Dealing with drama: School and Social Skill Builders.

Welcome to the rutting season - the time of year when hormones are a-raging!

Yes - every teacher, administrator, parent, or youth leader knows exactly what I'm talking about. Hormones are running rampant through the endocrine system of fourth graders on up! Okay, I agree, even amongst some of the second and third graders... please don't tell me the Kindergartners and first graders are infected too!

The warmer the weather - the higher the infection levels. It’s like a hormonal incubator out there.

Sometimes we become exasperated with our pre-teens, tweens, teens, and post-teens. We ask, “What is wrong with these kids?” “Why can’t they just get along with each other?”

Part of the challenge is found in the natural environments of today’s children. The media is filled with drama! Not only the old-school technology of television, music and movies, but also the new technology of Facebook, MySpace, Tweeter, text messaging and other technology that this old dude is not aware of. All of these technologies can be systems for intensifying drama and assisting the dreaded drama coordinator.

The drama coordinator’s job in life is to make sure everyone knows the latest bit of drama news… it’s like having your own TMZ/Extra/Hollywood gossip crew on your campus. As you know, this is very damaging to every aspect of a learning environment.

What can be done? In the wild you stand back and let nature takes its course… eventually the loser walks away and the winner is the king of the playground. Even though our campuses might seem like “The Wild Kingdom” it is best to be proactive about these things.
Here are some hints and tips.

1) Be proactive. Don’t wait until the drama is at fever pitch to do something. Teaching social skills should begin during the first weeks of school and reinforcement should continue throughout the year.
2) Teach concrete steps for social skills. Here are two examples:
How to Respond to Rumors
Step 1 – Pause / Stay calm
Step 2 – Consider the source
Step 3 – Consider the severity
Step 4 – Ask, “Do you believe it?”
Step 5 – If “no” say, “Good” and change the subject.
Step 6 – If “yes” say, “You can believe it if you want, but it isn’t true.” And change the subject.
Alternate Step 6 – If the accusers are verbally abusive – Hold up one hand with palm facing the abuser. With a firm voice say, “Hey, don’t talk to me that way, I don’t like it” then turn and walk away.

How to Stay Calm
Step 1 – Listen to your body’s triggers
Step 2 – Isolate tense body parts
Step 3 – Inhale slowly through nose and think of better solutions
Step 4 – Exhale slowly through mouth and relax
Step 5 – Concentrate on body control

3) Teach social skills as well as you would academic subjects.
a. Language enriched lessons
b. High student involvement in creating social skill steps
c. Create specific time and structure for social skills discussion
d. Engage critical thinking skills
e. Role play social skills scenarios
f. Frequently reinforce the use of social skills

At The Principal’s Office we have created an entire system for teaching, implementing, and reinforcing productive school and social skills. Our system is called “School and Social Skill Builders.” This system includes a wide variety of school and social skills that will help students today and throughout their lives.

If you would like help getting through the rutting season at your school, all you have to do is give a whistle! Here’s the tune…

480-204-7489
DrBrian@ThePrincipals-Office.com