EatonBlog

A recent study published in the July issue of Developmental Psychology confirms what many educators already know: a child’s ability to exercise self-control is a determining factor in his or her success in school.  Indeed, self-control can be more important when it comes to ensuring student achievement than IQ or a host of other factors.

Children who have impulse control and are self-disciplined fare much in school emotionally, behaviorally, and academically.  These are all reasons our guidance curriculum and so many aspects of our behavioral/school discipline plan focus on self-control. 

As a principal, I can walk into any classroom on any day and identify right away those students who are exercising self-control. You can see it in their ability to listen. You can see it in their focus. You can see it in their level of on-task behavior…   It really is the strongest indicator of student success in school. 

What can you do as a parent to foster self control in your child?  Education World has published a list of several ways:

Controlling Impulses
Skill 1: Managing Situational Lure
– Learning to identify appropriate behaviors outside the classroom
– Learning to adjust behavior to match the situation
Skill 2: Demonstrating Patience
– Learning to wait
– Learning to take turns
– Learning to help others
Skill 3: Verbalizing Feelings
– Learning to build a feeling vocabulary
– Learning to identify one’s own feelings
– Learning to identify feelings in others
– Learning to share feelings
Skill 4: Resisting Tempting Objects
– Learning to discuss how the allure of material objects can influence behavior
– Learning to evaluate the need for material objects
– Learning to use objects appropriately

Following School Routines
Skill 5: Following Rules
– Learning to understand why rules are necessary
– Learning to identify with rules
– Learning to monitor one’s own behavior
Skill 6: Organizing School Materials
– Learning to follow instructions
– Learning to plan a task
– Learning to organize materials to complete a task
– Learning to complete homework
Skill 7: Accepting Evaluative Comments
– Learning to learn from mistakes
– Learning to distinguish criticism from teasing, sarcasm, and mean statements
Skill 8: Making Classroom Transitions
– Learning to follow steps in a routine
– Learning to move appropriately around the classroom

Managing Group Situations
Skill 9: Maintaining Composure
– Learning to ignore classroom distractions
– Learning to independently select a classroom activity
– Learning to behave appropriately when the teacher is out of the room
Skill 10: Appraising Peer Pressure
– Learning to evaluate a situation in terms of personal beliefs about good and bad choices
– Learning to act in accordance with personal beliefs
– Learning to identify peer situations where students should say “no”
Skill 11: Participating in Group Activities
– Learning to help others
– Learning to cooperate
– Learning to contribute to group discussions
Skill 12: Understanding How Behavior Affects Others
– Learning to identify behaviors that affect others
– Learning to demonstrate helping behaviors
– Learning to behave responsibly

Managing Stress
Skill 13: Adapting to New Situations
– Learning to identify ways by which people adapt to their surroundings
– Learning to cope with change
– Learning to direct one’s own behavior
Skill 14: Coping With Competition
– Learning to identify positive attributes of competition
– Learning to participate in competitive games
Skill 15: Tolerating Frustration
– Learning to identify feelings of frustration
– Learning to develop methods of coping with frustration
Skill 16: Selecting Tension-Reducing Activities
– Learning to identify physical signs of stress
– Learning to identify situations that cause stress
– Learning to identify tension-reducing activities

Solving Social Problems
Skill 17: Focusing on Present Situation
– Learning to evaluate disturbing feelings
– Learning to concentrate on a task
Skill 18: Learning From Past Experience
– Learning to describe a chronology of events
– Learning to learn from the experience of others
– Learning to learn from one’s own experience
Skill 19: Anticipating Consequences
– Learning to explain cause and effect
– Learning to understand the meaning of consequences
– Learning to accept consequences for behavior
Skill 20: Resolving Conflicts
– Learning to recognize situations
– Learning to develop alternatives to conflict
– Learning to use words to resolve conflicts

Teaching Self-Control: Strategies for Parents
The National Association of School Psychologists offers strategies to help parents teach self-control and to help them deal with their child’s feelings as they teach the skills.

Teaching Your Child Self-Control
This KidsHealth.org article offers suggestions to help parents teach their children to control their behavior. Tips are provided for kids from infancy to adolescence.

Here we are the first of October faced with another school closure due to illness.  Don’t get me wrong — I believe this closure was justified and necessary (24% students/21% teachers absent) — it just creates headaches for both parents and school personnel.  

If you are like me and our teachers, you are probably wondering how long before students must make up these missed days.    You might not know this, but for  several years, Loudon County has built extra minutes into the normal instructional day to account for 13 “stockpiled” days.  In the past, these were the days used for inclement weather closures.   So far, we have used six days for illness.    The biggest worry now is about future outbreaks of flu and additional school closures later in the winter months. 

As we face these issues, let me reassure you we will do everything possible to ensure our students meet and exceed all grade level expectations.  Our master schedule has little time for “fluff,” and over the next several weeks, we will be looking for ways to “sneak” in additional teaching time. 

Our custodial staff is in the building as I write this cleaning all desks, door knobs, and stair railings.  We will all continue working together to make the best of this difficult situation.