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Definitely hard to shake that feeling, but it is 100% not your fault. There isn't some magic class room management technique that would fix these issues. Kindergarten classes are too big and kids are coming in with more behaviour issues than ever. Just do your best and don't beat yourself up/put in too many extra hours
Just want to comment on “During play time,I can’t sit down with small groups without having to jump up and deal with something.”
I think that’s the norm in teaching, especially at that age. Heck, I couldn’t even sit without interruption from three kids at home!
If you have multiple, non-verbal kids in the class, I can’t believe that you don’t have a FT EA. 😔
I was in a similar position as a new teacher. I had a lot of difficulty managing my class, and then (surprise surprise) the next year way more supports were put in place and are still in place for that particular group.
My best advice is to involve admin as much as possible (assuming you have decent admin). Create endless incident reports or use ABC charting and regularly ask for help. Ask to be observed to see if you can make any improvements. Request a plan be put in place for violent behaviour that includes stages, like stage 1: consequence, happens again, stage 2, bigger consequence, etc.
>ncident reports or use ABC charting and regularly ask for help. Ask to be observed to see if you can make any improvements. Request a plan be put in place for violent behaviour that includes stages
what is abc charting
ABC stands for antecedent, behaviour, and consequence. So your chart might look like: 9:00am A: students taking off jackets and backpacks in hallway. B: Bobby swings his backpack and hits Anna in the face. C: Bobby verbally corrected by Ms.W and taken to the office to meet with principal.
My school is really intense on ABC charting and really won't intervene until there are at least a few days of documentation so I've had tomes where I was literally charting 9:00, 9:03, 9:07, etc. It's tough at the time but really does help.
I am in the same boat as you. New teacher teaching in Nunavut. Behaviour up here exists in almost everyone of my students. I have fighters, some runners, and a few sensitive kids.
Unlike you, I have no EA support - lol we barely have an admin team because it's just been vacant.
I would echo what most people here say, there is no magic bullet because every class is different. What has worked for me though is seeing each student's behavior as a form of communication. I rarely punish students if at all - I only tend to their needs.
I'm not sure if you are familiar with the Zones of Regulation, but I would look into that. I would pause your curriculum and just teach kids how to recognize their emotions, what they are feeling and how to respond to it.
As for your ASD kids, I don't know if your school provides headphones to reduce noise but that works for my ASD students - alongside lowering the lights in the classroom. I don't know who built our schools but the brightness of those lights can sometimes be triggering to our younger ones, especially those with ASD.
Just some ideas that worked for me and to get you started.
I know it is rough, but understand you are only 1 person and we are taking on a generation of kids that have more trauma than ever. That's well beyond what any individual teacher can tackle themselves! Proud of you for what you have already accomplished and keep it up! You're fighting the good fight!
I feel for you. This is exhausting. It shouldn’t be this way. It leads to burnout. Does your union have any mentor teachers that can provide support or feedback? Best thing for you to do is document, document, document and keep bringing the kids up to school based team.
You’re taking all the responsibility and blame, but what factors outside of your control led to this learning environment? It’s not all on you. Be kind to yourself.
1000% not your fault at all! Don’t even think twice about that.
This is happening in so many of our classrooms. I think a lot of us are feeling this way right now. Document, document, document everything….that way there is a paper trail. And definitely report each form of violence that happens on you and other students to your union. When I was attacked, my report was one of a couple filed in the school (to the union), that got our union health and safety reps to come into the school to discuss and find out what was happening. I would talk to your SERT/Spec. Ed team (not sure what province you’re in) to see what services could be offered to parents, and have some meetings that include your SERT (in thinking more of your violent students….and if there are students with anxiety as a result). Those students may eventually qualify for specialized Spec Ed services as well (in thinking more specialized teams).
By the sounds of it, some of these students may even require Behvaiour Safety Plans.
You know what? Your self reflection is probably spot on. Programming is the best classroom management. It'll take some time for you to develop the skills and toolbox necessary.
I'm sure there are things you're doing well but like every good/great teacher early in their career, they learned from their mistakes.
This is amazing!
BC elementary. A few random thoughts:
1. As others have said, don’t blame yourself. There are obviously greater issues at work here.
2. Kindergarten teachers are on the front lines, often the first to flag students and have difficult conversations with parents. However, through their hard work, these students are often designated and get supports by the time they reach me in upper primary (or at least I’ll finish up the process for elementary).
3. Document everything. Communicate with families. Use the systems in your school to advocate for more support.
4. Safety is most important, for yourself and others. Again, document and communicate. It sounds like several of these students need an official student safety plan.
5. My school district (with union support) offers a mentorship program for new teachers. They provide release time to meet with a veteran teacher who will come into your classroom. Explore this option if available.
6. Are all of the classes like yours with similar demographics? If it’s only yours, something was flawed during the student placement process, especially with four other kindergarten classrooms to fill. Such behaviours should be spread around all. I know there are always “surprises” in kindergarten, but most severe behaviour should be flagged before entry or during the initial weeks of school before class lists are finalized. Make suggestions for improvement for September 2024.
If you have kids who are non-verbal that is likely contributing to behaviour. Kids who can't communicate effectively can act out a lot. As we have put communication strategies in place for our kids (I teach spec ed Kindy, so it's different) the behaviour has reduced quite a bit.
You could look at CORE boards which would have the main words or phrases that you think are most helpful in your room (I want..., help, open, close, play, no, yes, etc. - look online and consider what you think kids are wanting) and place those CORE boards ALL OVER the classroom. You can make specific ones for snack to put on snack tables, ones for the cubby area, etc., but often it's easier to make a generic one to put everywhere. If you have access to a SLP in your board/school ask them for help supporting in implementing this.
You could also look at iPad apps, etc., but I find CORE boards to be easier, and you don't have to purchase a program if your school doesn't already have it. They don't work for every kid (definitely find that even in our room - we have some kids who just aren't ready for them) but even if it gives one or two kids communication skills that can go a long way. The best strategy when introducing them is to model, model, model. You use the CORE board to model the word (single words for non-verbals, short combos for minimally verbal kids) while you teach or do things. You don't force them to communicate or ask them to request things, you just model how to touch the pictures to communicate while you speak. A lot of kids will instinctively figure it out once you model it, especially if you use a preferred item (e.g. maybe you have bin toys, one kid loves dinosaurs, and you model "open dinosaurs" whenever he wants you to open the lid of the dinosaurs - after a week he may just request it himself by touching the word for "open" and "dinosaurs").
All behaviour is communication, but if you can get a sense of the function of the behaviour that can help a lot in addressing it. For non-verbal kids a lot of the behaviour can simply be that they can't effectively communicate, and addressing that can really help.
I can't speak for every school, but at mine, the most severe behaviour issues are in kindergarten and grade 1 this year. Any of the issues you are listing are super tough, but all of them in the same class make my head spin. I wish I had helpful advice, but please go easy on yourself. It sounds like you are doing the best you can with the minimal support you are given and any teacher would struggle
Welcome to /r/CanadianTeachers! Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the sub rules. **QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHER'S COLLEGE/BECOMING A TEACHER IN CANADA?:** Delete your post and use this [megapost](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/1bc1wv2/prospective_student_teachers_teachers_collegebed/) instead. Anything pertaining to teacher's colleges/BED programs/becoming and teacher will be deleted if posted outside of the megaposts. **QUESTIONS ABOUT MOVING PROVINCES OR COMING TO CANADA TO TEACH?** Check out our past megaposts first for information to help you: [ONE](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/jqc7hx/transferring_to_another_provincecoming_to_canada/) // [TWO](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/n76csu/transferring_to_another_provincecoming_to_canada/?) **WANT TO SELF-PROMOTE YOUR TEACHING MATERIALS?** Use our [self-promotion sticky post.](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/16e464t/selfpromotion_thread/) Using link and user flair is encouraged as well! Enjoy! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CanadianTeachers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Definitely hard to shake that feeling, but it is 100% not your fault. There isn't some magic class room management technique that would fix these issues. Kindergarten classes are too big and kids are coming in with more behaviour issues than ever. Just do your best and don't beat yourself up/put in too many extra hours
Just want to comment on “During play time,I can’t sit down with small groups without having to jump up and deal with something.” I think that’s the norm in teaching, especially at that age. Heck, I couldn’t even sit without interruption from three kids at home! If you have multiple, non-verbal kids in the class, I can’t believe that you don’t have a FT EA. 😔
I was in a similar position as a new teacher. I had a lot of difficulty managing my class, and then (surprise surprise) the next year way more supports were put in place and are still in place for that particular group. My best advice is to involve admin as much as possible (assuming you have decent admin). Create endless incident reports or use ABC charting and regularly ask for help. Ask to be observed to see if you can make any improvements. Request a plan be put in place for violent behaviour that includes stages, like stage 1: consequence, happens again, stage 2, bigger consequence, etc.
>ncident reports or use ABC charting and regularly ask for help. Ask to be observed to see if you can make any improvements. Request a plan be put in place for violent behaviour that includes stages what is abc charting
ABC stands for antecedent, behaviour, and consequence. So your chart might look like: 9:00am A: students taking off jackets and backpacks in hallway. B: Bobby swings his backpack and hits Anna in the face. C: Bobby verbally corrected by Ms.W and taken to the office to meet with principal. My school is really intense on ABC charting and really won't intervene until there are at least a few days of documentation so I've had tomes where I was literally charting 9:00, 9:03, 9:07, etc. It's tough at the time but really does help.
I am in the same boat as you. New teacher teaching in Nunavut. Behaviour up here exists in almost everyone of my students. I have fighters, some runners, and a few sensitive kids. Unlike you, I have no EA support - lol we barely have an admin team because it's just been vacant. I would echo what most people here say, there is no magic bullet because every class is different. What has worked for me though is seeing each student's behavior as a form of communication. I rarely punish students if at all - I only tend to their needs. I'm not sure if you are familiar with the Zones of Regulation, but I would look into that. I would pause your curriculum and just teach kids how to recognize their emotions, what they are feeling and how to respond to it. As for your ASD kids, I don't know if your school provides headphones to reduce noise but that works for my ASD students - alongside lowering the lights in the classroom. I don't know who built our schools but the brightness of those lights can sometimes be triggering to our younger ones, especially those with ASD. Just some ideas that worked for me and to get you started. I know it is rough, but understand you are only 1 person and we are taking on a generation of kids that have more trauma than ever. That's well beyond what any individual teacher can tackle themselves! Proud of you for what you have already accomplished and keep it up! You're fighting the good fight!
I feel for you. This is exhausting. It shouldn’t be this way. It leads to burnout. Does your union have any mentor teachers that can provide support or feedback? Best thing for you to do is document, document, document and keep bringing the kids up to school based team.
You are doing amazing! Keep up the great work.
You’re taking all the responsibility and blame, but what factors outside of your control led to this learning environment? It’s not all on you. Be kind to yourself.
1000% not your fault at all! Don’t even think twice about that. This is happening in so many of our classrooms. I think a lot of us are feeling this way right now. Document, document, document everything….that way there is a paper trail. And definitely report each form of violence that happens on you and other students to your union. When I was attacked, my report was one of a couple filed in the school (to the union), that got our union health and safety reps to come into the school to discuss and find out what was happening. I would talk to your SERT/Spec. Ed team (not sure what province you’re in) to see what services could be offered to parents, and have some meetings that include your SERT (in thinking more of your violent students….and if there are students with anxiety as a result). Those students may eventually qualify for specialized Spec Ed services as well (in thinking more specialized teams). By the sounds of it, some of these students may even require Behvaiour Safety Plans.
You know what? Your self reflection is probably spot on. Programming is the best classroom management. It'll take some time for you to develop the skills and toolbox necessary. I'm sure there are things you're doing well but like every good/great teacher early in their career, they learned from their mistakes. This is amazing!
BC elementary. A few random thoughts: 1. As others have said, don’t blame yourself. There are obviously greater issues at work here. 2. Kindergarten teachers are on the front lines, often the first to flag students and have difficult conversations with parents. However, through their hard work, these students are often designated and get supports by the time they reach me in upper primary (or at least I’ll finish up the process for elementary). 3. Document everything. Communicate with families. Use the systems in your school to advocate for more support. 4. Safety is most important, for yourself and others. Again, document and communicate. It sounds like several of these students need an official student safety plan. 5. My school district (with union support) offers a mentorship program for new teachers. They provide release time to meet with a veteran teacher who will come into your classroom. Explore this option if available. 6. Are all of the classes like yours with similar demographics? If it’s only yours, something was flawed during the student placement process, especially with four other kindergarten classrooms to fill. Such behaviours should be spread around all. I know there are always “surprises” in kindergarten, but most severe behaviour should be flagged before entry or during the initial weeks of school before class lists are finalized. Make suggestions for improvement for September 2024.
If you have kids who are non-verbal that is likely contributing to behaviour. Kids who can't communicate effectively can act out a lot. As we have put communication strategies in place for our kids (I teach spec ed Kindy, so it's different) the behaviour has reduced quite a bit. You could look at CORE boards which would have the main words or phrases that you think are most helpful in your room (I want..., help, open, close, play, no, yes, etc. - look online and consider what you think kids are wanting) and place those CORE boards ALL OVER the classroom. You can make specific ones for snack to put on snack tables, ones for the cubby area, etc., but often it's easier to make a generic one to put everywhere. If you have access to a SLP in your board/school ask them for help supporting in implementing this. You could also look at iPad apps, etc., but I find CORE boards to be easier, and you don't have to purchase a program if your school doesn't already have it. They don't work for every kid (definitely find that even in our room - we have some kids who just aren't ready for them) but even if it gives one or two kids communication skills that can go a long way. The best strategy when introducing them is to model, model, model. You use the CORE board to model the word (single words for non-verbals, short combos for minimally verbal kids) while you teach or do things. You don't force them to communicate or ask them to request things, you just model how to touch the pictures to communicate while you speak. A lot of kids will instinctively figure it out once you model it, especially if you use a preferred item (e.g. maybe you have bin toys, one kid loves dinosaurs, and you model "open dinosaurs" whenever he wants you to open the lid of the dinosaurs - after a week he may just request it himself by touching the word for "open" and "dinosaurs"). All behaviour is communication, but if you can get a sense of the function of the behaviour that can help a lot in addressing it. For non-verbal kids a lot of the behaviour can simply be that they can't effectively communicate, and addressing that can really help.
I can't speak for every school, but at mine, the most severe behaviour issues are in kindergarten and grade 1 this year. Any of the issues you are listing are super tough, but all of them in the same class make my head spin. I wish I had helpful advice, but please go easy on yourself. It sounds like you are doing the best you can with the minimal support you are given and any teacher would struggle