Handling outbursts and class disruptions

rachel - i think its important to have some buy-in from the other students. they should be instructed as to how you expect them to respond - or ignore - particular outbursts or disruptions.

certain outbursts can be overlooked, others might need to be addressed, and if you as the teacher or any student can identify what the reaso behind the outburst is, it become easier to address.

for instance, if the student does not raise their hand appopriately but rather schreches instead, acknowledge it as if they raised their hand, adding words to the like.

knowing what outbursts to ignore takes some skill, and i would be sure to have good handle on this before ignoring them - usually the outburst is for a reason…

fwiw

If the student is given a response to an inappropriate behavior then what keeps that behavior from repeating itself? Why does the student who disrupts the leaning of others have more rights? If we in education contine to provide excuses for students behaviors or nonbehaviors we will have the most enabled future adults in history. I have worked with the toughest of kids - court placed residential - and I have no problems with behavior. I am consistent and fair, have zero tolerance for loss of my rights and the rights of the other students in my classroom and shazamm! they somehow learn how to behave. They want to be with their peers, generally, and the loss of that PRIVILEDGE has amazing power.

how would you handle a behavior that was not something the student could control, such as an outbust due to tourette’s for example?

You just ignore it and make sure that the other students know about tourettes from the very beginning of the year. Ask the student who has tourettes if it would be okay to have a discussion and or movie on tourettes in class. Most kids would appreciate that their classmates understand their problem.

Thank you for responding to my question. I know that it is going to take some time for me to realize which outbursts I should ignore and which ones I should address. It is just hard for me to understand how the students would react to me ignoring some of the outburst of their peers. I feel that they may believe that I am treating them unfairly. I don’t want the students to treat the child differently because of a disability he or she may have. From some observations and substituting that I have done, I find that many times this is the case. Either the children get upset because the outbursts are being ignored or they treat the child differently and isolate the child from their peer groups.