THE EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED CHILD in the classroom situation.

The article discusses the challenges in the education of emotionally disturbed children and presents propositions aimed at providing a framework for understanding behavior in general and the disturbed child in particular. There is difficulty in defining such a child because of the lack of knowledge on what constitutes the emotional life of a normal child and because behavior is a dynamic, interacting process and any static or checklist attempt at definition falls short of being either effective or accurate as a means of determining emotional disturbance or normality in a child. It suggests that behavior can best be evaluated along an integrative-non-integrative continuum and within the context of a situation. The most important elements that need to be considered in evaluating emotional disturbance in the classroom include the teacher, his or her goals, pressures, and problems; the peer group, their basic need for unity, group acceptance, and a fundamental desire to learn; and the disturbed child who shares to his or her peers common goals and aspirations.