Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1175948
No Such Thing as a Bad Kid An expert primer on helping students who struggle with emotional and behavioral challenges By Charles D. Appelstein I T R U L Y B E L I E V E there is no such thing as a bad kid, just bad luck and bad choices. If you injected truth serum into any acting-out kid and asked , " Who would you rather be — you, the kid who is constantly acting out, or that kid over there who has lots of friends, a great family life and a wonderful future ahead of him?" — no kid would pick himself or herself. eir misbehavior is a message, a neon light flashing above their head, reading: Help me! An d th e w ay t o h e l p i s by u si n g a p o sit iv e , strength-based approach. You can go online or read my book, No Such Thing as a Bad Kid, to see a formal definition of strength- based practice, but for me the approach is about two words: attitude and actions. It starts with the inspirational attitude educators relay to students from the moment they meet that says: "I believe in you. I am excited to be working with you. And I just know you will be successful with me and forever. Let's go!" From that moment on, everything an educator says or does must be an extension of that attitude and message: "I believe in you." Why is this so important? ere are a multitude of reasons. When a teacher extends a positive attitude, it makes her students feel good, and chemicals actually get released in their brains helping them to function at a higher level. And these good feelings contribute to the development of meaning ful teacher-student relationships. More and more research on school discipline is saying the same thing: If you want stu- dents to learn more and behave better, build great relationships with them. An educator who believes unconditionally in every student knows that kids who struggle with their behavior are often riddled with self-doubt and lack hope for a meaning ful future. e educa- tor, therefore, uses an array of tools and strategies to confront hopelessness and, most importantly, change the self-defeating, negative mindsets many at-risk kids harbor. Here are some of my favorite strength-based strat- egies for changing mindsets and maximizing student potential — in no particular order. 39 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 019 Teaching & Learning Charles D. Appelstein