I've been following the education blog "Creating Lifelong Learners" and came across a post about how to respond to crying in the classroom. It caught my attention from a very funny video about a two year old and Beyonce's "Single Ladies".
I liked this post because crying in the classroom seems to be a major issue, particularly for younger grades, that doesn't get addressed in typical classroom management. These kids are away from home for a large portion of their day and often have trouble managing all their feelings. I've always hated when adults tell children to "stop crying" or "don't feel sad", because it's almost like they're telling them that they're not allowed to be feeling what they're feeling. This was addressed in this post - that these emotions are not wrong; in fact they need to be recognized in order to move on to the main problem.
Another point mentioned is when to remove the "babying" of these children when they cry. After a certain point, the "babying" needs to stop so they do not cry only for the attention.
It's a great post and a great blog - I would highly recommend it.
http://creatinglifelonglearners.com/?p=660
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How to deal with crying is an important subject which I think should be covered in classroom management. In a placement I have had to deal with it before and it is very difficult. What do you think is the best way to approach a crying student?
ReplyDeleteAs a kindergarten teacher, I can say that I have seen my share of tears; this year was especially bad! I think it is important to keep in mind that many of these children have never spent entire days away from home, and if they have, the setting may have been daycare, etc. - in most cases not school. My experience with criers has been that after a week or two they settle into the routines of the classroom and begin to feel comfortable with me, their classmates, and the surroundings. Of course, it could take a little longer if the parents insist on bringing their students to school and walking them into the classroom everyday!! At the beginning of the year I am very nurturing when students cry, however, as time goes along, I have found the best thing to do is let them cry - once the child realizes he/she isn't getting attention, they usually stop and go on about their business.
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