Thousand Oaks,
California: Corwin Press, 2000.
Elaine K. McEwan and Mary Damer.
ISBN 0-8039-6786-1 (library edition) $69.95
ISBN 0-8039-6787-X (paperback edition) $32.95
As you lean back in your chair for a brief respite during another hectic day as a school principal, there is always one certainty. Before long your secretary will buzz to announce that Jason is here to see you. You won't need to ask "Jason who?" You know him only too well. Jason tops your list of "Ten Most Unmanageable Students." Oh, he's charming enough one-on-one, but he is routinely "kicked out" of class. You're not quite sure what happens behind the closed doors of his classroom. Jason and his teacher have very different perceptions about what goes on. When asked why he's been sent to your office, Jason will shrug his shoulders and give you a blank look. "Dunno," he'll say inscrutably. "She sent me." Of course you know who "she" is. Jason's teacher has documented a veritable dossier of his sins and would like to have him placed anywhere but in her classroom; reform school was her last suggestion. He doesn't seem like a bad kid, but he definitely falls into the unmanageable category. And, he's taking over your life.
Whether you're an elementary, middle, or high school principal, you have a variety of students like Jason in your school. They take your time and undermine your effectiveness as an instructional leader. Unfortunately, you're all alone at the top. There's nowhere to turn for help. Your staff expects you to leap tall buildings in a single bound, supply all of their curricular and instructional needs, and make sure that every student in your school is a model of self-discipline and decorum. Your hat rack is already filled with the multiple chapeaus you're wearing, but you'll need to find room for one more after reading Managing Unmanageable Students: Practical Solutions for Administrators—the "behavior management consultant" hat.
We have written Managing Unmanageable Students: Practical Solutions for Administrators to give you positive and productive ways to deal with students like Jason. The chapters ahead will:
- give you the tools you need to serve as a behavior management consultant to your staff;
- help you understand the relationship between effective instruction and student behavior;
- assist you in observing and counseling teachers in how to avoid no-win encounters with students;
- provide the forms you need for observing student behavior, completing a Functional Behavioral Assessment, and structuring workable interventions;
- unleash the power of school teams in managing unmanageable students; and
- increase your effectiveness as an instructional leader.
We believe that all students can be successful in school if they experience effective instruction combined with appropriate structure and expectations.
Overview of the Contents
Chapter 1 introduces you to the three key players in the "unmanageable student" drama: the principal, the teacher, and the student. Each one of these players brings a set of behaviors to the "stage" that will impact the overall success of your efforts to manage unmanageable students. Consider first the ten common mistakes that principals often make in dealing with unmanageable students. Before you even begin to think about the behavior of your students and teachers, examine whether your own behavior might be an unwitting contributor to the discipline and morale problems in your school. You'll also meet ten teacher types whose behaviors can contribute to escalating student discipline problems. Finally, you'll be introduced to the ten most common student behavior problems and discover how to deal with them using a proven problem-solving process.
Chapter 2 details the first four steps of the problem-solving model. Following our format will help your team easily develop a Functional Behavioral Assessment as mandated by the latest IDEA.
Chapter 3 sets forth the remaining six steps of the model. You'll be introduced to research-based methods for modifying the student's classroom environment as well as his or her instruction and curriculum.
Chapters 4 and 5 contain essential information for developing successful behavioral intervention plans. They discuss the controversy surrounding behavior management, detail the specific advantages and pitfalls of rewards and punishments, and offer practical examples that your team can adapt.
Chapter 6 examines the critical teaching behaviors that impact student behavior and shows how "notching-up" the teaching performance of your staff will have a positive impact on unmanageable students.
Chapter 7 considers the importance of learning and shares some "magic" that can help your students improve not only their behavior but also their academic achievement.
Finally, Chapter 8 will give you fifty things you can do tomorrow. One or more of these ideas, when implemented by you and your staff members, will result in immediate benefits to your students and teachers.
We hope that after reading Managing Unmanageable Students you'll feel empowered and energized. Our personal experiences have shown us and the available research demonstrates that student achievement is higher in schools where principals are perceived as strong instructional leaders. In environments where teachers are trained and supported, they will transmit their confidence and sense of efficacy to students. When students are respected and well taught, they will be more motivated to learn and interact with adults positively. General Norman Schwartzkopf said: "No organization is ever going to get better unless the leadership is willing to say that things need to be changed." You are the person to help unmanageable students be more positive and productive in school.
For a complete list of all of Elaine's books visit The
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