Friday, January 31, 2014

A Strong-willed Child

"No, I'm not going to do it" he says as he takes off, running around the room and circling his arms into a propeller jump before landing in a kick-squat position on the floor.

This has become a daily scenario for me at work. There is one boy, bless his heart, who defies us everyday in what feels like a power struggle. I have tried to use an angry authoritative voice. I have threatened loss of privileges and losing a level on the behavior chart. I have ignored the behavior. I have removed the student from the room. It feels like nothing is working as the behavior continues day in and day out.

The other day, this student defied the teacher in the classroom. She said in a stern, deep voice with a face as solid as ice --"You do not tell me what to do. It does not work that way." Shortly after that, I tried to do the exact same thing and use similar words. It didn't work--he pulled his hand away and said "I'm not going to hold your hand."

It may seem like we are babying him to have him hold our hands. However, the other option is that he  either runs out into the snow and needs to be chased back into line or he pushes and kicks other kids.

I not that his defiance is not personal, and when I start to get frustrated, I just walk away from him and take some deep breaths so I do not lose my cool. But seriously, I am open for some suggestions.

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