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Finding Alternate Ways of Meeting Needs

© Thomas Robertson

When I was on the playground with the four-year-olds, Benji was tailgating Lauren on the tricycle, much to Lauren's annoyance.

So what do you suppose my first impulse was? To stand up and yell at Benji, of course! But I wanted to find a more creative solution. So I polled the remaining tricyclists, "Would you like to be tailgated? Would you like to be tailgated?" As a result of my poll, I found that Douglas wanted to be tailgated.

So Benji tailgated Douglas, and that made Douglas happy, that made Benji happy, and that made Lauren happy. Last but not least, it made me happy, because I was no longer afraid of the day care director stepping outside and asking, "What's all the screaming and commotion going on here?"

Can you think of other ways that misbehavior could be corrected by meeting the student's needs? If so, log onto the discussion page and tell us about it.

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