DS's elementary school had a brilliant counselor. When a kid was just having a bad day, the counselor could be called and the kid and the teacher would take a walk around the neighborhood and chat. Many of the behavior problems in our area are due to bad family situations and the kids just can't take the stress anymore. The counselor was a friend and mentor to many kids. And when they came back to the classroom after their walks they were much better behaved. I know it takes a lot of resources (we could have used about 5 more counselors), but it showed me how much misbehavior is just kids unable to deal with their pain. They didn't need to be taught what was wrong; they needed someone they could trust, someone who cared.
