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Guidelines for Handling Negative Behavior
by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.
Think prevention. Although no one can predict every possible opportunity
for disaster, many problems can be avoided by taking the time to anticipate
what you and your students will need, considering any possibility for
misunderstandings or difficulties and setting very specific limits ahead
of time.
When something comes up, try to isolate what’s bothering you. Are
you reacting to a personality trait or value conflict, or is the student’s
behavior actually interfering with the teaching or learning process?
Attack the problem, not the person. Mentally separate the student from
the behavior. It’s the interruption that’s annoying—not
the student.
Minimize your reaction. Count to ten, or at least to five. Use this time
to remind yourself that you don’t have to get angry, lecture, criticize,
interrogate or punish. (Often, you don’t even have to get involved!)
Staying calm can help you avoid compounding the problem at hand. A brief
pause can also allow the student to resolve or correct the problem behavior
on his own.
Deal specifically with the behavior—not the morality of the behavior,
previous incidents or the personality behind the misconduct.
If your reaction starts to create a win-lose (or no-win) situation, stop
and back off: “Wait. This isn’t the way I want to handle
this.” If necessary—and possible—withdraw for a few
seconds to regain your perspective.
At all times, stay responsible for your actions and words. We are most
vulnerable to negative adult behavior patterns in the presence of negative
or disruptive student behaviors. Regardless of our commitment to maintaining
a positive, win-win environment, there will be times we will most likely
slip up and say or do something hurtful or destructive. At those times,
be careful to model responsible language and not blame the student. For
example, avoid statements like, “You make me so angry,” or “If you hadn’t done that I wouldn’t have said
that to you.” If you act or speak in a hurtful way, apologize
and switch to more a constructive approach—just like you would want
the student to do!
Look for ways to offer many choices and positive outcomes for cooperation,
building in incentives and motivators. This is a proactive and positive
approach that will eliminate many of the incidents that arise when students
are competing for power.
Withdraw the privilege or positive consequence as soon as a misconduct
occurs. Keep your tone and body language as neutral as possible. (A statement
like “This isn’t working” can help you intervene
decisively without attacking or criticizing.
Whenever possible, invite the student to reclaim his privilege or possession
as soon as the misbehavior ceases: “You may return to the group
as soon as you can control your talking,” “You can continue
playing with this game as soon as you finish cleaning up the area you
just left.”
If correcting his behavior will not give the student immediate access
to the privilege or possession, let him know when it will be available
again: “Please return to your seats. Let’s try (working
together) again tomorrow,” or “Please put the puzzle
back on the shelf until you finish your seatwork.”
Provide support, feedback, guidelines and limits to help, but leave the
responsibility for the student’s behavior with the student.
If instruction and activities would help in areas such as problem solving,
social interaction, or handling anger and frustration, for example, save
them for a non-crisis setting. Likewise, if you feel that you and your
students could benefit from the administration or support staff (counselor,
school psychologist, social worker), invite them to conduct or participate
in these activities. These individuals may also be available to discuss
particular problems and help you brainstorm possible win-win solutions,
and will be especially helpful when you can provide documentation and
don’t attempt to dump the responsibility for the problem on them.
In problem-solving activities and discussions, keep coming back to win-win: “How can we both get what we want?”
Excerpted and adapted from The Win-Win Classroom, by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.,Corwin Publishing, Thousand Oaks, CA, © 2008,
Other handouts adapted from The Win-Win Classroom:
Guidelines for Offering Choices
Guidelines for Reinforcing Positive Behavior
Dealing Successfully with your Students’ Parents
Improve the School’s Social Culture
Behavior Management: Intervention Strategies
Other handouts by Dr. Jane Bluestein
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Books, Articles, Audio and Video Resources and other Resources by Dr. Jane Bluestein
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