Watch this video [1:34] to learn why students from chaotic homes can learn to behave in your classroom. Polly Bath’s unique point of view is one of the reasons she is such a gifted behavior consultant and speaker.

So many folks will say to me in my work as a behavior consultant and speaker, “But Polly, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and these kids are getting this from the outside.”

When students come to school our job is to be consistent enough and predictable enough that they will learn the difference between how to behave here versus out there.

If a parent sends a different message, that’s OK. I don’t have control over that. But when a student comes to school, he or she can change their behavior.

There’s that myth out there that says, “Well, we can’t do anything with them because they’re not taught well out there.” I’ve said this before: We all act differently at work than we do at home. I hope.

The example I give is if you go to the company party, you don’t copy your behind on the copy machine – if you really want to do that, buy your own machine and have a party. We’re not helping kids unless we teach them under what conditions it is OK to behave in a certain way. If parents use cuss words, so will their kids. But, when they come through the school door, they can learn not to.
 
Click on my video above for more.