Rude and Disruptive SPED Students

by Vanna

Jun 10, 2011

I am an instructional assistant. I have never been offered any professional development classroom management even though I substitute and have three different classroom groups of students daily. Today I substituted in a sped class and repeatedly asked a student to be quiet, to stop chattering while others spoke and getting up at the wrong time. She even talked over the collab teacher and her fellow classmates. During last period there was a fire drill and I was in the process of calling the ofice to locate a missing student when it occurred. We exited the building and she continued talking as I as a teacher for a walkie talkie to locate the missing student. I asked her twice to be quiet expressing to her "it's a fire drill. She keep talking and I told her "Please shut up." Nothing was said by her, but when we returned inside a boy begain discussing what I said to her I wasn't allowed to say and mentioned I could be fired. I informed him it was not his concern and he told me that a teac...See More

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AM Thank YOU for caring enough to ask here and to ask for the training for everyone's sake. I'm very happy you found the information you can use to be helpful and I wish you the best as you move forward.

On 7/01/11, Vanna wrote: > I truly appreciated your feedback. Thank you for providing > critical information I need to support my requ...See More

Jul 1, 2011

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Barbara On 7/01/11, Vanna wrote: > I truly appreciated your feedback. Thank you for providing > critical information I need to support my request for proper > training/retraining. I am certain due to budget cuts I will be > called to substitute for SPED again.

Vanna,

Yes, the need for professional training is essential. All I...See More

Jul 13, 2011

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WR You should be trained, no question. How old are these kids? My admin. would LAUGH (High School) if a parent were to complain about the situation you described. Kids love to say "fired" they are telling the truth as they see it *but* I doubt that anybody was fired for telling a disruptive student to "please shut up".

On 7/13/11, Barbara wr...See More

Jul 20, 2011

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Natalie It can be difficult to manage a classroom of students if you don't know what you are doing. Something that I find is always effective is using a mixture of negative AND positive reinforcement. If they're younger kids, things like a points system and sticker charts work well. For example, break kids up into "color" teams, such as blue, green, orange...See MoreIt can be difficult to manage a classroom of students if you don't know what you are doing. Something that I find is always effective is using a mixture of negative AND positive reinforcement. If they're younger kids, things like a points system and sticker charts work well. For example, break kids up into "color" teams, such as blue, green, orange, etc. Every time you notice a positive behavior they get a point for their team, such as sitting quietly during a video, raising their hands and not calling out, paying attention when a classmate is talking, etc. The more undesirable behavior you notice, the more positive reinforcement you need to give to the children who are behaving well. (ex: the blue is doing a great job of sitting quietly and paying attention so I'm going to give their team a point! and then the green team realizes they need to shape up if they want points..) Just remember you can never take points away! You can only add negative reinforcement. For negative behavior, writing names on the board works surprisingly well, and adding checks for continued behavior. The trick here is to allow easy opportunities for redemption. For example, "I noticed you raised your hand and didn't call out like last time, so I am going to erase one of your checks. Good job." EVERY TIME i've used this on a so-called problem child, it works to modify their negative behavior because they appreciate that you caught them doing something well, even if it's only a small step.

Most importantly, you have to address EVERY undesired behavior, EVERY time. You have to pay attention and don't let anything slide or they won't take you seriously. The more unruly a class is, the more points you need to be giving out. It may be time consuming and you might feel like you spend more time on crowd control then content, but the content can't be learned unless they are paying attention.

Remember to explain the rules of the points game before the lesson and tell them how to get points and how they won't get points (calling out, being rude, etc). Then, the team with the most points at the end of the day gets a small reward - stickers, pencils, toys, whatever. I've even done where the team with most points gets to line up for lunch or dismissal first. If they are really restless, something I like to do is have a "brain break" - a simon says type game to let them stretch, jump around, move and let out some of that energy because you really can't accomplish much if they won't pay attention.

As for the fire drill situation, you shouldn't have lost your temper. Even if it's that serious, you have to remember that their negative behaviors are not directed at you, even if they make it seem that way - so don't take it personally. They will respect you more if they see you keep your cool even in stressful situations. Sometimes they are just frustrated, maybe because they don't understand the content - which may have to do with their special needs - or because of a home situation, or just something else OUT OF THEIR CONTROL. If you allow them to redeem themselves easily, they'll realize that they can do well in school. The most difficult students need the most guidance, support, and PRAISE even if it's for something small.

This is all very basic but hopefully it will help you until you are able to be trained appropriately.

Jul 20, 2011

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Christy Chan Then, the team with the most points at the end of the day gets >my student will soon do pair in to groups thanj

a small reward - stickers, pencils, toys, whatever. I've even done where > the team with most points gets to line up for lunch or dismissal first. If > they are really restless, something I like to do is have a "brain br...See More

Sep 23, 2011

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