10 Steps to Certainty

Posted by Paul Dix on 28 May 2012 | 0 Comments

1. When children escalate take them back to the original behaviour before you deal with the secondary behaviours.
2. Display your consistency clearly on the walls of the classroom. Encourage the children to keep you on track.
3. Manage escalating inappropriate behaviour with an emotionless almost scripted response.
4. Use phone calls home and positive notes home to reinforce your positive certainty. Even in the most inconsistent homes.
5. Map rules, routines, learning habits and rituals for individuals and specific activities that are becoming difficult to manage.
6. Have a clear tariff for appropriate and inappropriate behaviour. Send it home to parents and be prepared to concede when you have a bad day and don't apply it correctly.
7. Use the term when you are speaking to children about their behaviour ‘If you choose to stay on task throughout this activity you can be certain that I will catch you and give you praise and reward. If you choose to ignore the routine/make a house under the desk/eat Charlene's rubber you can be certain that you will receive a sanction that I will enforce'.
8. Don't judge yourself too harshly when you fall off the wagon and behave inconsistently apologise and get back to your consistent habits and routines.
9. Resist the temptation to deal with minor indiscretions with high level sanctions. In effect you are ‘crying wolf', when you really need support for behaviour that warrants a high level sanction colleagues may not be so keen to support.
10. Aim to deliver and execute sanctions on the same day so that every child can start each day with a clean sheet.