Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Article paper #1
Current events article #1
Classroom Behavior Problems Increasing, Teachers Say
Jennifer Williams
Upper Iowa University
EDU: 462
Behavioral problems in all grade levels seem to be increasing every year. As far as teaching goes, it takes away the learning time when a teacher has to referee a fight going on in the back of the classroom. Teachers often ask themselves, "what can I do about Jimmy whom never listens, or Sally whom always hits her friends?" The proper resources and trainings need to become more frequent in order for teachers to feel comfortable in their own ability.
Ten thousand teachers were surveyed across all 50 states, and of the teachers that have been in the same school for five years or more have seen the behavioral issues increase drastically. Whenever a child acts out, it affects the entire classroom. It's not fair to the students whom want to sit and listen and learn. When a teacher has to step in to discipline a child, it takes away that precious learning time, everyday. Some teachers say they just don't have the resources in their school. The others say that they don't get enough training on this specific issue. An elementary teacher stated, "The time it takes to referee fights and solve bullying issues takes away from academic instruction and keeps students from achieving as much as they could," (2012).
When it comes to ethnicity or socioeconomic groups, it has nothing to do with the behavior. Teachers from all over the states and in every grade level have reported that a high percentage of low-income students have been the ones acting out, although high-income students are trailing very close behind. Behaviors will come from any ethnic group as well. There are reasons for acting out, and most of the time it is something happening at home.
Children act out because they either want attention, want power and/or control, or are missing something in their lives whether it be lack of food or sleep. Family factors play a big role in a child's behavior. The more parents are involved and encouraging to their child, the more the child will be excited for school and will succeed. When a parent puts on too much negative encouragement, that can lead to a child becoming rebellious or dealing with anxiety. Divorce is another hard one to deal with. Any kind of change in a family setting can be detrimental on the student. The child could feel lost, isolated, or disliked by one or both parents. When violence is happening in the home, the child will see that as the only way to deal with things, therefore the only way to act in the classroom setting.
Teachers are committed to helping all their students succeed, including those with behavioral issues (2012). Although teachers are committed, they need help. Sometimes, dealing with different behaviors can be stressful and quite possibly burn a teacher out. Teachers say they need more professional development and trainings offered to them. Seventy-two percent of teachers reported they need more resources such as counselors or social workers (2012). A lot of time, for teachers, is spent creating an atmosphere for all students to feel safe.
Prevention and Intervention are very important when controlling a classroom. By preventing a behavior to happen, can makes things a lot easier for the teacher and for the other students as well. If a teacher has an organized and trusting classroom, that can help with the behavioral child feeling "wanted", therefore stopping the behavior before it happens. Observations help with this as well. Intervention is stopping the problem right after it happens. Teachers need to focus on teaching the students social skills by working the problem out themselves. The teacher can always intervene if needed. Also, identity is very important. The deviant child needs to acknowledge him/herself what the behavior they did was and why it was wrong.
Teachers need to understand that there will be behavioral issues of all kinds, every year they teach. They need to know how to come about this and feel comfortable with their ability. Showing that you care and are trustworthy will be a significant asset. When a teacher learns about each of their students, that will help a lot as well. Showing every student that they are just as important as the other makes a big difference in a child's eye. Patience is the key to teaching.
REFERENCES
"Classroom Behavior Problems Increasing, Teachers Say | Scholastic.com." Scholastic, Helping Children Around the World to Read and Learn | Scholastic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2013. <http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/classroom-behavior-problems-increasing- teachers-say
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I agree that prevention and intervention are important in classroom management. I think it is probably easier said than done to prevent issues but I think you can significantly reduce the number of issues that come up. I also think it is interesting that all 72% of teachers reported that they needed more resources-that number is high but not surprising. I wonder if there is a set amount that teachers feel they need or if it would be one of those "enough is never enough" situations?
ReplyDeleteA child's behavior, no matter how good or bad it is, should not be something that interferes with an entire class. BUUUUUUUUUT it happens everywhere all the time. Teachers and Administrators alike have battled that issue since the beginning of time. How do you get unruly students to realize that their behavior is not acceptable without interrupting the entire classroom? Teachers are not necessarily a one subject instructor. All teachers, like you stated in your article review, must teach their students social skills in and out of the classroom. Some children need more "reminding" on how to act than others do. Although the main supporter of appropriate behavior should be the student's parents, we all know that a majority of teachers have taken the parental role and need to not only teach reading writing and arithmetic, but how to be a decent human being also. If you were faced with an unruly student that is a multiple offender, what would be the first thing you would do?
ReplyDeleteThat article was great. I enjoyed that they actually allowed the teachers to have a voice. They surveyed 10,000 educators from all 50 states.
ReplyDeleteThere were two great statements that I thought hit the nail on the head.
72 percent teachers surveyed stated that they need more tangible school resources. ‘We have no resources available,” reported one middle school teacher. “No school counselors or social workers. A great deal of my time is spent trying to create an environment where students feel safe.”
Since more and more of the school budget is geared towards cutting hours of support staff and positions. Will this have an even larger impact?
What do you see as a solution?
I personally think that administrative salaries of principals and superintendents are out of hand. Since teachers have a graduated scale of pay with a ceiling cap why is it not applied towards them? Most principals are paid at a rate of 3-1 when compared to teachers. (for every one dollar a teacher is paid the principal is paid 3).
Another key area I thought was interesting was:
teachers who worked in schools in low-income areas reported concerns about behavioral issues at a higher rate (65%), teachers who worked in high-income areas were not far behind. In high-income areas, 56 percent of teachers reported more behavioral issues that interfere with teaching and learning.
That really challenges the idea that low income schools = disorder!
I think you make a good point when you focus on the need for teachers to get to know their students. The article talked about students from a divorced household. My older children rotate on a week to week schedule, because their parents are divorced. In the past the kids have missed out on special activities like fun night, school pictures, or book orders because the materials only got sent home to one household. This past year we had great teachers who cared enough and took the time to create two folders, one for each household. As a teacher how do you know about situations like this ahead of time to be prepared?
ReplyDelete