(1-minute read)
Staying under the radar
Being on the radar
Question:
What about the kids who are classroom troublemakers? How do we get them to start off the year right without getting into trouble?
Answer:
Very often, classroom troublemakers have a lot of spunk and personality. We don’t want to squelch that completely. However, neither do parents want to get a call the first day or the first week of school about their child already having a problem with the teacher.
Therefore, I teach these kids about police radars, the kind that monitors the speed of passing cars on the road. I explain to kids that when a police car is sitting on the side of the road, it uses a radar unit or radar gun that lets it know if a car is going above the speed limit or not. As long as a car is driving within the speed limit, the policeman ignores the passing car. But when a car goes 10 miles above the speed limit, the radar notifies the policeman who then starts chasing the speeding car.
Similarly, students in a classroom need to behave within the speed limit, AKA the classroom rules. As long as a kid follows the rules, the student is STAYING UNDER THE RADAR; the teacher is happy and isn’t constantly watching the child’s every move. However, if a child gets ON THE RADAR, the teacher starts watching that child and notices any slight misbehavior the child is doing.
Therefore, I help kids understand the importance of STAYING UNDER THE RADAR. This will keep them out of trouble. For kids who are very impulsive, I tell them to stay under the radar just for the first 3 months of school until November time. It means they have to be somewhat angelic ;). Once they have a good reputation, their teacher will probably forgive them if they do slight misbehaviors once in a while during the rest of the school year.
This week is a great time to make a quick red and green list with your child to remind them how to STAY UNDER THE RADAR and how to start the year off right.