Drawing the line: Teachers affectively and discursively question what counts as “appropriate behavior” in schools

Abstract

School rules, classroom norms, and social and emotional learning (SEL) modules carefully define, hone, and regulate what counts as “appropriate” and “inappropriate” behavior from students. While the stated intention behind these practices is typically to promote a sense of safety, well-being, and productivity in schooling, behavioral rules can also uphold racist, ableist, and neoliberal practices that pathologize and exclude children’s bodily expressions. The line between behaviors that are “dangerous” versus “different” is laden with hegemonic power dynamics, and teachers must be encouraged to recognize these dynamics and resist them. I collaborated with six elementary-school teachers in the northwest United States to speak critically and self-reflectively about educational practices including SEL and classroom management. This paper explores instances in which the teachers grappled with where and how to draw lines around acceptable and unacceptable behavior, resisting an immediate exclusionary response to any behavior deemed undesirable. The teachers’ affective dialogue demonstrates that reconsidering the limits of appropriate behavior is crucial yet complicated. I call for greater value and support to be placed on opportunities for teachers to openly discuss where lines should be drawn and where they might be loosened in ways that advocate for children’s agency, diversity, and social-emotional wholeness.