I decided to write something for the potential bullies since it is anti- bullying month. I realize that some may think the better efforts would be towards the 'victims', but in my eyes all of them are victims; Father forgive them all for they know not what they do. As my grandmother would say 'prevention is better than a cure' so I'd like to purpose a different way of thinking for teachers who have pupils that display challenging behaviors. What is challenging behavior? According to text behavior becomes challenging when the behavior begins interfering with a child's cognitive, social, or emotional development, when the behavior is harmful to the child, other children, or adults, and when the behavior puts a child at high risk for later social problems or school failure (Klass, Guskin, & Thomas, 1995;McCabe & Frede, 2007). Behavior is considered to be challenging when they are threatening, provocative, and stimulating, all at the same time. Common examples of challenging behavior within children include but aren't limited to aggressive behavior, antisocial/disruptive behavior, and timid/ withdrawn behavior. The top fifteen behavioral problems reported by teachers are biting, throwing temper tantrums, screaming, yelling, destruction of objects, throwing objects, kicking, pushing, pinching, frequent crying, grabbing of toys/materials from others, needs frequent adult assistance, spitting, disobeys instructions, and threatening. From my own experiences with preschools within our territory, reoccurring problems I faced where that of pinching, yelling, grabbing toys/materials, and disobeying instructions. While there were other occasions where other behaviors where displayed by different children, they were few and infrequent enough to mention. I empathize with the findings of the authors of a text on the belief that if this behavior is not deterred it may develop into something worse that can hinder any child through their adult life. Many fail to realize just how important these behaviors are and the need for 'correcting' them.
These behaviors, if allowed to escalate, may lead to serious problems for both pupils and teachers alike. Challenging Behavior in the classroom has recently become a hot topic in educational forums and institutions alike around the world; and it should be. For ages the focus of challenging behavior within students, during the classrooms and out, has been set on the wrong foundations; we shouldn't be worry about the 'what' and 'when' but the why and how. Why are these students acting in such strange behavior manners and what can I do to help them progress in their particular areas. There are many factors that can be considered while observing their individual behavioral patterns that may have contributed to their behavior, biological and environmental. These factors may be contributing but they aren't the underlying 'stepping stones' on which behavioral problems are built, at least not individually anyway. Collectively they bear a considerable amount of weight and pressure and once understanding their situations and their individual risk/protective factors, educators and parents alike are more equip to meet their needs and help them develop better behavioral patterns that won't hinder them in the long run. Throughout this paper it is my intent to illustrate risk factors which influence behavior and strategies that may be used by teachers to support the process of changing/ replacing behaviors.
The risk factors for challenging behavior have been categorized within two categories; environmental and biological. Within the scope of these categories biological is defined as anything that impinges on a child from conception to birth, beginning with genes. The environmental section starts with the family—a child's most intimate environment—and moves outward through Urie Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological circles of peer, school, neighborhood, and societal influences (Rasminsky, 2012). Culture is also an important factor, but the risk factors that I would like to elaborate on are mostly environmental; violent media, exposure to violence, poverty, and parenting styles, schools, and peers. My reason for choosing these risk factors to particularize is because in my experiences these risk factors are most evident within today's society.
Many people tend to overlook violent media as a risk factor for challenging behavior in children, they often state that it is the place of the parent to 'differentiate' the appropriate behavior, set boundaries, and most importantly explain the differences between life and television, but this is always as easy and apparent as it sounds. The effects violent/destructive media can have on children are categorized within four categories; victim effect, bystander effect, aggressor effect, and the increased appetite effect. Children who watch violent media are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior, especially if they identify with aggressive characters or find the violence realistic and relevant to their own lives. The more they watch the worse their aggressive behavior may progress; children may watch violent media to validate their own aggressions. In other cases the child may identify with the victim, in such cases they may actually feel as if the violence is real, this may cause children to be more fearful, anxious, and prone to nightmares. The bystander effect cause children who regularly witness violence to believe that it is normal, thus they remain unresponsive.
As discussed previously witnessing violence does have a large effect on children; they can become unsympathetic towards such situations, or they can identify with the aggressor or the victim, neither of which has positive effects. Imagine the effect a real violent situation would have on a child. Many families today are unfortunately living in poverty with conditions that aren't fit for any child; single parent homes lacking adequate care and supervision due to family factors, or lack thereof. These conditions and more make these families and their children prone to witness violence first hand repeatedly. These conditions are maintained within different neighborhoods, within the schools, and unfortunately anywhere that children are known to spend their time recreationally; parks, gymnasiums, skating rings, etc. Being poor create a high level of family stress—nonstop anxiety about food, housing, jobs, medical care, child care, safety, and more. In high-poverty urban neighborhoods, people must deal with noise, overcrowding, substandard housing, air and water pollution, neighborhood and gang violence, homelessness, and illegal drugs (Rasminsky, 2012). These conditions among many others house violence and promote it.
No teacher can change the fact that a family lives in poverty, but teachers can help the child (and maybe even his family) to deal with those risk factors more effectively. If we can bolster some of his protective factors early on, we may be able to minimize or even ward off some of the risks and divert him onto an entirely different developmental trajectory (Masten & Coatsworth, 1998; Rutter, 1987). Every child with challenging behavior is likely to possess some of these attributes and skills in an embryonic or unconventional form, although it may take extra thought and insight on our part to dig them out. One key to enhancing resilience is to search for these strengths—what psychologist Robert B. Brooks ( 1994) calls "islands of competence" (p. 549)—and use them to build new skills and self-esteem. Instead of noticing what a child does wrong, stop and think about his strengths and likeable qualities, what he's good at, what positive contributions he can make, and how you can create opportunities for him to realize whatever he has to offer (Rasminsky, 2012). When families spend more time with their children, chaperone them closely, and limit the places they go and the time they spend with antisocial peers, children perform better at school and witness less violence, decreasing their risk for emotional and behavioral problems (Cauce et al., 2003; Richards et al., 2004). In dangerous neighborhoods, this strong control is an expression of concern as well as an adaptive strategy that brings order, predictability, and safety to children's daily lives (Luthar, 1999). When children receive support in such places as churches, community centers, and boys' and girls' clubs, they feel connected to other people and the core values of the community.
Hemmeter, M. L., Santos, R. M., & Ostrosky, M. M. (2008). Preparing early childhood educators to address young children's social-emotional development and challenging behavior: A survey of higher education programs in nine states. Journal of Early Intervention, 30(4), 321-340. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233253075?accountid=32521
Nungesser, N. R., & Watkins, R. V. (2005). Preschool teachers' perceptions and reactions to challenging classroom behavior: Implications for speech-language pathologists. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 36(2), 139-51. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/232583471?accountid=32521
