Date: April 7th, 2024
Polly answers the question: “The other day one of my students got really upset with a peer because she wouldn’t stop bothering him. I gently told her to stop, pointing out that he had been asking very nicely. But what I really wanted to do was yell, ‘JUST STOP!!!’ Is there a time for that? I pride myself on being calm and gentle but sometimes I worry… am I too kind?”
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Date: March 23rd, 2024
Polly answers the question: “Right now my students seem to think they should have a choice about everything. At what point should they realize that some things are not up to them?”
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Date: October 4th, 2023
When dealing with behaviors, don’t respond right away. Instead stop, think, and process the situation.
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Date: July 1st, 2023
Polly answers the question: “We have a pack of kids in our middle school who feed off each other! They wander the halls, cause trouble, they make snarky comments to teachers. And it’s getting harder and harder to muster up the energy to deal with them! How can we get this group to stop?”
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Date: January 29th, 2023
Polly answers the question: “Our middle school boys are very aggressive and ‘hands on’ with each other. I know horseplay is to be expected, but often things get out of hand at lunchtime or in the hallways. What can we do?”
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Date: July 10th, 2022
When the lines of authority are blurry at home, those kids bring that into school. Which means we have to teach them that things are different at school.
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Date: November 2nd, 2019
What do I accomplish by insisting on coats hung up, boots where they belong, and cubbies clean?
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Date: October 16th, 2019
We can’t change what a kid is allowed to do at home. BUT we CAN teach them the skills needed to behave in school!
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Date: July 6th, 2019
Do you allow kids with disabilities to not live up to reasonable expectations?
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Date: June 29th, 2019
Trauma plays a BIG part in behavior! But we don’t want to make this mistake…
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