Teaching the behavior disordered child

Behavior Disorders
By Aubrey Hammack
(Published in the Upson Home Journal July 3, 1990)

Recently I was reminded of the 4 1/2 years that I spent as a behavior disorder teacher when a former student of mine stopped by the office for a chat. I taught mild to moderate B/D kids in the early 80s, and this group was almost exlclusively boys. Some people don't understand what B/D kids
are. The best way that I've found to explain this is that they are kids that cannot remain in the regular classroom because of behavior that is so disrupting that it interferes with the learning process of the problem child as well as the entire class. Another way to describe it is that an emotional problem is so invading their consciousness until they are unable to relate to those around them without losing control of their emotions.

The one thing that a teacher learns in a classroom is that you have to convey immediately to the students that you are the authority figure. Structure is extremely important, and, believe it or not, some people just don't seem to have the knack for pulling this off. Recently a teenager told me that he couldn't get along well with his mother's boyfriend. When exploring what was happening, it became obvious that the line between being a friend and an authority figure boundary line was not drawn clearly, thus sending mixed messages to this teen. I remember starting a new class each year always feeling that the whip had to really be cracked the first few weeks of school. When kids come back to school at the beginning of the year, most of them have had little structure over the summer. One reason for this is that the parents feel when school is out, that they need a vacation from being the judge and jury.

I remember one particular 12-year-old who cursed me out the first day of class and ran out the front door of the school. Being a little more agile than I am today, I chased him down, and holding his arm, delivered him back to the classroom. I then let him know that what I did was embarassing and that I really didn't won't this to happen again. Incidently, this kid attended my class for two hours a day for half a year. He became one of my real successes.

On of the funniest things that occurred happened shortly after I began teaching in special ed. Although the school had a full time P.E. teacher, it was up to me to provide P.E. for my class. We did all sorts of things, such as touch football, softball, basketball, frisbee throwing, track and field events and field trips. After a while, it seems that word got around that Mr. Hammack's class had fun. I had several kids to approach me asking how they could get into my class.

Another humorous story was told to me by a school principal. After discovering that one certain student in my class seemed to possess some potential for baseball, I encouraged him to sign up for the Little League team that the principal was coaching. It seems that, in the middle of one of the games, this student, playing the outfield, suddenly ran off the field without warning. The principal quizzed him the next day about this suspicious behavior, and the youngester simply said, "I had to use the bathroom bad." Another time two of the boys almost got into a fight because one had spit on the other. When questioning these boys, one told me that the other had simply gotten in the way of his spit.

We are told that, at any given time, 2% of the school population needs special education services because of behavior disorders. This is a conservative estimate, I'm sure. PL 94-142 requires that all handicapped children, which includes the seriously emotionally distrubed, be identified and given special education according to their needs. One source estimates that 6 to 10% of the school population are in need of special education services at any given time due to disordered behavior. The general definition of BD describes these charactristics in children: school learning problems, unsatisfactory interpersonal relationships, inappropropriate feelings and behaviors, pervasive unhappiness or depression, and physical symptoms or fears associated with school or personal problems. There have been numerous definitions of the emotionally disturbed child. Each definition usually serves the purpose of the writer doing the defining. One major definition has had a significant impact on the national scene. This one has been written by Eli M. Bower in 1981. It describes the emotionally handicapped child as exhibiting one or more of five characteristics. These are behaviors that are measured over a period of time. They are:

1) An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.

2) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory impersonal relationships with peers or teachers.

3) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal conditions.

4) A general, pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.

5) A tendency to develop physical symptoms, pains, or fears associated with personal or school problems.

Overwhelmingly one characteristic that I saw in teaching B/D kids was the absence of the father in the home. The mother is put into the position of trying to play both roles and, of course, this is impossible. As the male child gets older, physically the mother can not compete with him. This causes some serious problems unless the mother changes the way she relates to this son. The sons, of course, are stronger and they have to be treated this way. The way the mother disciplines this child will probably need to be changed. Positive reinforcement is used in special education a lot and I fully support its use. This is a much better way of keeping peace, making everyone happier and at the same time getting the child to do what you feel her or she should do.

Still the absent father causes a problem. Boys desperately need good male role models. Big Brothers/Big Sisters have done a lot help with this area.

More male teachers are needed in the education system. The low pay is not much of an incentive for males to enter and stay in this profession. Sadly, I believe many males see this as a sissy type of job.

I certainly are proud of the almost 5 years that I was in this profession. I don't think it took anything away from my manhood. If anything it made me feel more like a man.

When I see young adults in their 20s come up to me and say, "Mr. Hammack, do you remember me?" and I find that they have made society-contribuing individuals, then I am pleased. No salaries are not where they should be for all the expectations that society has placed and continues to place on teachers, but htere are still some rewards that money can not buy.