Classroom Behavior

The mere mention of the words “middle school” can be enough to send chills up the spines of educators, parents, and students. The middle school years are widely recognized as a time when chaos can ensue because of the intersection of hormonal changes, increased academic demands, and a growing orientation toward peer relationships instead of family relationships. It is also the time when certain neurodevelopmental, mental health, or medical symptoms might manifest for the first time or worsen due to both brain and biological maturation.

Shaping children into the student role and managing behavior in the classroom have always been important parts of a teacher’s job. Historically these tasks have been challenging enough considering that all students in the same grade level are not equally mature, some are struggling with neurodevelopmental and/or mental health issues, and each have been raised within specific family and cultural contexts that shape behavioral expectations.

If teachers only had to concern themselves with finding engaging ways to present curriculum content and to vary it to address different learning styles, their daily activities in the classroom would be relatively straightforward. But in today’s schools, teachers increasingly must navigate children’s challenging behaviors and mental health concerns if they have any chance of imparting academic skills and knowledge.

If children and teenagers already had well developed skills in self-regulation, in interpersonal effectiveness, and in decision-making there would be little need for schools and educators. While the delivery of academic content is critical, of course, it is lessons about how to be a healthy human living productively amongst other humans that defines the overarching mission of our schools.

While a growth mindset implies the possibility of ongoing improvement, it does not suggest that there are no limitations on what a person can achieve. Not every child has it in them to become the next Einstein, even if they work very hard. But what this view does imply is that with engagement and effort and sufficient support, all kids can continue to grow and learn and get smarter in a wide range of areas.

Beginning in the 1970s, the number of suspensions began to rise at all grade levels, especially among certain groups, such as Black and disabled students. In recent years, many in education have questioned the value of relying too heavily on exclusionary practices, and increasingly schools have been looking for alternatives to suspension.

Most everyone would agree that education is an important key to opportunity and better life outcomes. No matter where a child comes from or what abilities they start with, education can give them the tools to grow and flourish and to reach their full potential. Yet not all young people have had the same access to education or opportunities to learn.

Throughout the United States educators are struggling to find ways to contain all types of school-based violence, verbal aggression is the most frequently reported across all grade levels.

While it’s never too late to intervene to improve childhood mental health disorders, the earlier children receive support, the better.

It is easy to become overwhelmed and to struggle with helpless/hopeless feelings when confronted with a problem as complex as school-based violence.