by Sandra Cole

Created on: December 09, 2009

Though disruptive behavior captures the lion’s share of attention, all behavior challenges in the classroom may not be what we commonly think of as misbehavior.  Motivations such as the need for attention or power can cause children to act out to fulfill their needs in ways which interrupt the teaching process.  But other less obvious and disruptive behaviors also cause the classroom learning situation to be less than optimal for many students.  Children who lack motivation to learn or are excessively fearful also present problems stemming from their behavior.  Such problems seldom disrupt the classroom, but they certainly interfere with learning for the children involved.  These ‘behavior’ problems can also be remediated by a caring and concerned teacher.

The most obvious behavior problems in the classroom fall under the category of disruptive behavior.  These behaviors can run the gamut from behaviors which endanger children in the classroom to excessive talking or sharpening pencils at the wrong time.

Any behavior which threatens the safety of children must be dealt with quickly and decisively.  The school’s emergency procedure must be put into play.  Communication with those outside the classroom should be quickly established and emergency resources in the school brought to the classroom immediately.  The aggressive child needs to be isolated from the others as quickly as possible, through teacher intervention at first and then by authorities outside the classroom.

A child who is constantly aggressive may need the help of a special classroom where he can learn anger management techniques, while working on the underlying causes of his aggressive behavior.  Such constant outbursts are beyond the scope of ordinary classroom behavior and are a significant call for greater help.

Less threatening problems can be headed off by having a set of rules and procedures and making those known to the children in the first days of school.  In later grades children can even be instrumental in setting up rules for their classroom and their cooperative planning often leads to better compliance.  Children need to know when to get out of their seats, use the restroom, sharpen pencils, and speak out freely.  When children forget these rules, a quick reminder will usually correct the situation.  Sometimes just being very aware of the children in the classroom and moving to stand

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