Towards the end of my final practicum, a male student in my class began exhibiting malicious behaviours such as swearing, threat making and violence to various students and staff members. Although several years ago this student had exhibited such behaviours, he had since reformed and been a pleasurable student to teach. Addressing these behaviours in accordance with the school’s behaviour policy often resulted in escalation and worse behaviours began to emerge. This was disruptive to other members of the class and prohibited the learning that could take place, so the situation had to be analysed and addressed.
Task
A brief consultation with a deputy principal revealed that the student’s father, who had previously been out of the picture, had returned and was living with the family. We then theorised that this could be a potential source for the shift in behaviour that was observed in the student. It was probably that this student, who placed in an alpha male role due to his circumstances, now had to cope with no longer being the driving male force in the household. It was theorised that this led to his increased aggressive and assertive behaviours at school. It was decided that several strategies had to be put in place to give this student a positive outlet for his emotions and mitigate any future behavioural outbursts.
Action
In order to identify the best solutions for managing this student’s behaviour, I asked the principal, my mentor teacher, the student and his mother to attend a meeting to discuss this student and his behaviour. During this meeting, it was identified that the student did feel discomfort at his father being back in his home life and felt that his mother was spending more time paying attention to his father than to him. He also felt a sense of animosity towards myself as I was also leaving his life at the end of my practicum – therefore becoming another inconsistent male in his life. This student expressed that he felt like everyone was abandoning him, which led to him also expressing his discontent at transitioning into a private high school, instead of a public one with the majority of his friends from class. It was this sense of impending isolation that had caused this student to lash out. After identifying this as the root of the problem, I worked collaboratively with the principal, my mentor teacher, the parent and the student to identify strategies that would minimise the potential for the student to become agitated, or calm the student in instances where he has already become agitated. During class, the student had to try his best to discreetly alert me to any problems he may be having, instead of blatantly declaring it in front of the whole class. If he felt like his anger was about to reach a critical point, he was allowed to take five minutes outside to play basketball – though this could only be done once a day. As his teacher, if the student’s disposition had changed and he had not chosen to come and discuss his issue, I was to call the student over and privately discuss what the student was feeling at an appropriate time. The mentor teacher was also to do this if I was otherwise unable to, while also sending periodic updates to his mother. The mother was to notify either myself or the mentor teacher if the student started off the day particularly angry – as the mother had noticed a trend that the days the student misbehaved at school coincided with mornings where the student was agitated and argumentative at home. The school chaplain also became involved, occasionally calling the student in to speak with him and help him. These strategies required all stakeholders to work together to ensure that the student felt comfortable in the learning environment and minimise his behaviours, while also allowing other learners to feel safe in an environment where they may have previously been threatened.
Result
While the student initially showed reluctance to using these strategies, he eventually began privately expressing when he felt agitated to me. After several instances of me engaging with the student by calling him over and expressing to him that I could see something was wrong, he began to instigate this process himself. This resulted in a transition of his demeanour back to what it was previously. His mother also remained in correspondence throughout this process and explained that she also noticed a positive change in the student’s behaviour at home. This enabled me to effectively deliver my lessons and maintain a positive learning environment for all students.
Professional Engagement Standards Covered
7.1 - Meet professional ethics and responsibilities Seeking guidance and input in handling this student ensured that the student remained in a safe learning environement. 7.3 - Engage with the parents/carers Collaboration with the student’s parent allowed for a holistic approach to managing this student’s behaviour.