What was the most difficult child you have ever dealt with?
The interviewer is looking for certain behaviors that could easily be found in any middle school classroom, and they want to get a gauge on how you view the behavior and manage the situation. Begin by providing an objective overview of the child, then share a specific example of a difficult situation as well as how you handled it. They will be looking for your desire and ability to navigate challenges and provide positive solutions for the school and the students.
Pro tip: do share the context of how you know and interact with the child, but do not share the child's name. Go a step further by drawing a distinction between the behavior and the child - the behavior is what is difficult.
"First, I'd like to make a distinction between the child and the behavior. I've dealt with a lot of difficult behavior out of many children, and I remind myself that difficult behavior in children can often result from something else. So, I try not to blur the lines between the child and the behavior, though I know sometimes that can be challenging! That said, one of my very first 6th-graders routinely exhibited difficult and disruptive behavior in the classroom. Nearly every day, he would try something that would taunt and distract other students in the class. One day, he pulled matches out of his bag and began trying to light them, then threw his full bookbag at the closest student who tried to stop him. Talk about a difficult situation! After any one of these incidents, he would prepare himself to go to the office or to detention, knowing that one of those options was inevitably his fate. Many people would likely write this student off as a 'lost cause,' and many of them did. When I saw how he prepared himself to go to the office, I knew there was more to it. I offered to go to the office with him if he felt more comfortable having me there, whether to simply be present or to help mediate. He was surprised to be offered help and support given the circumstances, and he took it. I realized that he had no choice but to internalize much of what other teachers and students had thought of him, and he was performing to the expectation. Since then, I've had an entirely different perspective on 'difficult children' and behavior."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I had a student who I was teaching in Year 7 last school year, while he wasn't the top student in the class, he was usually engaged and willing to learn. But when we returned from our winter break, he started displaying difficult behaviors. He was often disruptive in class and when he wasn't disruptive, he was usually disengaged and would even try to sleep in class. He also had some more serious infractions outside of the classroom such as the destruction of school property. I tried to keep him engaged by giving him tasks to do to contribute to the class (for example, writing ideas the class brainstormed on the board). Then, when I had a chance to talk with him about what was going on, I found out his parents had left town and he had been left to stay with a family friend. It seemed he was feeling abandoned by his parents and over the next month I tried to give him extra attention through positive reinforcement. I also talked to some of his other teachers who were experiencing similar changes in his behavior and we communicated with his mom about the negative changes we had seen and how he seemed to be acting out while they were gone. Since returning, his parents have become more involved in his education and his behavior has also improved.
Stephanie's Feedback
This is a wonderful example! You do a great job of focusing on the negative behaviors and separating those behaviors from the student as an individual; you also make it clear how much you care by showing compassion to his difficult home situation and working on positive reinforcement. This young person is lucky to have such a caring adult in his life, behaviors aside.
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