What to do if assisting in a class where the teacher doesn’t insist on the students doing their work? Allowing them to be disruptive, disrespectful and off task??? Any suggestions? May I add this is a resource room, with students who are already struggling...

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is it possible to have a chat with the teacher? tell the teacher about the behavior you're noticing as if he/she isn't aware and ask how you can help. it's possible the teacher may have given up or has other things going on. You can focus on your role and building individual relationships with students- figure out what motivates them, etc, work with the parents if that is allowed. it's all you can do if the T isn't setting a high expectation.

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Unfortunately the teacher is aware and thinks ignoring it will make it go away... we as paras have addressed it and continuously address the students but the teacher doesn’t back us up, so the students continue their behavior. Very disheartening

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Talk to the teacher. Just wondering why you are so surprised by what you see, since it is a resource room? That’s a safe place for students to be themselves. When students in that class are getting distracted, ask if you can work with them in small groups. I recommend reading Beyond Behaviors by Mona Delahooke and books by Dr Ross Greene such as The Explosive Child or Lost at School. Those are excellent for anyone working in a resource room.

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Another thought is that the teacher could be aware and is using a CBT approach that might appear as “ignorance is bliss” but is actually using “behavior shaping methods”. Is this possible?

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There are definitely times when students don't do work and won't do work, no matter what you do, in my personal experience. Acceptance is the answer there.
I second what others have said, though - ask the teacher how you can help them support the students getting on task. Don't accuse anyone of anything, frame it all as if you are a team working together towards the same goal - students on task. If continuing to take that approach continues to be rejected by the teacher, think about who else you can safely approach with this issue. But don't expect change, unfortunately.

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I would agree 100%. Sometimes the low expectations not only come from a teacher but from the building or district level and there very little you can do about it. Sometimes refocusing the activity can help encourage engagement. Instead of focusing on work completion, you could use the work as examples of positive interactions. When they are working at all be really positive, encouraging and interactive. You just have to chip away. You will be so happy when one day you are working a different student and that student comes over and wants to show you something that they did.

This isn’t meant to be rude, but how do you know they aren’t completing work? Are you able to check if work is turned in? Many who like a very quiet calm environment have a hard time seeing working being done when the environment is different than they are used to.

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I get it! I am a bit old school about blatant disrespect. However, I see you mentioned that this is a resource room, do you know what their IEP says, there may be a reason that will be explained there.

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Have you asked the teacher if there’s a reason for ignoring the behaviors? Ignoring attention seeking behaviors is a valid behavior management strategies in some cases. Maybe see if the teacher is intentionally ignoring the behavior for this reason.

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But these attention seekers are disrupting the rest of the class from concentrating and getting their work done... to me that’s not a feasible technique...and the fact is they are not getting any of their own work done either...

I see it in two ways. If the teacher is new, then they are probably overwhelmed by and is in survival mode. If this teacher has been around for a while, they are lazy and should not be teaching. I had a teacher leave for health reasons. I was without a teacher in a TLC class for almost 3 months. I had to lead and I did. Sig down with the teacher and see what is up. You might have to take part of the class for a while. Tell the kids that there will be some changes soon and get them thinking. It might throw them off enough to give you an edge. If the teacher refuses, talk to someone. Be part of the solution.

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This is not as straight forward an issue as it might seem. Yes ignoring bad attention seeking behavior is a strategy that can work. Yes, some rooms that seem chaotic are actually chaotic in the energy of student learning. And then there is all the lack of support by parents, admin, county and state when it comes to trying to discipline a student. ESPECIALLY a sped student. I have heard parents when called and their students behavior ask “what did you do to cause them to act like that?!” I have seen where a parent sent back a paper with classroom rules with corrections written in ( rule: The bell does not dismiss you. Parents annotation; it is the bell dismisses you. , etc.). I have sent students up to the office ( I am known for Not doing this) only to have the sent back with a letter saying I’m sorry five minutes later. Upon questioning them they weren’t even sure what they were apologizing for, they just wrote I’m sorry because they were told to.
If I send someone up I am at my end , keep
them till the end of the period. With my previous admin it was (to the kids) ms.——sent you?! What on earth did you do!?!! Now the state has eliminated the zero tolerance policy, not that it didn’t need some amending, where a student has to be caught multiple times with an illegal substance before any consequences are given. You can’t write them up any longer for being a disruption to the learning environment, so no consequences there, and you can’t send them out for it either because then they aren’t receiving instruction....so what do you do? SPED regulations governing discipline are even more non supportive for discipline. If things are the same in your state, she may just be doing what she can in the climate of education today.

I would say that you should ask for your instructions and the strategy in writing. Ignoring is a valid solution for attention seeking behavior. If that’s all it is, everyone has to ignore. It sounds like the behavior might extend beyond attention seeking to seriously disruptive to the entire class. Distraction is sometimes helpful. Is this a seasoned teacher? If not, does he/she have a mentor you could talk with? If not, I would say document and possibly talk with your Special Ed director or principal (whoever you report to above him/her). Depending on your school situation (building politics, covid), it may be best to get instructions in writing, and document daily events as best you can. It’s been my experience with new teachers who are struggling, that sometimes they blame the aid. (Yes, I have worked with awesome teachers who would never do this, and also aids who did not manage high behavior well) High behavior is tricky, and you deserve a strategy. Hopefully you have good relationships in your building/district.

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My above advice is related mostly to the relationship between you and the teacher. I truly hope that can be remedied. Sorry, I was tired last night when I responded and totally neglected any strong ideas for the situation with the behavior itself. It’s been my experience with high behavior kids that hearts are won and lost on the playground/lunch time, etc. When I go out for recess, rather than socializing with other staff, I use the time to interact with the kids to build relationships. It’s time for fun, imagination, and getting rid of excess energy. You do not need to target specific students. Usually, if it’s enough fun, they will join you. This takes time, but I’ve had success within a few weeks. You also have to make sure your mindset is “find a way to help this kid,” not “this kid is hopeless.” I’m not mentioning this in an accusatory way, just don’t let the stress derail you. Talk about fun things you may have in common (pets, trips, crazy socks). You have to find a way to interact in a fun, positive setting and build a relationship. You can use things they like (Paw Patrol, TMNT, Mindcraft, whatever they’re into that you can keep school appropriate). I “launch” them with a countdown on the swings, build snowmen, play hide and seek (great for counting), play basketball, and create games based on the interests of the age group. Make it fun, but don’t blur the line about being in control. Still call them on behavior. You can also create reward game time if x% of work is completed. If you give choice time, those that have not completed x% will have to work while classmates play (X% can be customized). Create a designated time for socializing, set a timer, and require work to participate when the timer rings. Give reminders. Ask them to help with passing out papers, going to the office, things that build the idea of mutual trust and respect. Can’t sit still, ask them to carry heavy items before work. Are they sitting by the door to a noisy hall? Are they sitting by a another talker? Are they hungry? Are there issues with students of which you need to have basic knowledge (trauma, abuse, addiction, autism, adhd)? Do they need visual reminders, or social stories? Praise the good behavior. Celebrate and reward patterns of good behavior. Avoid “no,” try using “no thank you.” I don’t approach all of these situations the same way. If all else fails, ask your teacher to reach out to the social worker for ideas. Every day won’t go well. Accept that, and start over tomorrow. The key is the relationship. Think of every story of triumph. There is a leader that is respected and admired, and teamwork. I actually find working with high behavior satisfying, in that it’s a challenge that when overcome makes my heart full. I love seeing kids that I helped flourish, especially when they move up to another class and take their new skills. And let me add, I am in total awe and admiration for most teachers. It is the most stressful, underrated, work-overload career that I know. My husband suggested that I return to college for a teaching degree, and I declined.

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I try to focus on the good things. Every good behavior make sure you acknowledge them loudly. The other kids will notice and want the same. Also i try to use the school reward system like Tiger Paws, little rewards, stickers etc.

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Honestly?

Do your job and let the teacher do their job.

You may not be privy to information the teacher has.

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When I’m responsible for an autistic student in the class, and he’s being interrupted and his attention is constantly being taken away, I AM doing my job

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Express your concerns about some of the students being distracted by the noise and how you want to help. If the students are off task, offer to pull a small group and work with them on the the assignment. (Making sure directions are clear, they are successfully getting started, etc). You can be strategic by taking 1 from each pair of talkers. This helps the students you work with and the others by removing their distraction. If you can work with them in a new space (empty classroom, library, even the hall etc), that will help reduce distraction. The big caveat here is that you have to write down who you pulled and on what dates (keep good records) because they will need it for contact tracing. I know we have been reducing a lot of the movement to try to reduce exposure, but it’s a balancing act of what is more beneficial to the child.
You aren’t going to change the teacher and trying to is going to frustrate you. You may be tempted to discuss this with the principal, don’t - let’s be honest- you need a good working relationship to do your job. You could talk to other teachers that work with her. They may have insight and suggestions that could also help.

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I will agree it’s an interesting dilemma when the teacher’s perspective is they are there to have fun and you are thinking their here to catch up on more than a half years worth of work that they’ve lost and they also are struggling to begin with
I recently had an encore class tell me that I’m extremely strict because when I’m there you do the assigned work other people come in they don’t require that they give them free choice on computers

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What if your child was in that class? How long would you allow it to go on? I read somewhere if your brother commits fault, go and reveal his fault between you and him alone if he listens to you you will have gained him but if he does not listen take along with you one or two more so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every method may be established. I believe this is the best way to handle it.

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It is the teacher's classroom. Some teachers seem to believe in learning through chaos osmosis. Not much you can do...I've seen those teachers keep their job and classroom for years and years and years...and little to nothing changes.

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And how do the students do? Are they learning? Are their scores/ assessments comparable to those of students in comparable classes? If so, then it works, despite the impression some may have when looking in.

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I am a resource room teacher that coteaches with the regular ela teacher. The kids get very disruptive, doing 8th grader "stuff"and I actually play bad cop because I cannot stand the disrespect of these kids for this young teacher. I tell them in a not-so-friendly tone and matter-of-fact that the work needs to get done or zeros are going in the grade book. Good luck.

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I think you have given a great example of consistent expectations between you and the students. But you are also calm when you are addressing the behavior. Being calm is contagious.

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The teacher needs to find ZPD for those kids.

I have taught SPED for 9 years in some of the most volitile classrooms in my state. Two years were spent in a classroom that had 3 seclusion rooms and 9 paras for 9 students.

I have figured a couple things out that I know for sure. There is no such thing as a bad student there is only bad behavior. Behavior is also communication. What is the student trying to say? Another thing I know is that discipline does not mean punishment. Discipline can be learned by using consistent routines and consistent expectations. If you are working with a student and are consistent with your expectations then you are helping that student.

What if you setup your own routine with the student? A routine could be as short as 1-5 minutes. You could engage the student ask them about something non school related and then about a goal they have for the day. If their goal is to do nothing then 3 minutes later you could say they met there goal. After a few rounds you could offer a goal and then ask the teacher if you and the student could play a game or go for a walk after they met your goal. The goal could be about sitting quiet for 3 min or talking at an appropriate volume. Then end it on a positive note and maybe work with a different student and then come back and do it again.

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