Tell me about your most challenging discipline problem.
A: That would be Derek! In a word, Derek was unmotivated. He could care less about history and he could
care less about life in general. For
Derek, everything was boring. In a
conversation I had with him I discovered that he loved stock cars and probably
knew more about stock cars than most of the people who raced them. One day I brought in a photo of my brother’s
stock car and showed it to Derek. His
face lit up like a Christmas tree! I
arranged for Derek and my brother to meet after school one day and the two of
them couldn’t stop talking for hours – stock cars, stock cars, stock cars! From then on I had his attention. He and I worked out a simple behavior plan –
he’d do a certain amount of homework or a class assignment and in return he’d
earn some points. The ultimate reward
was the opportunity to work the pits at one of my brother’s races at Williams
Grove Speedway. I never saw a student
change so much as Derek. His final
project for the course was on the history of stock car racing. It was phenomenal! Nobody had taken the time to find out what
Derek was all about…but when we did he was a changed person.
In response to the question, you should provide a specific example and show how you addressed the issue with
specific details. Never talk in
generalities on matters of discipline; demonstrate with specific details and
specific examples how you dealt with an issue.
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