Melissa Chase

July 24, 2013

1. Trouble at school

2. Trouble with the law

3. Trouble with family

4. Unusual behavior

5. Low self esteem – “I don’t care attitude”

Know your thoughts, feelings and prejudices

Students are experts at “pushing your buttons”

Evaluate yourself and know your limitations

Try to remain objective

Make an effort to understand what they are going through

Trust and consistency are extremely important

Your role is to help them realize and accomplish their goals

Give clear and precise expectations

Communication is key to being a fair, consistent and effective teacher

Vague and ever-changing expectation leads to inappropriate behaviors

A misbehavior is not a character flaw

A misbehavior is an action that needs to addressed, redirected or fixed

You can like the child without liking the behavior or action

Give students a way to start fresh

Students will continue making poor choices if they feel labeled

Do not hold a grudge

Make an effort to find the root of the problem

Do not assume the behavior is deliberate (i.e. late for school)

Help the student solve the problem

At risk students are often quickly judged by looks, past acts or presentation of themselves

Every student has redeemable qualities

Show that you believe in their abilities and trust that they can make decisions

Search whole-heartedly for the good things they do

Many students who act out, often have extremely low self-esteem

Create a successful learning environment

Provide high expectations and solvable problems

Allow students to FEEL successful no matter how small the success may seem

Students who are afraid, will not learn

Take a hard line on bullying

Do not allow the psychological mind games to occur in your classroom

Teaching at-risk youth is extremely challenging

Make sure you surround yourself with people who understand your motivations and support your goals

Always continue pushing for improvements for yourself and your students

Choose which strategies you feel are the most important to start with

Have Fun! Take the time to get to know yourself and your students

Remember to smile!

Information used in presentation:

http://voices.yahoo.com/10-essential-strategies-

teaching-risk-students-5253511.html?cat=4

For more information visit the following websites:

http://capone.mtsu.edu/jhausler/atrisk.htm

http://www.edutopia.org/strategies-help-at-risk-students

http://www.edutopia.org/strategies-help-at-risk-students