Who are the kids in front of you? Try anything!

MONTY ADAMS*

1st Quarter - 2008:

Mini-Skateboard

Spare mini wheels

Mini screwdriver

click...click...click...click...whiiish...wheeeee

Grinding the board on the edge of a desk then SLAM SLAM...”hehe nice”

In a classroom. 20 other students. Cooperating teacher looks at me for an answer.

This was my first year of teaching. One student. Would he take me down? Would I let him? Would they let him? Who could stop him?

2nd Quarter - 2008:

AXE body spray

Blue

Orange

Mini can

Value Pack

Spritzz....spritz....SSSSSsssssssss......”aaahh nice”

Coughing. Sighing. Complaining. 

“Miss...do something!”

What now?

That’s the moment as a first year teacher when I had to find my voice and find my way. Monty wouldn’t take me down. He wouldn’t derail every lesson, every day, all year. Or would he? He wanted to. He could if we let him. So what do you do?

LESSON #1 Document Document Document

It was this early in my career that I learned to keep a paper trail. I didn’t know yet what I would need it for, but when I didn’t know what else to do, I stood in the back of the room and wrote down everything.

9/2/2008 

Period 2: Monty asked to borrow a pen rather than take one out of his bag.

Intervention: I asked him to take out his own and he complied

Period 5: Monty took a very long time to fill out the book receipt.

Intervention: I sat next to him and walked him through each blank space, it was completed successfully.

Period 6: Monty clicks the end of pen on the desk for 10 minutes. He refused to take out his notebook.

Intervention: Mr. Shell from the middle school came up and spoke to him. He told him to act like he is in the 9th grade and that there is plenty of room back in Junior High if he wants to do 8th grade again. Reminded Monty that his "mom fought hard to get him here but MS Franklin Heights would take him back in a minute."

Period 8: Monty was talking out. Later he wouldn't fill out the note card about himself. Monty wouldn't take out his notebook or take notes.

Intervention: I asked him if he wanted to dictate the work to me. He did for a few minutes and then took over on his own so that he could participate in the activity that was going on in the classroom.

THINGS ESCALATE QUICKLY...

9/12/2008

pd 1 8:45am Class is doing work in Math and the instructions do not allow calculators. Monty takes out his calculator and begins using it do his work.

Intervention: Both teachers in room ask him to put it away multiple times. He is told it is not allowed and he needs to learn how to do these exercises without a calculator. He refuses and ignores the teachers. When I get my notebook out to write down his behavior, he stops using his calculator and puts his books away. 

pd 2 9:15am Monty does not want to sit in his seat for the Quiz. He finally sits but then picks his desk up and bangs it on the floor. 

Intervention: Ms. Kang tells him it is unsafe and not appropriate for the classroom. He still does it. Kang goes to get the Dean. Monty says to me, "Ya get Ms. Corn. I wanna talk to her right now!" Ms. Corn is in a meeting and can't come to the class. During the Quiz Monty taps loudly on the desk and whispers to classmates.

9:35am Ms. Kang begins lesson and Monty yells out, "Shit!" Another student says, "Watch your language?" Monty responds, "What up nigga?" 

Intervention: Kang tells him to talk in a professional way. He says, "I don't wanna talk professional! I'm not professional."

pd 5 11:15am Monty comes into class with a note that he was just with Ms. Corn. He slams door, sits down and puts feet up on the desk. Then says, "The F**king nigga teachers got me in trouble for no reason. I don't wanna be in this school."

11:35am Monty is banging loudly on desk to a rhythm, singing along with himself, "Uh…hey…uh…hey…soul….my bitch."

Intervention: I ask him to stop banging because it is impossible to teach with the banging. He stops and then starts clapping loudly to the same beat and sings the same tune. 

11:40am Ms. Curtis hooks her computer up to the LCD projector.  On her background is a picture of her son. Monty yells out, "Ugh! Get those niggahs off the screen!"

Intervention: He sees me write it up and says, "See, now she's writing me up for saying niggah."

And on and on and on...

Have you had a Monty? What happens to them? 

Well I could write for three days on all of the incidents there were between September and December, and the pages of anecdotals I was forced to type from my handwritten Composition Book for the lawyers at the inevitable hearing that took place after he was jumped on the street outside of school and both kids went away for a while.

LESSON #2 The Most Extreme Cases Usually Take Care of Themselves (more on these later)

What did I learn and how did it impact who I am as an educator and a leader?

The hundreds of interventions we tried and used and tried again and tweaked; that’s the “win” here. We may not save every student. We learn from each case and make it better for the next one, and help ourselves to help other students who are crying for help. 

SO here it is. Interventions we used that began to fill my toolkit that I would take with me wherever I went and with whoever I was working:

WITH ONE STUDENT!

Prompting

Redirecting

Refocusing

Positive praise of appropriate behavior

Clear expectations

Repetition

Directions read and explained

Direct Language

Verbal prompts

Non-verbal prompts

Student conferences

Timer for work completion

Timer for breaks

Timer to take data on off-task

Tallies of foul language

Tallies of aggressive behavior

Point system for on-task behavior

Planned ignoring

Assigning seats

Moving seats

Removing materials

Providing additional materials

Scaffolding tasks

Chunking tasks

Kindness

Soft-spoken encouragement

Jokes and laughter

Build Rapport

Modifying classwork

Modifying homework

Modifying assessments

Pair with preferred group

Pair with non-preferred group

Monitoring duties

Leadership opportunities at school events when possible

Referral to the Dean

Lunch detention

After-School Detention

Conference with the Dean

Functional Behavior Assessment/Behavior Intervention Plan

Edible incentives

Work related incentives

Conference with administration

Conference with guidance

Counseling with guidance

Teacher collaborative meetings

Parent meeting with teacher

Parent meeting with guidance

Parent phone calls with administrator

Parent meeting with administrator

WITH ONE STUDENT! 

EVERY STUDENT DESERVES THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT THAT “MAYBE THIS ONE WILL WORK...” UNTIL YOU’RE OUT OF ROAD...OR UNTIL THE STUDENT HITS THE POINT OF NO RETURN.

Recap:

Lesson 1: Document Document Document

Not because the lawyer needs the data, that may be the reason at first. Ultimately, the paper trail you keep becomes your road map and personal professional development. Reflect, rethink and revise the action plan to achieve a greater result next time. There’s always a next time. 

Lesson 2: The Most Extreme Cases Usually Take Care of Themselves 

Unfortunately, teachers are the first line, and an extremely crucial component, in the growth and development of children when they are in our care. But we don’t have them with us ALL day, and it is often in the unstructured and unsupervised hours, they have free will to do what they impulsively will do. It is then that they end up making the bad decisions that remove them from our classrooms and schools, and thus out of our hands without warning - and there’s nothing we can do about it.