Ok I have this dancer who is 11 years old. She is in a group with two other dancers who are younger than her, and work harder than she could ever dream about. This child is a disciplinary nightmare!! She gets no dicsipline at home! I strongly believe that she has a severe case of ADD and ADHD! When cleaning a routine I start with small sections. We go over and over and over it with counts. While I'm going over counts she is in her own little world and then wonders why she doesn't know it. The bad part is she could be very talented she has a lot of natural talent. She dances like crap and it is not fair to the other two in the class who actually try very hard and are very good students. Well i got on a soap box and was trying to explain to the group about hard work and the dancing at their level. The two younger students were listening very well and I could tell it was really sinking in to them. I look over at the other girl and she had her fingers in her ears not even looking at me!

I have tried to talk to the parents before, but all I get from them is, "well we don't know what to do with her". I am about to lose my mind! Even the others dancers at the studio do not want to be in class with her. I have tried to talk to some of the students who are bothered by her and they just say we don't want to be in class with her.
What do you do with a student who has no discipline at ALL...

what do you do to discipline her in class? I know that if I were talking to a class and one of them was blatantly disrespecting me like that, she would have been asked to leave, or sit out if leaving wasn't possible (I know not all studios or programs have waiting areas). Are you the SO? If not, what does she say?

Also, if the parents aren't willing to provide any help, you may have to ask her to withdraw until next year. I know we hate to lose students (because she may not come back), especially in thes economic times, but better to lose the bad egg than to lose more because of her.

I had a situation like this with a much younger child, but thankfully her parents pulled her before we had to ask them to. They did say that they will have her try again next year, but the class is so much better without her!

Eliminate her from the privilege of competing. If they are not going to draw firm lines with her, you are going to have to do it. SOMEONE has to demonstrate that there are consequences to poor behavior. Meanwhile, show the rest of your student base that the behavior is not okay from her or from any others.

I think competition students should not only be examples of great dancing, but also of great attitudes and work ethic for the entire studio, these children are the students that others want to be and look up to. If she doesn't change her attitude turn the dance into a duo.

She needs a probationary period. Tell her if the dance doesn't look like such and such by theis point in time, you will not be dancing in it. Atleast it is fair warning to the child and the parents. What a nightmare, I have some of them myself!

If she dances 'like crap' how'd she get this opportunity in the first place? Also, ADD and ADHD kids have their moments because they are easily distracted. They are also capable of concentrating for long periods of time when they are really into something. Maybe dance isn't for her.

If she has learning disabilities (diagnosed or undiagnosed) that also could be the problem.

Another problem could be expectations, maybe your expectations for this child are too high for where she's at now.

She shouldn't be in the position of competing, she's not ready, and if you don't take care of this soon you may lose many other students. Some parents are in denial about their kids challenges and don't write anything down on your registration form as to if there's anything you need to know (medications, any particular needs, etc.)

Lastly she may have no issues at all but just is immature or receives no consequences for her actions at home. Have a set discipline structure for the studio - 3 chances with the first being told to stop, 2nd being a warning and 3rd being removal from the class and warranting a discussion with a parent. Often that works for younger kids.

Hi, she is lucky to have a teacher like you. Many teachers will give up on a kid like this, just like most people give up on them and opt to teach the good kids. Good on you for putting in an effort to try and improve the situation instead of just giving up. That will mean a lot to kids like this.

A word in defence of her parents. If she does have an undaignosed case of ADHD, which does sound quite possible, then it is not that unusual for the parents to fail to discipline. The comment "we dont know what to do with her" reveals a lot. It is quite likely they have tried many, many things and they havent worked and they are frustrated and confused and have little idea where to go from here. Probably they would like to discipline their child very much but dont have a clue on how to go about it. Many parents and teachers are quick to say "well you should do this and that". But the fact is that most traditional discipline methods wont help in a true case of ADHD at all, in fact many will make the behavior problems much worse.

Perhaps it is time for a chat with her parents and suggest they take her for an evaluation. Tell them you see great potential in this kid but something is in her way blocking her ability to succeed and if you could just find out what that is, she could have a great future. They may be upset and not want to hear about it. But it may be the only way you can really help this kid.

I have had lots of kids in my classes with ADD or ADHD. Mostly, if they respect you and know that you care about them being in class and they want to be there, they will try their best for you. I have an ADD student in a competitive ballet class who works harder than any other student in the class. She knows what she has but doesn't let it keep her from her goals. Her parents are wonderfully supportive. Obviously you care a great deal about this student or you wouldn't have asked for help here. Have a meeting with the student and parent to find out how interested she really is with continuing in this class. If she is then set goals that she must meet to remain.

I had a similar situation last season, but with a 17 year old advanced dancer! Had a terrible attitude all the time, embarassed myself and the rest of the team at nationals with her behavior last year, and was setting such a bad example for my up & coming dancers. At the end of the season I made the decision to ask her (through her mom) to not return. Her negativity put a damper on everyone. It was hard because of the money loss each month but as someone stated in a previous reply, better to lose that one than several others who will eventually get tired of it. Not to mention if you allow it to continue you may be setting yourself up for more of the same if kids and parents know they can get away with it. I'm considered to be pretty strict by my students. But I have to say that they respect me for it. That's ow my teacher was when I was growing up and I seem to have taken that on now myself.

Best of luck. I'm sure you will make the right decision for you and your studio.