Currently, we are five weeks into the school year. It has been a very smooth start. My classes are better organized than they have every been and I feel that I am managing my time and resources really well. However, nothing is ever perfect. An area a feel that I still struggle with is managing chronic behavior issues with that tiny handful of "problem" students. I think we all have one or two at least each school year. I certainly have a couple.
I have been working with one of my "problem children" (I call him that only to myself, of course and out of affection) since about week 3 of school. He is a student that I have had before, but as he has become much more outgoing this year. This is aggravated by the fact that he has several friends in class that he likes to perform for.
I always try my best to be a democratic and respectful disciplinarian. I try to keep discipline issues between the student and me as much as possible and not be unnecessarily rigid. However, I feel that those methods have not been effective with the student in question.
After correcting the same behavior (using disrespectful language toward his peers) several times last week, I told him that he had reached his last warning, and that if we had to speak again then he would be assigned detention. After it was all said and done, I had to pull him from the classroom and assigned him not 1 day, but 3 days of lunch detention and called his home to report the problem.
He has since served his detentions with me and I am surprised to say, his behavior has actually been better. I still have to correct his behavior sometimes but he is no longer argumentative or intentionally inflammatory with classmates.
The thing that I would change is that I would have given him stronger consequence sooner! Even though we had several conversations, had his seat moved, and he had lost employability points, he didn't change his behavior until he had the consequence of detention and a call to parents. I realize that I am too willing to give second, third, fourth, etc. chances. I hate that I wasted time for several days gently correcting behavior that really required a more serious consequence.
Hopefully, I will not continue to have behavior issues from this student. But if I do, I will not hesitate to use more severe consequences when his behavior warrants it.
It's a learning process and who knows, with another student the lower interventions could work. You did the right thing by escalating your responses. If you go in with the "big gun" first you have nowhere to go.
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