The defensive classroom

Defence mechanisms-
Denial-This is when a child has gone through a bad or painful experience such as abuse of any kind or bereavement of a close family member. The child will choose to refuse to acknowledge it ever happened. This is said to be the earliest of the defence mechanisms learnt by a child.

Regression- This is when the child finds it difficult to deal with a situation such as fear,anger or puberty and may start to act child like (early childhood) this can be exhibited in some obvious ways such as bed wetting or becoming clingy to others.

Acting out- This defence is probably the most physical because the child will throw things or can be aggressive towards others. The child’s' anger is usually due to not getting its own way in a situation,so has a temper tantrum. It can also be through a new sibling arriving to take some of the attention away from said child. Self-harming can be a problem if the child cannot express its feelings in the right way (discussing worries).

Dissociation- This is when the child may have experienced a difficult situation,again abuse of any kind,the child will make up a new persona for themselves so the abuse is not happening to them but someone else. This can lead to multiple personality disorder in later years if not confronted and dealt with in the correct way.

Projection- This is when the child will blame somebody else for what may be happening to them. In some cases this can result in the child becoming a bully. This is their way of expressing emotions but not in an appropriate way.

Repression- This is when the child will just forget what has happened to them because they have pushed it into their unconscious mind,but this doesn’t always work as the memories can come back if the child experiences a similar situation.

Rationalization- This is when the child will refocus intently on another activity such as school work to try and work through the initial problem or to forget completely. This could be an emotional problem or problems at home. This can work but usually leads to added anxiety and stress for the child if help is not sought.

With all of these defences if the correct help is not sought in the early stages these problems can intensify in later life,leading to social(crime and violent behaviour) and psychological problems(disorders,self-harming or sexual deviancy). Observing(assessments in the classroom) listening to the child interacting with others are ways to pick up on any problems at the important early stages,then can be worked on and hopefully solved. 'Time to talk' is a scheme in which teachers,support workers can observe a child on a 1-1 basis,the child has a chance to express their feelings,but are also taught social skills e.g. appropriate ways of saying or doing things(manners),how to interact with other children(sharing and caring) I feel this should be compulsory in every school on every level as problems could be picked up a lot quicker which is a benefit to the child.

K Brinkhurst