Why Reward Systems Fall Short
I can guarantee that if you use reward systems, at some point in the year the reward systems start to feel a little fragile. You have the charts, the systems, the prizes and kids are...
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5 Alternatives to Taking Away Recess
If a student is having a hard time, taking away recess can feel like the obvious move because it’s clean, immediate, and sends a message. It also… usually doesn’t work. (And not in a “kids...
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What is Unconditional Attention?
There is a phrase I come back to often when teachers feel stuck with behavior that feels relentless, attention seeking, or exhausting to manage: unconditional attention. This idea is simple, but it is uncomfortable if...
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Why Childhood Resilience is Ordinary Magic
We have all heard the quip that kids are “so resilient.” Usually this is said in a meeting right after you’ve watched a student go through something genuinely hard. And while kids are wired for...
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A Teacher’s Guide to Co-Regulation
Here is the honest truth about “self-regulation.” Children do not flip an internal switch and suddenly calm down because we told them to (unfortunately – ha). In early and middle childhood, regulation develops through co-regulation,...
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When Entitlement Shows Up in the Classroom
If you’ve been in the classroom long enough, you’ve probably encountered a moment where a student’s sense of entitlement makes your head spin. Maybe it’s a child who insists on a different set of rules...
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When a Student Says, “I Hate School”
This post contains affiliate links. If you’ve been in the classroom longer than a week, chances are you’ve heard it: “I hate school.” Maybe it’s whispered under the breath after a rough math lesson. Sometimes...
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When the Compliant Kid Isn’t the Regulated Kid
This post contains affiliate links. In many schools, we’ve been conditioned to interpret a quiet and compliant student as a regulated kid. Calm is often praised, silence is rewarded, and the students who aren’t disrupting...
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Ethically Using Behavioral Momentum for Work Refusal
This post includes affiliate links. There’s nothing quite like that moment in the classroom when a student flat-out refuses to work. Maybe it’s a silent stare, a muttered “no,” or a dramatic slump onto the...
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Student Threat Assessments: A Straightforward Guide for Teachers
Let’s be real, nothing shakes you quite like hearing a student say something alarming. Maybe they mention wanting to hurt themselves. Maybe they joke about hurting others. Maybe they write something violent in a journal...
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