Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Little Social Issues
As we are nearing the end of the year, I have noticed that my students are SO comfortable with each other that we are having lots more little social issues popping up, getting students upset and interrupting our learning time. Some examples are, sitting really close to each other and not moving over, saying things in mean ways, giving "looks" and other minor things like that. We have really been modeling polite ways to say things, talking about using your words so people know that you are upset and why and thinking about how you would feel if someone treated you like that. Any other suggestions for these little social troubles?? Thanks!
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I completely agree with you. I've noticed the same thing with my students. Little things are happening pretty frequently, and I'm finding that it doesn't take much to upset another kid right now.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that I've done is to talk to them about why more things have been happening. I think I may have mentioned this before spring break, but I actually chatted with my kids about what it was like to share a dorm room. I explained that I really liked the people that I was living with, but the longer I spent with them, the more little things started to annoy me. I shared some strategies that I had for coping with this--trying to ignore things that really didn't matter, communicating when something was really distressing, and figuring out what I could do to give myself a break when I needed it.
This hasn't made the problems go away, but I think it helped the kids to see that it's normal to feel frustrated with each other, but that is when you have to work even harder to get along. It's not an excuse to treat each other poorly, but a chance to learn about what it means to work together.
I think the best that we can do right now is to keep addressing the issues and continue to give them strategies to avoid the issues. It's a tough time of the year!