When You Treat Them Like Children, Don't Be Surprised When They Act Like Children

I spent this weekend on an extracurricular trip with a large number of students from a variety of backgrounds. The circumstances of the trip required the students to make a lot of choices that they aren't often asked to make in their normal lives and take responsibility for their actions as if they were adults. Some students responded to this challenge well, some not so well; that wasn't really surprising. What was surprising was that the students who were the most mature and competent were the ones that give their teachers the most trouble in the classroom setting, and the students who are very easy to deal with in class were the most likely to struggle with the additional responsibilities of the trip.

I think that what was going on was that the classroom environment is not often conducive to adult behavior; the rules and expectations of a classroom aren't designed for adults, they're designed for children. Students that struggle with these rules and expectations may be struggling because they view themselves as autonomous and competent, and are resistant to instruction, direction, or regulation. Put them into a situation where they can exercise that autonomy, and suddenly they're all-stars.

The other students, who may be comfortable in a restrictive or even coddling environment, had difficulty making decisions for themselves; they lacked the self-efficacy to thrive without regulation.

I think this suggests several things. First, behavioral problems may have different sources than you might assume; second, it is equally important to provide autonomy as it is to provide guidance and support; and third, try to see your kids outside the classroom. I learned a ton about these students just by seeing them in a different environment than I usually see them in, and I think that's an experience that all teachers should have.

- O + B

Making Accommodations For Safe Communication

Early this week, I observed a self-contained classroom for students with low incidence disabilities. At least two students had Down Syndrome, several had some form of autism, and others had multiple disabilities. The range of accommodations and degree of differentiated instruction was really remarkable, but there were two accommodations that I thought were especially noteworthy, and both of them centered around creating and maintaining a safe environment for communication.

One student, R, had a lot of difficulties relating to others: she was uncomfortable with eye contact, her speech was echolaic, and she didn't seem to process the questions asked of her. R became pretty agitated by a series of questions asked by Ms. A, and began to rock back and forth; she then left her seat and began to pace back and forth in the back of the room. Ms. A called her back to her seat, offered her her hand, and said "Squeeze to safety." R took Ms. A's hand and squeezed repeatedly until her rocking subsided and she had calmed down. I thought this was a really touching moment, and an excellent accommodation for this student.

Another student, E, had some form of mental retardation. She was completing a math worksheet, and the teacher's aide, Ms. R, was offering to help E with it. Ms. R asked if E wanted help on the worksheet several times, but E was silent; eventually, Ms. R held out her hand and told E to "touch my hand if you want help". This both allowed the student to accept help without having to ask for it, and also allowed her to do so without having to vocalize, which may be difficult for her and may have drawn the attention of her classmates.

While neither of these specific accommodations are appropriate for most general education students, it seems to me that the idea behind them could be easily applied to most classrooms: give students ways to feel safe and to safely ask for help. If you have a struggling student who is embarrassed about asking for extra help in class you could arrange a shared signal that they could give you that indicates they need extra instruction. I imagine it's also important to devise non-stigmatizing ways to sort students into groups, especially if one of the groups is low-performing; you want to differentiate your instruction in this environment, but you also want to allow students to save face and be comfortable accepting differentiated instruction or extra help.

- O + B

Giving a Student His Space

I observed a small, IEP-only biology class (9 students) taught by a special education teacher, Ms. H. There was also a teaching assistant in the classroom to provide extra attention to students who needed it. One student, J, sat in a chair at the front of the room, next to Ms. H's desk; J kept his head on the desk for much of the period, occasionally banged on the desk, and generally did his best to register his disinterest in the lesson.

What I found really instructive was Ms. H's approach to J. Whenever he engaged in a distracting behavior, she did several things. First, she made a physical approach; second, she made calm physical contact with J (a hand on an arm, a quick "are you okay" rub on the back, etc); third, she would politely ask J to either stop or tone down the behavior; then, and this seemed like the key, she would walk away and continue the lesson without waiting for J's response.

Though J did not seem to ever fully engage in the lesson, Ms. H was successful in redirecting his behaviors. I asked her about J after the class, and she said that J would work with her, but only on his own terms. The perception of power and control was very important to him, and if she forced a confrontation over a behavior, then J would resist the intervention.

She went on to say that J listened more closely than he let on, and often came to her with questions after class or the next day.

I think this was a great example of giving a student space and the value of defusing, rather than escalating, potential conflicts.

- O+B