Many teachers feel unprepared to deal with disruptive behavior and believe this substantially interferes with their teaching and their ability to successfully include children with disabilities (Schumm & Vaughn, 1995). In addition to the stress of dealing with never-ending piles of paperwork, working with challenging students may be one of the most salient reasons that teachers today are leaving the classroom in greater numbers than before. While stress-reducing activities such as regular exercise, pursuing hobbies, and seeking other employment are options that may be helpful to teachers in the long-term, the following strategies are suggested to help maintain a sense of humor and sanity on a day-to-day basis. BE PROACTIVE (see sidebar) includes strategies based on the premise that being proactive is more effective than responding after the fact.