Students Who Pushed Their Teachers To Their Limits
The 19 students who pushed their teachers to their absolute limits are in the news again. It seems that teachers are increasingly concerned about how their students handle their problems – they see more of these children as having “emotional issues” which can be very difficult to deal with in a classroom setting.
Some teachers believe that emotional or physical violence on the part of a student is often caused by stress brought about by a child’s behavior problems. For example, many children who struggle with anger at home end up in school where their behavior is not tolerated. And as a result, the child becomes angry and lashes out at other students, at teachers and parents, at friends, at classmates.
Can Physical Punishment Really Help Children With Anger?
So teachers need to figure out why a student’s behavior has gotten out of control. Often, these are children who have been overly excited or angry and were unable to control their impulses. They do not know how to control their emotions and they overreact to certain situations.
A study conducted recently by the University of Cincinnati’s Graduate School of Education found that over 60% of middle and high school teachers reported that their students exhibited anger and/or frustration on a daily basis. However, many of these teachers also said that these types of behavior problems were difficult to deal with.
These problems are particularly difficult when these students are children who are already experiencing trouble adjusting to school, or who have problems with the school itself. When a child is constantly being yelled at and made to feel guilty for things that are not their fault, the effects can be lasting. One psychologist said that children who have these types of behavioral problems are in the “zone” between normal and hyperactive.
There are some who believe that there is an underlying cause for these behavior problems. That is, there may be a real physiological reason behind why the child is behaving this way – such as a physical problem, an emotional problem, or even just a genetic predisposition. It may be difficult to find a child who does not have some type of anxiety or behavioral problem – and if there is a problem then the sooner it is treated, the better.
However, the problems are generally seen in those who display physical aggression – such as hitting, biting, shouting, and throwing things. And many times these behaviors are not a result of a physiological problem at all – they are usually because of a psychological problems that were allowed to build up.
Many of these students do well in the classroom and have no history of problems persistently displaying anger or frustration. But it can be difficult for teachers to deal with these children at home – because it becomes impossible to teach children what is acceptable behavior and what is not.
The most effective solution is to address the causes of behavior problems before they even begin to occur. And the best way to do that is to address the source of the problem at its source – and see if that can be done without resorting to physical punishments.
It is true that some of these behavior problems may be caused by emotional problems. But a good strategy is to make sure that these children are able to talk about the issues they are having – and work on them in private before resorting to physical punishments.
Many parents and teachers will use physical punishment when correcting these types of behavior problems. This will only serve to further reinforce the behavior that is being corrected – and will also cause more children to have similar problems.
The best strategy to solving this is to find a method to reduce the physical punishment and instead use a combination of positive reinforcement and private counseling. The idea is to teach a child to learn to control his/her temper, and to think about the source of their anger and frustration before it erupts.
