Date: September 3rd, 2023
Polly answers the question: “I have a high school kid who will not turn over her cell phone when I ask for it! It’s my policy and all the kids know it. I know her life is not that positive, and there isn’t a lot of room for learning in her brain right now, but I feel like I need to hold her accountable. It’s always a huge power struggle that results in administrative referral. How can I chip away at her refusal without it costing me our relationship?”
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Date: March 19th, 2023
Polly answers the question: “I send high schoolers down to the office when they act up in my class and it doesn’t seem to make any difference! So I wonder if I should just save the office for really higher level stuff so the kids know when they have truly gone too far?”
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Date: February 12th, 2023
Polly answers the question: “I kept a kid in for recess so we could talk about his behavior in my class. But then his behavior got even worse. I think he likes staying with me during recess! How do I undo this?”
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Date: December 21st, 2022
When kids start talking out, don’t ask things like, “What should you be doing right now?” Instead, say “Talking out right now is disruptive.”
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Date: September 13th, 2022
Organization is a cognitive skill. It’s not bad behavior when a kid is disorganized!
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Date: June 19th, 2022
We make things easier for ourselves when we stop assuming kids have certain skills already. Instead, assume they DON’T have those skills and go ahead and teach them!
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Date: May 9th, 2022
During the last two challenging years, the typical school day was everything BUT typical. Skills have been lost, behaviors have accelerated, many children are traumatized, and we are exhausted. But there are all those behaviors to deal with, and all those academic gaps to close. Returning to ‘normal’ has turned out to be daunting. To […]
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Date: April 17th, 2022
When I was a classroom teacher, I did not send kids to the office unless they were shutting down my instruction. And here’s why you shouldn’t either.
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Date: March 6th, 2022
When we see or hear a behavior, we really need to stop and think about what skill is lacking. If we don’t do this, how can we teach that missing skill?
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Date: February 27th, 2022
Here are some tips to help prevent getting “baited” by a student’s behavior.
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