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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KRussellB" data-source="post: 6960399" data-attributes="member: 6864429">I can reply from the perspective of an elementary school teacher! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Every misbehavior in my classroom has a root cause. It usually boils down to the student feeling one of the following:Lack of AttentionThe student is lacking positive attention, and so seeks negative attention to compensate. For example, a student hasn't been called on, so they shout out a silly joke to get everyone laughing.Lack of ConfidenceThe student feels that they are not capable of achieving what needs to be done. So they do something else they feel control over. For example, a student feels lost in a multiplication lesson, so they draw on their page, or talk with their friend, or get up and wander around the classroom.Lack of PowerAs you said, sometimes a student feels like they lack control in a situation. So they misbehave in order to gain control. I've noticed that when my students come to school feeling tired, sometimes they misbehave in a really obvious way. I have them take a break in the "Take a Break Chair," and there's this look of relief! They were lacking control (feeling tired), and so did something with a predictable outcome that came true. They gained control through misbehavior!RevengeSometimes a student just wants revenge! They feel injured by another student or teacher, and so act out because of it. This is a tough one as a teacher, because I have to take a step back and not escalate.As a teacher, this is the biggest solution I have:Proactive DisciplineThe modern theory of classroom discipline is that 70% of discipline should be proactive, or happening before the chance for misbehavior. That means if there's been a repeated problem, or I can predict a problem, I introduce changes or structure to prevent that problem. For example, in my classroom, I have a number of very active kids. So when I plan a lesson, I always build into it chances to move around, stretch, etc. This prevents a lot of kids from feeling a lack of control.How does this look at the table?Think about the problems that the players or GM are having. Think about the root causes. What can you do before the next game to prevent that root cause from occurring? Does the rules-lawyer need a job of looking up rules in between turns instead of in the middle of turns?I can also give an example from my own game!We were having an issue with the story the GM was telling not match the story we as players wanted to tell. There wound up being a lot of talk behind each others' backs, groaning at the table... it just didn't feel very good. It seemed like a lack of control from both sides, plus maybe the GM feeling a lack of confidence.We wound up creating a routine in which we regularly grabbed some food and a drink and talked about where the game was going next. This allowed everyone to have a voice without it taking up gaming time, and let the GM kind of speak from outside his GM Curtain.Anyways, I hope some of this is useful to you!</blockquote>

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