Classroom Management Strategies for the Escalating Child
This paper examines classroom management challenges posed by a behaviorally escalating kindergarten student through direct observation and a review of Richard W. Albin's (2003) article "Twelve Practical Strategies to Prevent Behavioral Escalation in the Classroom," published in Preventing School Failure. The paper first describes a full-day observation of a child whose attention-seeking behavior progressed from whining and non-compliance to physical tantrums and deliberate disruption. It then summarizes Albin's key prevention strategies — including reinforcing positive behavior, identifying behavioral triggers, offering choices, and teaching social skills — and applies them to the observed case, concluding that early, proactive intervention could have reduced the severity of escalation.
- Introduction: The Disruptive Child in the Classroom: Overview of disruptive student types and paper's focus
- Observation: A Day with Brandy: Setting and morning behaviors of observed kindergartner
- The Escalation Unfolds: Brandy's behavior escalates through afternoon into tantrum
- Albin's Twelve Strategies for Preventing Behavioral Escalation: Summary of Albin's prevention framework and key strategies
- Applying the Strategies to Brandy's Behavior: Albin's strategies mapped onto specific observed incidents
- Conclusion: Reframing the Problem Child: Reflection on prevention and changed view of Brandy
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds abstract theory in a vivid, detailed first-hand observation, making the application of Albin's strategies concrete and easy to follow.
- It maintains a reflective, honest tone — including the author's initial judgment of the child as a "brat" — which adds authenticity and shows genuine learning.
- Each strategy from Albin is linked directly to a specific moment in the observation, creating clear cause-and-effect analysis rather than generic summary.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied analysis: the author uses a single peer-reviewed source as a theoretical lens and systematically maps its concepts onto a real observed case. This technique — theory-to-practice application — is characteristic of education coursework and requires the writer to both accurately summarize the source and demonstrate understanding by connecting it to original evidence.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief framing introduction, then devotes a substantial middle section to the observation narrative (organized chronologically through the school day). It transitions into a summary of Albin's article, then interweaves the strategies with specific moments from the observation. The conclusion reframes the student's behavior as preventable rather than purely dispositional, showing intellectual growth. The structure follows a classic observe–theorize–apply pattern common in education reflection papers.
Introduction: The Disruptive Child in the Classroom
Every classroom has one — a disruptive child. This includes the non-compliant student, the combative student, the student who engages in inappropriate nonverbal communication, and the attention-seeker whose behavior escalates. This last type of student is the subject of this paper. What follows is a description of a child observed in a kindergarten classroom, a summary of an article on classroom management, and an attempt to apply the principles from that article to the behavioral problems observed.
Observation: A Day with Brandy
The observation took place in a kindergarten at a clean, well-kept school in a working-class neighborhood. The building was old but spacious, and the children walked to school from their homes. Most of the children were white, with a few Black and Hispanic students. Classes were not overcrowded; this particular kindergarten had 17 students and ran all day, rather than the usual morning or afternoon session. The room was attractive, cheerful, and well furnished. The children worked at tables in the morning, went outside for recess, ate hot lunch in the gymnasium, took a 40-minute nap after lunch, and resumed learning activities afterward until dismissal.
The child in focus was a girl named Brandy. She was plump and healthy-looking, with freckles, blue eyes, and short brown hair, and was dressed appropriately for school. In the morning, the children made winter pictures with colored construction paper and paste. Brandy immediately announced that she wanted to do something different. The teacher asked, "What do you have in mind?" Brandy could not think of an idea, and she demanded that the teacher help her come up with one. When the teacher suggested she make a winter picture like everyone else, Brandy became visibly unhappy — she slumped in her seat and scowled. She continued to complain, which the teacher ignored. She then stuffed paste up her nose and announced that she needed to go to the bathroom to blow it out with toilet paper. The teacher allowed her to go, but Brandy did not return in a timely fashion, so the observer volunteered to retrieve her.
In the bathroom, Brandy had accumulated an enormous pile of paper towels, which she had used to dig the paste out of her nose. After helping her clean up, the observer walked her back to class. Brandy sat down and loudly announced, "I can't do it." The teacher assured her that she could, but Brandy kept insisting otherwise. Eventually, she pasted one piece of colored paper and immediately asked, "Am I doing it right?" The teacher encouraged her to add more to her picture. With every piece she pasted, Brandy repeated the same cycle of asking for reassurance. She turned to the observer and said, "Look at mine! Is mine good?" With each step, the need for validation was unmistakable.
References
Albin, R. W. (2003). Twelve practical strategies to prevent behavioral escalation in the classroom. Preventing School Failure, 47(4), 156–161.
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