So what exactly should you be doing instead?

First...figure out what skills each specific challenging student is lacking and what problems continuously set the stage for that student’s challenging episodes. You can download the Thinking Skills Inventory to help you identify the specific situations in which each challenging student is most likely to exhibit challenging behavior. During specific academic tasks? Or circle time? On the school bus? During lunch? At recess? In the hallway between classes? We call these "triggers" or "problems to be solved." If a problem is still setting the stage for challenging episodes, then that’s pretty solid proof that the problem isn’t solved yet.

The Thinking Skills Inventory also lists lots of skills we frequently find lagging in challenging kids. Take a few moments to look at the list…you’ll probably find many items that describe your challenging students to a tee. We call these "skills that need to be trained," and as you’ve already read, the school discipline program doesn’t teach any of these skills.

Once you’ve identified the lagging skills and unsolved problems contributing to a student’s difficulties, you’re ready for an approach geared towards solving problems and teaching skills described in the book, Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach. It’s how we help educators solve problems, teach skills, restore communication, and improve relationships with their challenging students.

How does the approach work? Well, instead of helping adults get better at imposing their will and giving kids the incentive to comply, we help helps kids and adults learn how to solve problems together. Along the way, kids learn how to be more flexible, better tolerate frustration, solve problems, and a whole bunch of other skills crucial for handling life’s challenges. You can read about the basics of the approach here.

Is it hard work? Yes, very hard work. But you’re working hard already. We want to make sure you have something to show for your hard work.

Interested in learning more? We were hoping you might be. On the Resources page, you’ll find all kinds of resources to help you learn about our approach and help you and your challenging students begin to collaborate on solving the problems that have been causing classroom disruptions for a long time.