Thursday, December 10, 2009

By Liz Marsden

There's a rant brewing and I'll tell you why... I've got an 8 year old boy who's just started in my classes. His behaviour history over the last few years is totally appalling. It's dreadful that he's been allowed to behave this way for so long, but I'm not really shocked. I deal with this sort of thing every day in my job of taking on kids who are at the point of being permanently kicked out of school and successfully managing their behaviour.

Anyway, this little guy's behaviour is very bad...

I'm not ranting about this little guy... He's ok - well he will be before too long...

My rant is about the adults in his school, and in so many other schools, who've allowed this situation to arise in the first place. Adults are useless, hopeless, awful...

Good heavens, what crime have they commited? Well, rather than accept any responsibility themselves they've got together and written whining letters to those in a higher position, complaining about this little boy...

What do they want to happen as a result? I don't know really but I imagine they want him to be taken away and not to darken their doors again...

Well, aren't they right to complain? No, they're not! Why do I think that? Because, at risk of repeating myself, children's problem behaviour is an issue for the adults, and the reason children are behaving so badly is that adults are continually mismanaging the behaviour.

Adults have to accept that they are responsible for children's behaviour - and those in this boy's school have allowed him to deteriorate to this point. Whingeing and whining about a situation that adults in general have allowed to get worse and worse, isn't going to have any beneficial impact, is it?

Why do kids behave badly? Simple... because they can and nobody does anything about it to stop it happening !! Well apart from whinge and whine and moan that is... and that's hardly effective, is it?

Adults need to look at their own behaviour and accept that if they want any child's behaviour to change they're going to have to make changes to their own behaviour first. Nothing will happen differently unless they do... It just won't happen.

Adults, you need to get a grip! Admit it - if you don't know how to change then you've got things to learn. It's really not difficult to learn to do what adults should be doing - managing children's behaviour!

You'll be pleased to know that I've finished my rant!!

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