Teaching Tip Tuesday: Respect My Authority!

As a school psychologist, I help teachers and parents craft behavior plans for students who are having difficulties in school. Without fail, the top two behaviors that are the most problematic for teachers are not following rules/directions and lack of work completion. I often have the image of writing a behavioral goal for South Park’s Eric Cartman pop in my head as I write these:

Cartman will RESPECT MY AUTHORI-TAY in the classroom when given a direction in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher charted records.

So in the spirit of Teaching Tip Tuesday, here are some tips for teachers (and parents) to increase compliance with requests.

1) Start with requests that the child can definitely do and praise him/her. “Cartman, I need you to go get yourself an extra snack. Great! Thanks for following my direction.”

2) If Cartman is a complains or protests requests, then give a fixed choice, which allows him a small level of control. Defiance of authority usually has a root in a need for control, so give him a little. You would be surprised at how often this works. Say, “Cartman, you have a choice. You can start your math fact worksheet or read silently for 10 minutes. You pick.” I know, you’re thinking he will pick “neither” but that rarely happens. If he does say neither, you can say, “Would you like me to make a choice for you?” and that usually triggers a choice.

3) In the fixed choice technique, you can also make one choice totally undesirable so he picks the math worksheet or whatever you want them to do. When I pick up kids for testing and they balk, I say “Okay, you can come now, or during [insert favorite class]." Then if they choose to come with me, I thank them for taking responsibility. If it is a particularly oppositional kid who barely ever follows directions, then I usually call the parent in front of the kid and tell the parent how cooperative Cartman was for me after we’re done to reinforce him making a good choice.

4) Make sure the child understands the direction you are giving him or her. Sometimes, kids with learning or attention difficulties are not disrespecting your authority, sometimes they didn’t get the direction. You can ask them to repeat the direction in his/her own words to make sure all pieces of information got in. I am always so surprised when I test kids and have them repeat what I think are simple directions “Open your history book and turn to page 127” and they say, “Um, open your book to page 27?”

5) Deeeeeeeep breath. Kids who always say “no” or defy your authority can be super exasperating. Try to remain calm and use a business-like tone, so they do not know you are about to lose it. Kids respond to modeling. Model calm so things don’t escalate.

6) Try these other tips for working with oppositional students.

Okay, it’s your turn! How do you get kids to follow directions? Here's how to submit your Teaching Tip Tuesday! By the way, Hugh and Damian, can you repost your tips from last week? I accidently deleted them! I'm still learning this whole auto-link thing! Thanks! ;)

What My Students Think About Obama

For those of you just joining us, it has been all Obama, all the time, here at Notes from the School Psychologist as we approach the upcoming inauguration. Just yesterday, my students and I were recorded by NPR's California Report about Obama's impact on urban education. I heard it on the way home tonight and I couldn't be more proud of the kids. Click below to hear my darling students on The California Report. Skip ahead to about 7:50.







And if you want to see pictures of the students in all their cuteness, click here.

Dear President Obama...

A few weeks ago, I wrote to NPR's California Report about how my students inspired me to go to Obama's inauguration (or rather, how my students inspired me to stand in the freezing cold NEAR his inauguration!). Well low and behold, NPR was so wonderful, and offered to come to one of my schools to interview me about the students, and to let the middle school kids themselves have the radio waves to tell us all what Obama's victory means to them!

We recorded it today, and I nearly O.D.'d in preciousness and pride. Their charm was set on stun, I'm telling you. I am so proud of how well they did sharing their experiences. They were so nervous, and they did just beautifully.

So tune in tomorrow to hear some of my students talk about what Obama's victory means to them! For Bay Area people, I'm told it will air tomorrow, Friday, January 8th, at 4:30p.m. and 6:30p.m. on KQED Radio Station (88.5.) For non-local people, you can listen online on KQED's Website or download the audio after it airs.

I'm so excited for them!

Why Won’t You Die, Old Habits? Why???

About 2 months ago, Fiancé got a wild hair to clean out and rearrange our kitchen. I know, you want to marry him, but you cannot, he is MINE! He cooks too, by the way. Amazing.

Anyhoo, for the past two months, every morning, I go to get my cereal bowl and find the drinking glasses. Every morning, I curse myself for not remembering they have moved. Then, I remember that they were in that spot for 24 months prior to that, so maybe it just takes some time to un-do our old habits. I really hope it does not take me two years to learn this new behavior!

I have used this example with kids as an easy way to think of how hard it is to break a habit. Sometimes, I bust out a calculator and we punch in how many times a day they think they do the OLD behavior (get out of seat without permission, tell themselves they are dumb, forget their homework), then ask how long they have been doing it (2 years? 6 months? 5 years?) and write down the total number of times they practiced the old behavior. Then, we calculate how many times they have done the NEW behavior and write it down. I ask them what they notice. Inevitably, the number of times they have done the NEW behavior is always substantially less, and it keeps the kids from beating themselves up for wanting to change, but not being able to right away. Then the teachable moment is that it takes PRACTICE to do things a new way.

We all can empathize, right? Especially those of us who are human, and break our New Years Resolutions by February. So be patient with yourself too! Okay, please excuse me, I am going to go get my cereal bowl from the new spot. I'm on my way...

Teaching Tips Tuesday: Take Two

Welcome back to the weekly installment of Teaching Tips Tuesday (T3)! This is a weekly post in which readers get the chance to share their wealth of information about what works for them in the classroom, or at home in teaching their kids. Instructions on how to post something are here.

So here's my tip of the week. I look forward to seeing what you all have to share too!

What to Post on the Walls of Your Classroom

I went to UC Berkeley for graduate school. One would assume that most UC Berkeley students have a working knowledge of social rules. But I was always amused that in the bathrooms in the Education building, they had clear signs posted that read:

Please Flush the Toilet When You Are Finished

Really? You have to post that? Does that mean that at sometime in the past, there was a problem in which groups of people in the decision-making chain decided that yes, they had to go make up little signs to tell students who already passed a rigorous admissions process that they weren't smart enough to follow basic social rules? It appears so.

So with that in mind, I suppose that classroom teachers need to post the rules that we all assume kids know already. When I enter classrooms, I usually scan the walls, just out of curiosity. In some classrooms, there are clearly posted rules that are referred to when violations happen. In some classrooms, it looks like Barney and his gang threw up a rainbow everywhere and I get dizzy looking around. And in some classrooms, there are barren walls. I'm of the opinion that a classroom needs basic rules posted. Hey, if we Berkeley grads can't even figure out how to use a toilet, how can we except middle school kids to know the school rules?

I recommend posting no more than 3 positively stated rules. I think it's easier to tell kids what what we expect them to do, rather than the long list of what we don't like (No Gum! No Interrupting! No Getting Out of Your Seat Without Permission! No! No! No!). Imagine you went to the teacher's lounge and it said, "No complaining! No venting! No smelly dishes that could offend other's olfactory senses!" Wouldn't really make you want to hang out there.

If you post these three basic rules, I think you will be able to put all the little behaviors you don't want under them.

1) Be Safe

2) Be Respectful

3) Be Responsible

I usually have the kids think of examples. It is hard to think of the positive behavior you want instead of what you want, but you can ask the kids what is the opposite. So if they say, "Don't cuss at people" you can direct them to "Use respectful language" or "Disagree without being disagreeable." Sometimes I even use their own language they generate, because it sticks better, as in, "Don't be a hater!" Then, when a kid curses out another kid, you can simple point to the rule as a warning. If they continue, then you can proceed with your regular sequence of discipline events (which is worth another 47 posts, so chime in your tip for effective discipline!)

Lastly, since teachers are starting anew this January, it's a good time to review the rules, consequences, and rewards. You might also consider picking the rule that was broken the most last semester and set up a positive group contingency, which is basically rewarding small groups for following the rule. It can be as simple as having each table with a jar and you plop in a paperclip or marble or something every time you observe them being responsible (I see table 3 is working on their first paragraph, which is very responsible). Some teachers give table points on the board when they see cooperation. Whatever system you like is fine, just be explicit at first about what you are rewarding. Also, remember that public teacher attention isn't always rewarding for older students, so having it in a group with a decent reward that the class really likes is essential (free time always works).

Go forth and post! And remember to flush!

Sensory-Integration Disorders

When I first started my clinical practice at a Children's Hospital, I got referrals left and right to assess children for "Sensory Integration" disorders. The classic referral was from parents who were concerned that their 2 year old was clumsy (aren't they all kind of clumsy?) or didn't like tags touching them (who does?). I thought maybe I missed that day in graduate school, because at the time, I had never heard of such a disorder. Sure, I had heard of children with Autism and ADHD who had sensory issues, but not a "Sensory Integration Disorder," per se. All I knew was that when I brought it up to other professionals, it was met with an eye roll 9 chances out of 10. Over the years, I have heard the term less and less, but for those wondering what the heck it is, and if it's even a real disorder, check out this posting on Quack Watch. I'd love to hear what others think on this issue.

Teaching Tips Tuesday: Take One

Right, so this is an experiment to see if I am SO 21st century and am able to pull off this "Mr. Linky" automated link situation. The basic idea of Teacher Tip Tuesday is to have you all post tips that work in the classroom or at home when teaching kids. The full guidelines and how to work this newfangled linky thing are here.

So what is my first tip? Well, since it's Holiday Break, I thought I'd be lazy and post a few of my old favorites from 2008. What? It's vacation! Plus, who doesn't love a "Best of 2008" list? Further, recycling is so hot right now.

1. How to make studying (more) fun using fly swatters or dingers

2.Using hip hop to teach multiplication

3.Why punishment doesn't always work in the classroom

4.How to be optimistic even when your car is stolen

5.My arranged marriage to Barney (aka What is play therapy?)

6.Checklist for new teachers

7.Dealing with teasing

8.Obama's impact on urban education

9.How to run an anger management group and not accidently form a gang

10. Forget about deadlines! There's still time for teachers to write a story for "The Teachable Moment" book and get some extra cash