The explanation between Plan’s A, B, and C was very well done.
Greene made it clear that plan A imposes an adult will on students, basically
you tell them to stop, or even what to do. Challenging students will not respond
to that type of response well because they do not have the coping skills to
just do what is being asked. Recently in my classroom I have used plan A recently
with a challenging student to get him to complete his work. Using plan A I would
just tell him you do not have a choice, you must complete your work in order to
go to recess, otherwise it will be sent home to be done at home. Obviously
because I was telling him he had no choice and if he didn’t do it in school he
would miss out on something, and then he would still have to complete the work
at home, clearly did not help the situation as it arose in the classroom. Recently
I have started to flip the way I think about the situation and I am very
careful on my wording with the student as the problem arises at various times,
using a more Plan B approach. When I notice he is struggling or starting to
refuse to complete his work, I try a gentle reminder that he is capable of doing
the work and doing it well. When that doesn’t work, I pull up a chair next two
the student, give him an opportunity to explain why he does not want to complete
the work and then we come up with a plan TOGETHER on how WE are going to get
the work done. Whether it being by doing it together, him feeling confident
enough to want to finish it on his own, or going to work with a small group of students
in a teacher directed group, because I switched from just telling him what to
do to trying to meet his needs by working together, generally the work that
needs to be completed gets done.
