Misbehaviour as a Learning Opportunity

“It takes courage not 2 punish & it takes real effort 2 see misbehavior as an opportunity 4 the teacher to teach & the student to learn”

Awhile ago, I book marked this tweet about student behaviour knowing that I wanted to revisit it once the dust of the last few weeks of the school year settled. Watching a mother trying to redirect her son, who was definitely not leaving the store without a chocolate bar in his possession, prompted me to get my thoughts down in a post today.

What causes students to misbehave in class and what do we do when that happens? There are a variety of reasons why students misbehave in class which range from factors beyond our control (home life, peer relationships etc.) to factors that we do control (programming, providing challenging learning tasks, student-teacher relationships).

 

Great teachers know that punishing a student will not change misbehaviour. Sending the student to the office will not change misbehaviour. Suspension will not change misbehaviour. The student needs to know that we care enough to dig deep and discover the root of the misbehaviour. Only then can we begin to replace the misbehaviour with behaviours that will allow the student to be available for learning.

 

But the question in this post is, how do we use a student’s misbehaviour as a learning opportunity? What are some of the strategies that you use to demonstrate that you care enough to help the student learn what is appropriate and what is acceptable? How do you successfully replace misbehaviour with behaviours and attitudes that will allow the student to be a welcomed learner in their classroom?

 

 

 

Come write with me….

Sue