TRAINING PART 5
Behavior & Discipline Tips
Be patient, be low-key, be calm, be tolerant. Get on their level. Make eye contact. Be a good listener. Stay in control of your emotions. Do not allow frustration and anger to enter into the situation; it will only intensify what follows. If you are at your max level of patience, get someone to cover for you, and take a walk in the hall, or get an adult to help you sort through the problem. NEVER… NEVER …go off on a kid.
Attention Getters
Introduce an attention-getter with your group and practice it over and over until it’s second nature. Then Praise campers for getting (and doing) the signal correctly. And make it fun! Change it up and say (or do) the signal fast, or slow, soft or loud.
SAMPLE SIGNALS
(Councilor Says)
"If you can hear me clap once”
(Wait for response)
“If you hear me clap twice “
(Wait for response and repeat)
(Councilor says)
“Day-O…. Me say day me say me say day-o”
(campers repeat)
(Councilor says)
"Ready to Rock?"
(Campers respond)
"Ready to Roll."
(Councilor says)
"One fish, Two Fish"
(Campers respond)
"Red Fish, Blue Fish."
Once you figure out which attention signal works best for you and your camper group, your next job is to keep their attention. Here are a few tips to help you do just that.
Create interactive hands-on opportunities: For the classroom settings, campers are more likely to stay engaged when they are actively involved in the lesson.
Get campers up and moving: Children are very easily distracted. To help them re-focus and keep their attention on you, get them up and moving. Play a game, have them stand up if they are sitting down, have them doa a series of quick exercises.
Change the scenery: The monotony of the everyday routine in the same room, learning the same way can be dull and boring for campers. If you are having trouble keeping children’s attention, change it up by teaching outside, in the hallway, or in any room other than your classroom. This is a sure-fire way to get and keep your campers' attention.
Steps for handling hurtful situations
ONE
Acknowledge those involved
FOUR
Make the rules/guidelines clear
TWO
Offer support & guidance
FIVE
Correct any misinformation
THREE
Identify the hurtful behavior
(ask what’s going on: listen to both sides)
SIX
Help children with a solution to the conflict
Hitting, kicking, or fighting of any sort needs to be addressed immediately.
Move immediately to the situation (sometimes this action alone stops the action).
Take them to the side out of the eyes and ears of their peers, get on their level and remind them it is unacceptable to hit.
Guide them into a quick conversation of why this is unacceptable behavior and ask them how they should resolve this.
Also, remind them of the rules. (Giving them the ability to decide how to handle it will sometimes resolve it all together under their terms and the issue may not happen again).
OTHER USEFUL TIPS
Two children fighting over an object: Remove the object, explain the rule, and talk about sharing, if they choose not to share, remove the object altogether. This allows them to decide whether to follow the rule or to find something else to play with.
Two or more children are arguing: Allow them, one at a time to explain the situation and ask them how to fix the problem. Guide them into finding an appropriate solution.
An overactive child is a great helper, give them a job.
Make the back of the line (caboose) just as important as the front. Switch those leaders as you go to different places throughout the day.
If you notice the group is restless, initiate a game to bring their attention back (Simon says is always a good one).
Someone is teasing someone based on skin color, clothes they wear, personal appearance, etc… Put them in the other person’s shoes (ask them how they would feel if they were the targeted one) ask them to apologize.
If you hear something that is questionable…please jump into that conversation, if you do not know how to deal with it, bring it to an adult for help, especially if it has to do with inappropriate touching, talk, or action.
Keeping hands to themselves: sit on hands or have them put their hands in their pockets.
Have clear rules, consequences, and boundaries within your group, create a contract that consists of a list of rules and consequences that everyone including the children agrees to have them sign. They are more likely to be more compliant with rules they helped make.
Behavioral Guidance
The ability to teach, guide and build relationships will encourage children to behave appropriately. Guiding them through self-discipline is the most important thing you can do. This helps them develop skills they will use throughout their lifetime. All these things will help you be a great counselor.
DO
Set limits
Be firm
Be aware
Encourage
Give expectations
Listen
Get on their level
Have logical, natural, & need meeting consequences
Develop self-worth & competence
Form relationships (by having conversations)
Give alternatives
Give responsibilities that help them be successful
Praise
Be positive
Allow them to express their feelings
Let them tell their side
Allow times for cooling off
Help them set appropriate rules
Be flexible
Be involved
Take immediate action
Use SOH reward bucks (more below)
DON’T
Belittle
Lecture
Threaten
Argue
Ignore
Use corporal punishment
Bribe
Expect perfection
Be sarcastic
Assume
Make promises
SOH Buck Rewards
Try to catch campers being good. Reward them when you see awesome behavior. Do not bribe them with a buck to sit down when they are not listening. Ignore minor negative behavior and address the children by name that are obeying the rules. Tell them that you like the way they are (fill in the blank) and award them a buck. This will encourage other children to follow suit. There are always exceptions to the rule. Bucks are awarded when campers are:
Being helpful to a fellow camper, counselor, or adult staff
Nice or you hear them saying nice things to their friends
Step up to participate in activities like prayer time, worship time or being forthcoming with answers during class or track activities
Being quiet when it’s time to be quiet
1. Clarify what rules will be put in place — and why they are there.
Rules are important. They provide structure and continuity that help children feel safe in your environment.
The rules you and your co-counselors decide on should be limited in number, constantly reviewed for relevance, and clearly explained to the children. Enforcement of those rules needs to be uniform and consistent. When rules are randomly enforced, people don't take them seriously.
2. Communicate the rules to your campers.
Kids want to know where the boundaries are and, in general, want to earn our approval and trust. It is our duty to make sure they understand what our expectations for them are.
3. Apply the rules consistently.
Rules applied inconsistently confuse campers and invite problems. It is critical that every counselor "buy in" and agree to a common approach to discipline. If a 6:45am report time for one counselor means 6:45am, but another applies a margin of error, say 6:50am, problems — and conflict — will result.
4. Enforce consequences when the rules are broken.
It is a simple conclusion that if campers believe the stated consequences will not be enforced; it makes it more likely they will engage in misbehavior.
Finally, when and if it comes to punishment, it is important the punishment, if possible, should be linked to some constructive action the camper can take to make up for the infraction and to restore trust with the counselors.
5. Stress that character does count.
It is critical that you and your co-counselors address discipline within the context of the values upon which your camp operates and the responsibility each member of your community has to one another. Lying erodes trust, and trust is a fundamental building block in all human relationships. Children and teens need help to connect the dots between values, honesty, integrity, and relationships. And, they need to hear loud and clear that character does count.
“If you do not treat all children equitably, you will be labeled as unfair and children will not be keen to follow your rules.”
— ThoughtCo
10 Tips to Master Discipline
1.It's Easier to Get Easier
Many leaders make the mistake of starting off with a poor discipline plan. Children quickly assess the situation in each class and realize what they will be allowed to get away with. Once you set a precedent of allowing a lot of disruptions, it can be very hard to start better management and discipline techniques. However, it is never tough to get easier as time goes on.
2. Fairness is Key
Children have a distinct sense of what is and what is not fair. You must act fairly for all children if you expect to be respected. If you do not treat all children equitably, you will be labeled as unfair and children will not be keen to follow your rules. Make sure that if your best child does something wrong, they too get punished for it.
3. Deal with Disruptions with as Little Interruption as Possible
When you have disruptions, it is imperative that you deal with them immediately and with as little interruption of your momentum as possible. If students are talking amongst themselves and you are having a discussion, ask one of them a question to try to get them back on track. If you have to stop the flow of your lesson to deal with disruptions, then you are robbing children who want to learn of their precious time.
4. Avoid Confrontations in Front of Children
Whenever there is a confrontation in class there is a winner and a loser. Obviously, as the leader, you need to keep order and discipline. However, it is much better to deal with discipline issues privately than cause a child to 'lose face' in front of their friends. It is not a good idea to make an example out of a disciplinary issue. Even though other children might get the point, you might have lost any chance of actually teaching that child anything.
5. Stop Disruptions with a Little Humor
Sometimes all it takes is for everyone to have a good laugh to get things back on track. Many times, however, leaders confuse good humor with sarcasm. While humor can quickly diffuse a situation, sarcasm may harm your relationship with the children involved. Use your best judgment but realize that what some people think as funny others find offensive.
6. Keep High Expectations
Expect that your children will behave, not that they will disrupt. Reinforce this with the way you speak to them. When you begin each day, tell them your expectations. For example, you might say, "during this whole group session, I expect you to raise your hands and be recognized before you start speaking. I also expect you to respect each other's opinions and listen to what each person has to say.”
7. Over Plan
Free time is something leaders should avoid. Create and be prepared to insert additional activities into your plan just in case your main lesson runs short. When you have too much to cover, you'll never run out of lessons and you will avoid free time. You can also fill up any leftover time with mini-lessons.
8. Be Consistent
One of the worst things you can do as a leader is to fail to enforce your rules consistently. If you ignore misbehaviors one day and punish those same behaviors the next day, your children will quickly lose respect for you. Your children have the right to expect you to behave the same way every day. Moodiness is not allowed – check it when you walk through the camp doors. Once you lose your student's respect, you also lose their attention and their desire to please you.
9. Make Rules Understandable
You need to be selective in your class rules (no one can follow 180 rules consistently). You also need to make them clear. Children should understand what is and what is not acceptable. Further, you should make sure that the consequences for breaking your rules are also clear and known beforehand.
10. Start Fresh Everyday
This tip does not mean that you discount all previous infractions, i.e. if they have three tardies then today means four. However, it does mean that you should start each day with the expectation that your children will behave. Don't assume that because Julie has disrupted your class every day for this week, she will disrupt it today. By doing this, you will not be treating Julie any differently and thereby setting her up to disrupt your class again (like a self-fulfilling prophecy).
Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/behavior-management-strategies-2081567
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you completed training!
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