Working with Challenging Students
Posted by PLB Blogger · 2 Comments
As winter sets in, and we’re wearing our warm clothes, I was thinking about the beauty of this season. I love to look at trees covered with snow, frozen lakes and of course, falling snow. Ironically, it’s the same wetness, cold and ice that makes this season so harsh. If not for the comforts of shelter, warm clothes and indoor heating, few of us could survive this season.
I sometimes find a similarity in working with students. A student who initially I found challenging, ended up being one of whom I have wonderful memories. As I practice patience and kindness, perceived external difficulties fade away and I increasingly appreciate the inner beauty of each child.
It’s like talking a walk in the snow. We could focus on how cold and hard it is, or we can look around and enjoy the scenery. When we are able to cherish and love the inner beauty in challenging students, walking that extra mile is so much easier, and we are left refreshed instead of exhausted.
While working with challenging students, what do you do to make it a refreshing experience?
I try and find out what interests the child has, and I will search for books and artifacts that the child can read and use to draw and write about, talk about, and feel acknowledged. I will try and sense “frustration” before it happens, scaffolding the work, individualizing the work, take a walk and talk break, etc. The child’s mind is most important. A challenging child can shut down due to a variety of reasons. If a child feels valued and a teacher molds to the child, not expecting the child to mold to the teacher, the child has a chance to relax and move forward.
I agree with Marcy. I think the key here is to realize the reason the child may be perceived as “challenging” is because his/her behavior and skill set is not commensurate with the expectations of the environment he/she is being asked to perform in. There is much more to a child than what they are displaying in that environment. We are all human beings with emotions. To build a relationship with someone is far more difficult but equally more rewarding when attempting to alter behavior. That to me has always been the key, once we see people as people, before the expected role as a “student”, we can learn to appreciate the whole person and not just what is expected of him/her that is obviously not something that has brought success in the past for this individual. As the saying goes walk a mile in another’s shoes before you judge their path.