#5 Classroom Management - Challenging Students & Composure | A Classroom Diva

hey guys this is my fifth and final video of my classroom management series and today we will be talking about dealing with challenging students and how to keep your composure so we all have those ones view students each year that tend to keep us on our toes and prove to be a little bit more challenging when it comes to behavior management this year I had six to seven of those kiddos the reason that I say had is because I have been able to gain control of those students effectively by using some of these strategies today I will share with you my top five strategies for dealing with challenging students and I will also share with you how to keep your composure even when your students may be driving you bonkers so when you're dealing with challenging or difficult students it is so important to build that student-teacher relationships first creating that bonds between the student and the teacher is absolutely crucial this will help the students to know that you care about them they will start to feel more comfortable with you and what they start to realize that you really do care about them and you want them to be successful they will start to want to please you so the better relationship that you have with those challenging students the less likely they are to misbehave I had a lot of relationship building to do with my third graders and I tell you right now that it makes a huge difference this is something that I really had to keep telling myself especially during the first few weeks as a third grade teacher this particular class was challenging from the beginning and I knew that going in I mean I had sat down with the principal we had chatted about it like hey these kids haven't had any consistency it's going to take some work and these kids are going to kind of take a little bit to get used to a classroom management or behavior plan they just didn't have that before if you have students that are constantly acting out saying rude or mean things to one another or even to you usually there's some sort of trigger that's causing them to say those things or to act in those ways and don't take it personally I really have to remind myself of this I did have a few nights of tears and I just had to keep telling myself it's not personal it's not personal don't take it personally these kids are not meaning to hurt your feelings or hurt another student's feelings there is something else going on typically it's something that's going on at home there's a really great quote they actually wrote down in my planner as I was going through these rough times and that is everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about a lot of kids come from homes that are not as stable as we think they might be we only see the students when they are at school we do not see what their home life is like for example I have a student who just was not doing like he needed to do he was talking back he was arguing with me he was refusing to do his work so I asked him I said hey what's going on or is everything okay are you are you happy at school are you happy at home come to find out this boy was so hungry he had no food at home we had already eaten breakfast at school this was sometime between breakfast and lunch and this poor student he said we don't have any food at home the only time that I really get food is during breakfast and lunch and I'm really really hungry so I can't focus and that's what the trigger was he was hungry so he wasn't able to do his work because all he could think about was food not only was he not able to do his work but he was also acting out and being disrespectful because I knew that this student did not have any allergies I went ahead and I gave him my banana that I had brought for lunch because I mean I would rather him have it and be able to focus and learn and do what he needed to do rather than me just know that I have Betty for lunch I mean I had a sandwich and some popcorn as well I didn't need all that so of course I was going to get them something it's important to remember that in order for these students to learn their basic needs have to be met I have had students come to school without clean clothes their shoes are falling apart they're hungry these basic needs are not being met and for those students course they're going to act out of course they're trying to get attention from you a lot of times that's what it is they're trying to get attention because they don't receive it another places they need your help figure out why they're acting the way that they are don't take it personally this one is great and it is something that I have kind of had to remind myself to do as well is empathize with the student so for example when a student is just having a meltdown or just not listening to what you're saying it's really hard to kind of empathize with them it is so when a student is having a difficult time I like to put myself in their shoes and be able to empathize with that student I try to think of a time when I had a similar conflict so again maybe they're hungry maybe they aren't getting along with a friend I try to find a story from my own personal life to share with them so that they can find something in common with me and that way I can kind of say hey I Center that - I understand what you're going through and the students realize that they have something in common with the teacher or just to someone else in general they're most likely going to calm down because it's making them feel better and they don't feel alone and they don't feel like they have to go ahead and reach out for all of this attention this one is also very important it is crucial that you stay in contact with those parents just so that the student knows that you and their parents are on the same page the students will be less likely to misbehave if they know that you guys are on the same page and have been talking about what's happening at school a lot of times students think that whatever they do at school doesn't make it home and whatever happens at home doesn't make it to school I love it when parents are able to work with the teacher and follow through with that behavior at home and follow through with what we're working on at school as well so what I have come to find out is that my most difficult students like to be in charge of their own behavior so one thing that I've done with my more challenging students especially my students that are on their own behavior plan is we actually have set goals and rewards I have the students to the goal that they want to reach and the reward that they think they should have once they meet that goal now sometimes with kids the goals aren't super realistic so as a teacher you have to guide them through and make sure that the goal that they set is appropriate but really you're giving that students of power to kind of take control of their behavior and since they are creating their own goal and reward they will actually be more motivated to reach that goal this is very powerful I highly suggest that you try this with your most difficult students because it is it's the most powerful thing that I have found so far when dealing with challenging students it makes the students feel appreciated and cared about because you're really just letting them take the reins on this so now we're going to go ahead and talk about how to keep your composure when dealing with a difficult or challenging student yes this is very hard to do but I hope that these tips and strategies will help you kind of walk through that process keeping your composure and staying calm is crucial when you are trying to manage a classroom as teachers we come across a lot of very frustrating and stressful situations and it is hard to remain calm if you as a teacher are unable to keep your composure or if you are reacted like if you snap back at a student really quickly or kind of raise your voice you will be creating a very tense environment in which the students will feel uncomfortable and unsafe the more reactive you are the more tense the environment seems to get the students will also feed off of that so they will not really look at you as a leader because you aren't able to control that emotion you kind of really react quickly snap back at the students and instead of responding in a calm way you just you're not able to really control your outbursts this proof cannot go very well if you're trying to manage the classroom the key is to always be responsive and not reactive keep that in mind responsive not reactive here are some ways that you can keep your composure when dealing with difficult students number one get plenty of sleep it is so important teachers for us to get a good amount of sleep each night we have a lot to deal with when we go to work so it's important that you are your best self that you're putting your best foot forward and have had enough rest to deal with those situations and that way it will actually help you to be more responsive and less reactive because you won't be tired or grumpy you will be well rested and put together and your mind will be clear number two smile and laugh so a lot of times what I like to do is really just kind of be a little late hearted kind of just smile and laugh okay let's go ahead and deal with this problem so just kind of laugh it off a little bit and you're more in your mind not necessarily like laughing at the students obviously but just kind of smile and kind of calm down as you're smiling and thinking more lightheartedly it really helps I promise number three take deep breaths go ahead and breathe I mean when I get kind of flustered in the classroom most of the time I'm just like okay let me just take a step back take a couple of deep breaths and really kind of rejuvenate or refocus myself so that I can deal with this problem let's practice together ready read it please and then one more time breathe it see don't you feel calmer I know I do number four is listen listen to the student why are they crying out for help and I don't mean actually crying out oh when a student is acting out or being difficult in your classroom it's really a cry for help what do they need from you listen to them figure out what that needed and what they're trying to tell you so that you can be as helpful as possible number five is to stop and think before you speak so again this goes back to being responsive and not reactive stay active would be just you blurt out really quickly what's on your mind instead of take a step back and stop and think about what you're going to say before you say it make sure that what you're telling that student is purposeful it needs to be something helpful for that student so that they can figure out how to talk to alright guys I hope you found these strategies and tips helpful I know that dealing with challenging students can be draining and stressful and frustrating I just wanted to share with you how I was able to overcome all of this by just changing a few things that I did in my classroom thank you guys so much and be sure to click that like button if you found this video helpful also please subscribe to my channel so that you don't miss any future videos I have a lot of fun ones coming up soon but I wanted to get this classroom management series out to you so that you can make it through until the end of the year see you guys next time bye

Channel: A Classroom Diva

Views: 111,237

Rating: 4.86484 out of 5

Keywords: classroom, classroom management, behavior management, classroom rules, dealing with challenging students, challenging students, dealing with difficult students, difficult students, a classroom diva, classroom diva, new teachers, classroom teachers, beginning teachers, teacher tips

Id: dxgQU57IIZM

Length: 10min 32sec (632 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 22 2017