Abstract
Christopher Gough, LCPC—Private Therapist/Consultant/DeKalb, IL
Greg M. Romaneck—School Administrator/Batavia, IL
All too often teachers struggle to meet the needs of students with emotional/behavioral needs. In many instances these struggles are based on a fundamental misalignment of purpose. By focusing attention on the keynote relational, reflective, and connective elements of teacher, students manifesting emotional/behavioral needs can be far more successful in school. This issue of NASET’s Practical Teacher was written by Christopher Gough and Greg M. Romaneck. It highlights five areas where teachers can concentrate efforts aimed at establishing the environment necessary to encourage student learning and growth. These tips focus on cognitive strategies, relational foci, limit setting, and instructional approaches linked to metacognitive teacher behavior.
Every day students enter school troubled by the unwanted baggage of emotional dissonance so heavy that they are unable to learn in the way they otherwise could. Students with emotional and behavioral issues or disabilities function almost as if they were trying to backpack with an emotional load so heavy they can do nothing but lash out, become overwhelmed, or simply admit defeat. In some instances that added emotional weight can take the form of stressors, neglect, misunderstanding, poverty, or abuse at home. In other instances the affective concerns may be the result of a history of failure and disruption in the child’s school experiences. In some cases, students possess pathology that limits such critical skills as empathy, compassion, remorse, and reflection. Whatever the case may be, there are students who are part and parcel of every school who experience some variation on the emotional themes noted above.
Given the fact that there is a population of students whose emotional resilience is markedly limited by intrinsic and extrinsic factors, how can teachers exert greater positive influence on these youngsters’ learning? Research has consistently demonstrated the powerful impact that a teacher has on the lives of the students he/she teaches. Perhaps only parental circumstances affect a child more than the quality of teachers that they have during their developmental years. That being the case how can teachers better influence their students’ lives and in particular, the lives of children and adolescents manifesting emotional/behavioral needs?
What follows is a simple five point approach to how teachers can more mindfully work with students demonstrating emotional and behavioral needs. These five points are by no means exhaustive in regard to methods whereby student emotional/behavioral needs should be influenced. However, these tips are based on many years of experience and principles grounded in student/person-centered approaches.
It is never either easy or simple to work with students whose emotional resilience is compromised. Students who have difficulty regulating their feelings and actions present vast challenges to themselves and others. Any educator or parent who has tried to calm a child who has completely lost their emotional control can attest to just how arduous such work can be. Yet, if we are to make progress in helping children and adolescents to develop improved coping mechanisms, and thereby access their inner potential, then we will have to pursue that noble goal with reflective practices. The five suggestions below are grounded in the belief that all children can learn but that for some youngsters learning is not easy. Hopefully these suggestions will resonate with you and positively impact your practice.
Suggestion #1: Make sure your Head is in the Game:
Students with emotional/behavioral needs are often very bright. Over the years they have honed their craft in terms of finding ways to set off other students, get attention in disruptive ways, and generally push the buttons of those people who are responsible for them. Therefore, it is essential that teachers learn everything they can about the child as well as reflecting on the best practices linked to working with students with emotional needs. In athletics the concept of keeping your head in the game refers to focusing on the events at hand and staying present in the flow of the game. If you lose focus, ignore signs, or simply stop observing what is happening then your head is not in the game of teaching. Students with emotional/behavioral needs will swiftly pick up on your lack of presence and will react in ways that defeat you. So, what is keeping your head in the game in terms of a classroom? In its simplest terms “head in the game” in a classroom context refers to knowledge of the purposes, dynamics, and motivations of child’s behavior as well as knowledge of strategies for responding, reframing (for self and child), and redirecting. In even simpler terms—what is the communicative intent of the child’s actions? Think about what is happening in the classroom—reflect on how the day went and what really happened—empathetically place yourself in the child’s shoes and analyze why the student behaved the way he/she did. In engaging in this reflection also bear in mind that the student may be unclear or unconscious of the motives behind their actions. You as the adult have to frame the events and control the environment. Try to communicate the following message to the child: I am the adult and I can see through your confusion to the truth of your needs. I will help you define your situation and guide you in the direction that is best for you.
Suggestion #2: Work from the Heart and not just the Head:
In all too many instances, children with serious emotional/behavioral needs come from home environments that lack nurturance, predictability, and support. While this dire circumstance is not always the case, there are many instances where teachers know that environmental variables beyond the school have had a tremendous impact upon the child. That being the case it is critically important for teachers to model a compassionate practice. Children are very attuned to the way their teacher feels about them. Most adults can think back to their own school experiences and identify teachers who really cared about them as well as those who were distant or negative toward them. Students with emotional/behavioral needs are doubly capable of making such analyses of their teachers. That fact makes it even more important for teachers to muster as much mindfulness in their professional practice so that they can bring it to bear in the creation of the most supportive learning environment possible. This work involves mobilizing the power of your heart as well as your cognitive strengths. In mobilizing this heart energy the teacher needs to focus on caring and compassion for the child and their needs. The child must experience empathy, support, and respect from the teacher. The teacher must find qualities in the child to like and relate to. Even though the actions of students with emotional/behavioral needs can be destructive, profane, and sometimes dangerous, the message to the child must come from the teacher’s heart and state: Despite your misguided attempts to prove you do not deserve respect, I will see and feel through this to the real you; Whom I will care for, support and respect with honesty and sincerity.
Suggestion #3: You must have the courage of spirit to do the hard work:
Have you ever confronted a person whose force of will and personality was so powerful that you absolutely dreaded trying to problem solve with them? This type of situation can certainly tax the courage of anyone. But, when dealing with students with emotional/behavioral needs these types of tests will come up and they must be mastered. Working with students whose emotions trigger sometimes catastrophic reactions can be a daunting endeavor. It may sometimes seem easier to avoid confrontation, ignore what is happening, and hope that things will get better. While planned ignoring is a tried and true behavioral intervention, in many instances looking the other direction leads to worse problems than simply confronting what is happening. If you wish to work with students exhibiting emotional/behavioral issues then you have to have the “hardness” needed to do so. In this instance “hardness” refers to the ability to generate the courage, strength, stamina or “backbone” to stand up to the problem. In confronting the behaviors or emotions in question, the teacher must remember that the child is simply a predominantly innocent carrier of negative influences. It is all too easy to rush to judgment of a child with behavioral or emotional issues. This type of summary judgment is often based on the false notion that we know the other person better than they know themself. Such pronouncements are almost always faulty and certainly objectify the other person rather than in any way helping us to better understand them. When working with students experiencing emotional/behavioral needs the message to the child has to be: I will be strong enough to protect our situation because each of us, you and me, are worth standing up for.
Suggestion #4: Embrace the power of Hope:
In Man’s Search for Meaning the great psychiatrist Viktor Frankl wrote about the vast power of hope. Frankl was a concentration camp survivor whose existence in the camps was grounded on the dual forces of fate and hope. Frankl described his survival as a factor of chance, luck, and circumstance. Likewise, Frankl also posited the belief that his hope, in the form of his love for and desire to be reunited with his wife, sustained him in a world that was designed to destroy the human mind, body, and spirit. Frankl survived and hope remains a steadfast element of resilience in Western society. In an educational sense, the students you serve whose emotional and behavioral capacities have been impaired can often seem hopeless. The child who seems bent on the emotional destruction of himself or others can exhaust, drain, and defeat the educators who strive to teach him or her. Similarly, it is easy to give up hope when a child behaves in unpredictable ways that appear bent on self-destruction. Yet, without hope how can we truly believe that all children can learn? Without hope where are the possibilities to make gains in a person’s life that previously seemed impossible? The work done with students suffering from emotional/behavioral dysfunction is doubly important because so many people in society will write these children off. These are the students who, if unremediated, will end up in jail after committing terrible acts. These are the students who, unless they are helped to find themselves, will engage in additive, self-destructive, risk taking behaviors that doom them. Hope must be in your heart as you strive to help these students learn and grow. You must reinforce hope as the belief in the innate capacity of the child to adapt and grow in positive ways. You must also bear the belief in your role and capacity to play a significant part in this child’s growth process. Your expectation and belief will be communicated consciously and unconsciously. So too will your doubts, and disbeliefs. In your hope-based practice send the following message to the child: I give you hope by having faith and confidence in your ability to learn to do what is really best for you.
Suggestion #5: Remember that Humor can build bridges:
Humor, if used correctly, can be a great equalizer and tension reducer. In this vein humor can diffuse conflict, allow all involved to “save face”, and provide a bonding experience. When you take yourself too seriously you lose the opportunity to teach others that everyone is imperfect. Humor and self-effacing ways provide a palpable social lesson to students that life is too short to be taken seriously all the time. A classroom where humor is part of the environment can diffuse failures, missteps, and misconduct. Humor should never be used as an instrument for cynicism, sarcasm, or otherwise hurtful energy. Rather, humor, used in a sincere and open way, can establish a mutual ground based on safety in a classroom. Students with emotional/behavioral needs sometimes fail to understand that humor can serve to ease tension. All too often their idea of humor is to put someone down or otherwise hurt them. It is essential that they come to realize that they do not have to use humor as a weapon. Likewise, humor can teach children that it is OK to laugh rather than escalate. In your classroom communicate the following message to the child: In my class learning is a not too serious affair. We laugh together as equals, and I will model how to diffuse conflict when possible by making a heavy situation lighter.
The five suggestions above are in no way a comprehensive look at the mechanics and underpinnings of working with every child experiencing emotional/behavioral needs. Such an exhaustive study would require a weighty tome and not a simple article. However, these five points do afford teachers an opportunity to reflect on their practices and thereby better serve children. It can be oh so difficult to work with students whose emotions and behavior are unregulated. There is no easy way to serve such students. Yet, what other option is there? It is our individual responsibility to work with all of our energy to connect with such students. Such connection can lead to breakthroughs that might easily have been negated by judgment, avoidance, and misunderstanding. Consider these five tips and reflect on your practices with students who tax your energy, capacities, and stamina.
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