Identifying underlying causes of student classroom misbehavior

Consulting a Teacher: Reflections

My main goal in consulting the teacher having a difficulty with a student was to identify the origin or cause of the problem so as to better position the teacher to work towards a solution. For this reason, we examined the student's situation to see if there were possible explanations or reasons for the child's misbehavior in the classroom. A child may misbehave for a number of reasons that are not necessarily related to disciplinary action. For instance, a child could be reacting to socioeconomic pressures and stress within his/her own home life. The child could be suffering from a learning disability and lashing out in class in response to his/her inability to keep up with the pace of the class. The child could be suffering from development issues that are sociological or psychological in nature.

The key approach I took in consulting the teacher was to help her to see that this was a not a personal issue, that the teacher should not take the student's disruptive behavior personally. No matter how it might seem, the student was not attempting to give her problems personally. There are underlying reasons and causes for misbehavior and the best way to solve a situation and improve a student's behavior is to identify the causes and address them. Sometimes discipline is necessary, for instance, if the student is deliberately misbehaving for the sole reason of causing disorder in the classroom. This would be the case if there are no socio-economic causes for the misbehavior, if psychological examinations are passed, and if the student's ability to learn is assessed as adequate with no disabilities present whatsoever.

For this reason, it is helpful, I stressed to the teacher to investigate the student and his/her background. To fully understand the situation as it is presented, one must make an exhaustive review and ask how is the student's family life/structure at home? Is there any evidence of reinforcement at home that can support the positive interactions that you as a teacher are trying to have with the student? Meeting with parents is imperative in such a case, as it shows that the teacher is caring for the student and looking for help from the family and that the family needs to take an active role and follow the leadership of the teacher, too.

My other goal in consulting the teacher was not to give up and to help her to stay motivated and positive throughout the ordeal. Even if no solution was immediately forthcoming, I wanted to help her to realize that often times overcoming obstacles and improving a student's behavior takes a great deal of time and is not solved in a day. Much patience is required as well as much charity.

As I reflect on my consultation experience I see that it was a very helpful exercise in which I was able to communicate specific ideas with my client and elaborate on methods by which we might achieve an identified goal. The consultation sessions allowed for the teacher to voice concerns and issues she was having, which helped her to clarify in her own mind what was happening; and it allowed me to notice and highlight certain themes that were appearing in her expression of the issues.