Behavior Crisis Management Tool #2

Proximity Teaching

Purpose

The purpose of this tool is to establish a structure around a student who is unable to maintain control over his/her behavior.

Examples

Every day in classrooms across the country some student is unable to control his/her own behavior. As a result, he/she will present a problem for the classroom teacher when lessons are taking place. For instance, the student may tease or interfere in a student’s work, may daydream, may be text messaging, may be making noises etc. For some students, this may be a pattern of behavior that they are unaware of since they lack self monitoring skills. For others, it may be a release of tension, a lack of concentration, or the need to be the center of attention.

What May Not Work

For many students with internal control issues, what will not work in cases like this is setting boundaries from a distance through verbal directions. The greater the distance between the teacher and the student, the weaker the command and desired outcome will be. For students with internal control issues, asking them to stop from a distance is like asking running water from a faucet to shut itself off.

Try This

What you will need to do without skipping a beat is to work your way around the room while teaching until you are at the desk of the student who is having difficulty setting his/her own boundary. Placing your hand on his/her desk while teaching, will help in refocusing the student and center him/her back on the lesson. However, in cases where the student has a pattern of internal control issues, you will want to move him/her close to your desk so that when you move to proximity teaching you do not have far to go.

Next Part – Step IV in the Building Self Confidence in the Classroom Series will be: