.  They feel safe to accept and give feedback and take risks.  

Spend the first month and some time each week throughout the year playing a classroom-based community-building game to build trust and problem-solving and cooperative learning skills.

One of the most important factors in behavior management is data tracking!

Without the data, interventions are just an opinion!  How do we know what’s working and what’s not working without the data?

We track the data!  Tracking the data is the way to change the behavior!

Let me give you an example of data tracking with a common classroom issue -
Swearing!

How do you handle a student who swears in your classroom?

For the minor offense (i.e. it slips out in conversation or out of frustration), I acknowledge it and I redirect...
“Let’s watch our language as that is inappropriate for school.”

(As with all redirections of behavior, you want to make sure you explain why you are asking for the behavior to be corrected.  Answer the question: What is the behavior’s negative impact?)

With a major swearing offended, you are going to take a different approach.  A student who chooses to swear or swears multiple times in one period is a major offender.

With these major offenders, DO NOT acknowledge the swear!

And I repeat - DO NOT!

By acknowledging the swear, you are actually reinforcing swearing.

INSTEAD...

start by obtaining a baseline.  You will get this if you have tracked the data or by tracking the data!

Example:  Cam swears 20 times in 60 minutes on average…

Next, have an honest conversation with your student...

"Your goal is to swear less and here’s why we need to reduce your swearing..."
Then, implement the intervention!

AND begin tracking the data!

The intervention is to reinforce the expected behavior.  When the student doesn’t swear...
"Oh good job, Cam!  Here's a merit for not swearing in the last 5 minutes."

Build the time frame of the reinforcer!  Depending on baseline data and continued progress monitoring data, the reinforcer (i.e.merits) can build toward a bigger reinforcer (i.e. lunch with the teacher, homework pass).  The reinforcer should be something reinforcing BUT within reason!

Over time, the reinforcer fades as the behavior is phased out!

Happy Teaching!
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~By Miss Rae