Polly Bath: I use a process called STP, stop, think, and process. There is no rule in our system that says we have to react to a behavior immediately. There isn’t. You see something unraveling in front of you, a kid says something they shouldn’t have said, kids getting into a squabble with another kid.

There is no rule why you can’t stop, think, and process what’s going on before you react. Unless it’s a dangerous situation going on – then we know what to do.

This means we can take a step back and say, “Wait a second, should I break them up? Should I jump in there? Should I have the kid do this or that?” Stop and think for a moment.

Maybe the behavior is such that the child uses a buddy classroom, or whatever, and you don’t even address it until the next day, if they’re old enough to remember. You don’t have to jump on it right away. Give yourself a moment.