HOW TO HANDLE AN OUT-OF-CONTROL STUDENT

HOW TO HANDLE AN OUT-OF-CONTROL STUDENT

He (or she) is blatantly disrespectful. He makes fun of and laughs at other students. He%u2019s rude and silly. He%u2019s argumentative and attention-seeking. He is well known by every staff member and can describe the inside of the principal%u2019s office. Time-out has minimal effect and notes and phone calls home rarely do any good.

Its clear that there is little accountability at home and school administration is reluctant to suspend him for classroom behavior. Short of physically hurting another student, he is untouchable. And he knows it.

He is one of those rare students who has gotten a peek behind the curtain and has discovered that no matter what he does, within fifteen minutes or so he be right back out on the playground or in your classroom doing as he wishes.

Its disheartening and stressful, and you at the end of your rope. You ve tried everything. You done your research. You read all the books. You requested help and consultation from counselors and psychologists. You ve hashed and rehashed it out with your colleagues.

But to no avail.

And so here you are, deep into the school year, and other than a few brief and blissful periods of improved behavior, nothing has changed. In fact, if anything, it has gotten worse. He has now begun misbehaving right in front of you, literally daring you to do something about it.

All the while you%u2019ve been a saint. You%u2019ve worked hard to build rapport. You%u2019ve been patient and kind and forgiving. Your students love being in your class. It%u2019s just this one student. Why isn%u2019t he coming around? Why isn%u2019t he buying into your progra