Discovering Compassion: A Schoolʼs Guide to Working with Difficult Children, Youth and Teens

Abstract

On a daily basis school teachers, administrators, counselors, and social workers deal with students who present inappropriate classroom behaviors. These behaviors can create barriers for their future success. Mental illness, poor discipline, violence in the community, and the inability to understand cause and effect can all be contributing factors influencing poor behavior. Each of these lead to poor coping skills, little respect for authority, desensitization to violence, and lack of remorse for their actions in childhood and adulthood. Typically these children come from single, low-income families and spend more time in school and daycare than with their families. For this reason a reference guide was created to provide teachers and administrators with helpful tips and tools on how to deal with difficult behaviors that manifest throughout a school year. The goal of this reference guide is to help teachers and school administrators understand their studentsʼ overall development cultural influences; how to manage crises, incorporate positive discipline, and offer suggestions to motivate their students for success. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Allyson Land, MSW. Email: allysonrland@gmail.com