Polly answers the question: “I am a paraprofessional and lately it’s getting harder to get the kids to do their work. I feel like I’m jumping through hoops and enticing them and even nagging them! What’s my role here?”

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Are you teaching your students that there is more to apologizing than just saying the words I’m sorry?

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Polly answers the question: “I use yoga and mindfulness techniques in my classroom regularly but when the kids get upset they don’t use these techniques in the moment! How can I get the good stuff to kick in?”

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I reduce behaviors by giving my students five minutes of ‘talk time’ at the end of each class.

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Polly answers the question: “Our school is very spread out with grade levels in their own hallways. How can we create an ‘all-school community’ when our paths rarely cross?”

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When dealing with behaviors, don’t respond right away. Instead stop, think, and process the situation.

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Polly answers the question: “I was lining up my middle school kids and one kid kept ignoring my directions and stepping out of line. I told him to go to the office, which he refused to do, but he did get back in line. I called the office and an administrator came down but didn’t do anything because the kid wasn’t refusing at that moment. I felt unsupported. Could I have handled it differently?”

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Allow kids to experience solving their own problems.

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Polly answers the question: “I often have to work with kids one-on-one at my table. But every time I do that, a line forms and we’re constantly interrupted! How do I stop this behavior?”

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When it comes to a reward system, don’t over-reward and don’t have a kid on one if they’re able to manipulate the system.

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