The Dock

An Anabaptist Resource for Teaching and Learning

  • LOGIN / SIGNUP

Register
Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Blog
  • Featured Clips
  • Philosophy & Leadership
      • School Administration
      • School Board
      • School Culture
      • School Library
      • Community Relationships
      • Curriculum and Instruction
      • History of Christian Education
      • Philosophy of Education
  • Teaching & Learning
    • Classroom Management
    • Inspiration
    • Learning Disabilities
    • Literacy
    • Project Based Learning (PBL)
    • Recommended Resources
    • Standardized Testing
    • Strategies and Techniques
    • Student Motivation
    • Teacher Development
    • Technology
  • School Subjects
    • Art

      • Art
      • Music
    • Bible and Christian Thought

      • Bible Study
      • Doctrine
      • Ethics
      • Worldviews
      • Service
    • Social Studies

      • American History
      • Anabaptist History
      • Church History
      • World History
      • Geography
    • Language & Literature

      • English
      • Grammar
      • Reading & Literature
      • Language Arts
      • Writing
      • Vocabulary
      • Foreign Language & ESL
    • Math & Science

      • Math
      • Science
      • Chemistry
      • Earth Sciences
      • Life Sciences
      • Physics
    • Electives & Health

      • Physical Education
      • Electives
      • Business
      • Apps and Programs
      • Technology Literacy
      • Special Events
  • Events
    • All Events
    • Submit an Event To Be Posted
  • Classifieds
    • Teachers Wanted
    • Teachers Seeking Schools
    • School Supplies
    • Submit a Classified
  • About
  • Donate
Home / Contributions / How to Love the Troubled Student

How to Love the Troubled Student

August 10, 2018 by The Dock Administrator Leave a Comment

August 10, 2018 by Judith Yoder


I worked with a troubled student for two years. This dear girl came from a troubled home. Her parents were going through a divorce. Not only that, she also was suddenly caught in the midst of Mennonite culture. Her world was turned upside down. Our call as teachers is to show tender love. When a situation calls for discipline, we need to show love.

I had the privilege of learning what triggers her temper tantrums. That was a hard thing to learn, and I still don’t feel like I understand everything. Whenever she spent time with just her dad, it would throw her back into a whirlwind. Her dad did not have good influence on her and would let her spend hours watching TV. Her mom, on the other hand, was trying to influence her in the right way but has a hard time with not knowing how to discipline herself.

When possible, preempt the problem by listening.

One thing that I discovered would help to prevent a tantrum was catching it before it happened. For instance, on some mornings when she walked into school, I could tell that she was about to crack. I would pull her aside and talk to her. Not a discipline talk but an “I care” talk. I would ask her what was going on with her: What was going on at home? Had something happened to upset her? Did something hurt her? etc. Sometimes it took her awhile to talk but she would often open up and talk. I would listen to her, encourage her, pray with her, giver her a hug, and send her back to the classroom with a huge smile on her face.

Respond to the problem calmly and firmly.

That did not always work, though, and sometimes I didn’t get the talk done amidst the demands of the other students. When that happened it was not unusual for her to throw one of her tantrums. When this kind of thing happens, do not let the student control you. I would make her go into the teachers’ lounge or go sit on the swing until I came. If she refused to obey or tried to run away, I would calmly take her hand. She would often try to pull away and cry about how it hurt. I would stand there and calmly tell her if she stands there nicely or walks nicely with me it won’t hurt. Otherwise it would hurt her because she was resisting me. There were other times if she did not listen to me I would go get the principal and she would listen either when she saw me walking toward him, talking to him, or sometimes he actually had to talk to her.

Let time bring opportunities.

I would often let her sit by herself for a few minutes to help her cool off. By the time I would go to talk to her she was often ready to talk and realized what she had done. If she wasn’t ready to
talk I would sit there till she was ready to talk. If other students needed me, I would let her sit by herself again till she was ready to talk. After we talked, we would always pray before she went back to her classroom or outside for recess. We would talk about her actions and what she could have done instead of what she did.

I did not let her go unpunished for not obeying me right away. I would make her study in another classroom over recess. Sometimes she would write sentences or Bible verses. At other times, I would let her do her school work.

The best advice I can give for working with a troubled student is to spend quality time with the student, listen, and show love and steadiness.


Objectionable/Very PoorOKGoodVery GoodExcellent (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

CONTRIBUTOR: Judith Yoder

Pass it on:

Filed Under: Strategies and Techniques Tagged With: discipline, disobedient, listen, rebel, train, understand

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google

Your Saved-for-Later List

Related

FILTER RESULTS Search

Categories
Resource Type
Length


Grade Level
Popularity
Date

Join the email group.

Find out about new videos, posts, and content.
Unsubscribe at any time.

View past emails.

Desk from Skippack School The Dock is conceived to serve schools in the spirit of Christopher Dock, the devoted teacher who authored a warmly practical teacher's manual in colonial America. Read more...

The Dock List: a Podcast

Listen and follow on the platform of your choice.

Subscribe on iTunes
Follow on Spotify
Subscribe on Google Play

OTHER HELPFUL SITES

Christian Light
Christian Learning Resource
Faith Builders Educational Programs
Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute
Contribute banner
2019® THE DOCK | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Powered by Cloudways.              
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Contact Us
  • Leave Feedback
  • Privacy

Optimized by PhastPress

Add The Dock to your Home Screen

Add
  • Home
  • Leave Feedback
  • Blog
  • Featured Clips
  • Philosophy & Leadership
    ▼
    • School Administration
    • School Board
    • School Culture
    • Community Relationships
    • Curriculum and Instruction
    • History of Christian Education
    • Philosophy of Education
  • Teaching & Learning
    ▼
    • Classroom Management
    • Inspiration
    • Learning Disabilities
    • Literacy
    • Project Based Learning (PBL)
    • Recommended Resources
    • Standardized Testing
    • Strategies and Techniques
    • Student Motivation
    • Teacher Development
    • Technology
  • School Subjects
    ▼
    • Art
    • Music
    • Bible Study
    • Doctrine
    • Ethics
    • Worldviews
    • Service
    • American History
    • Anabaptist History
    • World History
    • Geography
    • English
    • Language Arts
    • Reading & Literature
    • Writing
    • Foreign Language & ESL
    • Math
    • Science
    • Earth Sciences
    • Life Sciences
    • Physics
    • Physical Education
    • Electives
    • Apps and Programs
  • Forums
  • Events
  • Classified Listings
    ▼
    • Teachers Wanted
    • Teachers Seeking Schools
    • School Supplies
    • Submit a Classified
  • Log In
  • Share what you’ve made.
  • About
X