ABSTRACT
I have been talking to teachers about managing classroom behaviour. Most say that they do not have time to think about targeting certain children's behaviour. In the end, they felt it was better to respond to it as it occurred. As an example, with a child who continually calls out, is it easier to give him or her three chances and then exclude the child from the class until he or she is ready to come back? This method sometimes works but invariably the child will find another behaviour as an annoyance. In the best world, it would be terrific to work on children whose behaviour was exemplary, but usually it is noted and ignored as it isn't a problem. Often and unusually, it would seem, it is easier to reward negative behaviour with attention than positive behaviour. Taking time to deal with one child's behaviour and working with a child who needs help with more simple learning tasks must be rewarding because adults choose to take this root as a response in class rather than work with the children who are on task and who are listening. Being involved continually in aspects of control and children presenting difficult behaviours, and talking to experts, some of whom are employed to go into the classroom to help teachers, it comes as a surprise to me that many teachers do not also have a working knowledge of the language of behaviour management. But is it such a surprise? Teacher training has never focused on this aspect of the teacher's role. Often the volume of preparation and the pressures to cover areas of the curriculum can keep a teacher busy with the majority of children and to respond to the minor difficulties as they arise. However, there are many kinds of behavioural problems from ADDs (Attentional Deficiency Disorders) to Tourette's Syndrome, from conduct disorders to language disorders, that affect behaviour that may need more than just the passing daily acknowledgments both for the teacher's and the child's survival in school.
