These faculty members from the Washington State University College of Education offer suggestions for parents and teachers when children face classroom discipline problems.
What parents can do:
Ask specific, not general or vague, questions about your child’s school day to gain a full picture of the child’s academic and social life. Carefully read then discuss information about classroom rules sent home by the teacher. Act out scenarios so children understand the rules. Meet the teacher as early in the year as possible. — Pam Bettis, assistant professor, 509.335.2653 or bettis@wsu.edu
Ask the school counselor to help you improve your child’s ability to follow classroom rules. The counselor can help you bridge the communications gap between teachers, administrators and your child. Counselors also can provide access to prevention and intervention activities and programs. — Tina Anctil, assistant professor, 509.335.2925, 509.432.4131 (cell) or tmanctil@wsu.edu
Recognize that family problems manifest in classroom problems. Offering school counselors an understanding of family issues provides an appropriate context for classroom problems. Coordinate family therapist and school counselor for consistent intervention. — Phyllis Erdman, professor, 509.335.9117 or perdman@wsu.edu
What teachers can do:
Remember that in disruptive classrooms, the students who suffer are generally shy, marginalized or female. Empower students to be responsible for their own learning, and build in natural and logical consequences for behavior problems. Provide leadership to maintain fairness, and provide individualized programming when needed for equity. — Darcy Miller, professor, 509.332.8709 or darcymiller@wsu.edu.
