Update on Behavior Problem

I promised I would update on how things went this past week with one of my young people after needing to discipline him firmly the week before. That occurred toward the latter part of class and, at the time, he responded by being very quiet. I was curious as to how he would behave the following week.

I’d have to say I saw progress tempered by the fact that this young person is who he is and won’t change overnight just because I intervened.

For the most part, he was his usual gregarious self which I was glad to see. I’d hate to have seen him moping. Whenever he ventured close to his previous behavior, however, he saw my eye catching his eye, and he would immediately stop. I never verbally had to get his attention but needed to do so with my eye on a few occasions. I can live with that because as long as I don’t have to interrupt the session, I’m happy. We look for growth, not perfection.

My guess is that the further away we get from the session when I disciplined him verbally, the more likely it is that he will push the envelope with his behavior. We’ll just have to wait and see!  

About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

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