Maintaining Sanity in an Insane Classroom: How a Teacher of Students with Emotional Disturbances Can Keep from Becoming an Emotionally Disturbed Teacher

Experienced, well-trained teachers are needed to work in classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. However, very few educators achieve a long tenure teaching in these types of classrooms. Through a sharing of practices and strategies that have been found effective in reaching students with emotional and behavioral disorders and by helping to maintain the mental health of teachers who work with these students, it is hoped better, more experienced teachers can stay in these classrooms longer. This article is a collection of tips, hints, and practices which have been found effective in reaching students with emotional and behavioral disorders and in enabling teachers to work with these students for longer periods of time and in more effective ways. It is hoped the sharing of these methods win allow for longer, more rewarding careers and, most importantly, benefit these most needy students.