Ten-year-old Maya shouts at a peer during group work: “You’re so dumb!” She storms away when corrected.
The teacher assigns detention for disrespect.
How will you support the teacher in moving from consequences to connections?
Prompts to support discussion
1. What is the skill gap?
Impulse control?
Perspective-taking?
Collaborative problem-solving?
Emotional regulation during peer conflict?
Flexible thinking?
2. What brain systems are involved?
Limbic activation triggered by social threat?
Heightened sensitivity to peer status?
Prefrontal cortex temporarily offline?
Reward system responding to peer attention?
3. What does co-regulation look like here?
Private redirection?
Calm tone?
Separating students temporarily?
Brief emotional labeling?
Reducing audience effect?
4. What would skill-building look like later?
Teaching conflict-resolution language?
Modeling disagreement scripts?
Practicing perspective-taking exercises?
Structured cooperative roles?
Restorative reflection process?