Behavioral Management is crucial and all teachers must have a game plan, because it is inevitable that there will be a need to manage behavior. Most of those behaviors are not intended, but there is always a root cause of why a student is acting out the way they are. ‘All behavior is purposeful.’
I think if students learn about behavioral skills specifically in school from a young age, there is a higher likelihood they will understand how to positively deal with challenging situations. If we teach students to listen to themselves, look out for warning signs, and teach strategies of how to deal with emotions from an early age, they will understand and succeed as students and in becoming successful adults.
Teachers should be trained to help identify, address, and improve behavioral success, much like we do with academics. Teachers should also focus on themselves, to identify what behavioral areas they have struggled with and improve those. We should go back to the basics and study communication, continuously questioning how we can improve our own and our students behaviors. We should read articles and studies, talk to colleagues, and experiment with those best practices. We should also make sure to make it a priority and make it a part of our schedules, so that we make time for it, just like we should be asking our students to make time for it. We should also have periodic workshops and invite parents and communities on how to succeed behaviorally.
I’ll end with an odd concept: in order to best be there for our students, we have to be selfish. What do I mean by that? Well, we have to make sure we are taking care of ourselves, sleeping, and also forgiving ourselves. I’ve noticed on days when I do this, the students are better behaved, whereas on days I don’t and I’m tired and stressed, students seem to be worse behaved (like Dr. Phelan’s article, ‘Teaching Style and Classroom Management’ begins)
