Case
Nothing seems to work with this student!

I am interning in a 2nd grade classroom this semester and one of the students struggles to behave and stay on task throughout the school day. Many times, his day has already been set off, prior to him arriving in our classroom (from things that have occurred at home), but he lacks the coping skills, to get on track when in class. When he gets attention, he often will act out more, or misbehave more, and when he does not get attention, he also tends to act out, or misbehave. Some of the issues stem from the fact that even in second grade, he is unable to read and does not understand content. Yet, even when he is worked with one - on - one, he is very easily set off, and then nothing can be accomplished. He is also quite aggressive with other students, and instigates fights.

Even though I try to give him positive praise and recognize the good things that he does (when he does them), it does not seem to alter his behavior for any real length of time. In some ways, I think he showcases behaviors that are common with EBD students, yet he is not formally diagnosed with this exceptionality. The entire administration knows about him, and now we have gotten to a point where we ignore a lot of his less major bad behaviors, yet this can not keep happening.

If the school and CT are not willing to begin the paperwork to get him tested for certain exceptionalities, what can I do in class to minimize his distraction to others, while also showing him that he is important and I want him to be apart of the class dynamics?

Posted on: 02/20/19 | Views: 467
Solution #1
I think that something you could try is creating a behavior plan and contract together with the student. By showing the student that their input matters and that we are going to work together to get them on track, could help the student feel welcomed and like they actually want help themselves. Quite frankly, I do not feel like there is anything you can do personally to get paperwork moving, it would be inappropriate for you to go over your CT's head, especially since you are just an intern.
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Solution #2
I work in a school where I see this type of behavior everywhere. The best success I've had with these students is "if, then" situations. Ask him to work for 15 min, and reward him with coloring or a break to rest his head for 5. Get a physical timer! Students can argue with you but they can't argue with a timer. Perhaps provide him a visual behavior chart with an "I am working for: blank" and stars that can be added so he can see his progress. I do actually think it is important to ignore those "junk" or attention seeking behaviors! They are doing this because they know it will get them the most attention. Ignore his problems and if he is causing a scene tell him "when you are done making poor choices, you may come talk to me" and go about your day. When he seems settled down THEN is the time to talk to him about what is wrong. I always ask my students "why did I call you over here?" or "why are you walking laps instead of playing at recess?" so that they have to think critically about what they did wrong. 9 time out of 10 they can tell you right away their poor choices. Be sure to be EXTRA enthusiastic when he makes good choices. This is SO IMPORTANT. I mean really play it up. When he does something desirable, really make a huge deal. This will get them excited and want to do that again so they can get that extra reaction! Hope this helped!
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Solution #3
A behavior plan is a good idea, also I think that making sure his seating in his classroom is good and definitely push for testing.
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Solution #4
The bad behavior can definitely not be ignored. Maybe you could create a behavior chart that will show him how he is acting and this visual representation of it may help until he is able to be tested.
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Solution #5
This definitely sounds like a tough situation! When I was observing in a variety of EBD classrooms, many of the teachers had immediate feedback/reward systems. For example, if a student raised their hand the teachers would immediately give them a ticket (to exchange for snacks later) or put a cheeze-it on there desk, etc.! Immediate feedback might help, however this student may need more assistance than that if he is EBD!
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Solution #6
Have you personally tried to contact the principal or guidance counselor? Your CT may not be relaying how much help this student may need to them. If you have already tried this, I would either try to create a contract with the student with incentives for good behavior. I would also suggest having a "calm down corner" this is a space in the classroom away from everyone else that the student can go to and sit at for a couple minutes to calm down when they are starting to get upset. I have seen this work several times in my 3rd grade class!
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Solution #7
Even though he has not been tested or diagnosed with an EBD doesn't mean that teaching strategies for EBD wouldn't benefit him. I definitely wouldn't ignore any of his misbehavior. If nothing seems to be working and the student is well known with the administration I think it may be time to get parents involved.
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