Suspension, When is it right?
Often there are students in our classes that disrupt the flow of teaching. They speak out across the room or tease others. You have warned them, sent them to the office and called home. They continually distract others from learning. Suspension is still a last resort. Try to collaborate with another teacher. Hopefully with more discipline and more experience. Play good cop bad cop. I’m sure they will give you and your students the relief needed to get through the day. Meanwhile look for strateiges for positive reinforcers for that student and for the whole class. It is important to reward the whole class for ignoring the poor choices of one student. Equally it is important to offer positive reenforcement to the disruptive learner. Remember, suspension is temporary and limited to 10 days per year for a Special Ed student.
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:14 am
I’m really struggling with this as a first year teacher. I find it difficult to keep students in my room and go through the motions of incentives and rewards when their actions are significantly impeding the success of my other students. At the same time, I am trying to revamp my management program and give admin. a break from seeing those students so often. Additionally, I’ve noticed that office referrals and suspensions do little to nothing as far as stopping a behavior. I’m hoping that with experience, things will get better. In the mean time, I’ve come to love study carrels!
February 13th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Many of those students understand that they have problems, they also know that the teacher and the students will try to be patient with them. The thing is, they choose not to fallow rules, not to listen to their teachers, and do what ever they want to their peers, make it hard to help themselves and to help them with their behaviors. Many of those students could change if we could help them understand that they could do better if they are try. I had one little girl I have been working with, she knows that her parents been talking to me about her. Many time she is playing with toys in a corner, when I tried to talk a little lower, so she could not hear me. She said ” I could hear what you talking about guys”. Sometimes, she said, ” I am going to try to do better tomorrow. But, beleive me, she did try to do better, and she even try to do better for weeks. Slowly, she did try and I will keep trying to help her as much as I could. I am learning from her, because its my hope to help as many children as I could. I only could try one at a time until I reach some kind of goals to help more children with ADHD
March 6th, 2010 at 11:44 am
In my opinion, suspension does nothing to correct behavior. Many times children act out because of issues they are having either at school or home or may not have good role models. By suspending them, they are being allowed to stay home and not worry about having to come to school and be responsible. We need to learn to deal with difficult behaviors in other ways.
March 25th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
I wish my brothers teachers would read this selection. He has been suspended many times because of his disruptions in class. There are debates going on if he should be in special ed classes or gen ed classes. In special ed, he is above standard so he gets moved up to gen ed classes, but in those ones, he acts out because the teachers cant understacd him with him being partially deaf and dont understand where he is coming from. With him acting out in the gen ed classes, he has been suspended. I wonder if his school knows that it is only 10 times per year.