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FREW Consultants Group        
Monday, June 26 2023

The Size of the Problem

The previous Newsletters have outlined the problems and possible solutions for dealing with out-of-control classrooms.  Like most work on this topic there is a level of generalisation across the system as if all schools are the same.  This is such an obvious mistake especially in the public sectors.  Yet when it comes to providing support to deal with dysfunctional classrooms there is a ‘one size fits all’ approach from the Department.  For example, for counsellor support is based on a student ratio!

 

In recent years there has been a drift from public schools to the cheaper private schools especially for families who have the resources and opportunity to take their kids out of classrooms where disruptive behaviours impact on the learning of their children.  Like their rich counterparts, these private schools don’t take students whose behaviours are relatively uncontrollable.  This has resulted in a residualisation of public schools and unfortunately a concentration of these students.

 

To add to this disparity the socioeconomic areas schools service directly influence the distribution of dysfunctional behaviours.  The most common cause for students with these behaviours is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder resulting from childhood abuse.  It is estimated that between 1% and 11% of the population will suffer PTSD as a result of childhood trauma but in some poor areas the proportion can be up to 26%.  These students invariably attend their local, under-resourced school!

 

Suspension data is a fairly strong indicator of the behavioural environment. Using the 2021 data (2022 data was heavily influenced by the COVID pandemic and not considered) this difference can be identified.  As a percentage Sydney-North had 0.6% of their students experiencing a short suspension while North-West NSW had 5.3%, that is 530 students compared to 3,434!  Long term suspensions reflected this difference.  To ask teachers to deal with behaviours on a systematic scale in the same way, with the same resources is unfair but it is what is expected!

 

The following information is our attempt to provide some more specific advice for these schools.

 

Take the time to identify and understand the nature of the challenge your school and therefore your classroom faces.  By careful analysis you can identify significant factors that will influence the student’s behaviour.  In the first instance you should scrutinise the community’s strengths and weaknesses.  You will undoubtedly be dealing with the parents and understand their expectations, real or imagined.  Then analyse the school, how does it deal with severe behaviours and are these strategies effective? 

 

If you are a classroom teacher your level of influence on these external factors will vary depending on your personal power within the school and community.  However, in the classroom you are the seat of power and you need to understand the students you are dealing with.

 

An analysis should identify:

  1. Are the students you are working with proficient in English.   A significant proportion of the population in low socioeconomic areas come from new migration or refugees.  Their lack of English proficiency will make it difficult for you to communicate instructions.  This lack of understanding excludes them from participation and may lead to disruptive behaviours. 
  2. Catering to the diverse needs of students with learning disabilities, particularly early childhood PTSD and attention deficit disorders or other special needs require differentiated approaches to instruction and behavior management.  The application of consistency and persistency in your management style takes on another level of significance.
  3. The impact of poverty, unstable home environments, or community violence has a profound effect on a students' behavior, emotional well-being, and eventually their academic performance. 
  • Many of your students will arrive at school already hungry because there was no food in the house or their parents were not ‘awake’ when they left for school.  Ohers might not have slept during the night, maybe they spent their time walking the streets or maybe they couldn’t sleep because they were witnessing high levels of domestic violence. 
  • These students will have complex needs that must be addressed before they can learn.  Although this is your responsibility it is difficult to make a difference unless you have additional support.  If this is not coming, try to provide that support, it is what we do!
  1. Managing classrooms with students from diverse cultural backgrounds, where norms, values, and expectations may vary, requires sensitivity, understanding, and effective communication strategies.  Particularly the children from first generation migration will live in two cultural worlds.  At school they will inevitably absorb the prevailing culture of the community, this just happens but often the parents object to this and put pressure on their children to conform to their cultural norms.  The most visible of these are dress codes where girls are expected to wear hijabs or Hindu boys turbans.  It is important that the other students accept this and the particular students feel comfortable.
  2. All too often you will be dealing with parents or guardians who will have minimal and/or inconsistent support and involvement.  This might not be a bad thing in the short term but this can hinder the reinforcement of classroom procedures and discipline.  The physical and psychological abuse directed at school principals is at unprecedented levels but little protection is offered from the Department.

 

Based on the insights gained through your analysis you can consider how to move forward to address the specific challenges and obstacles you are facing.  Take the following steps:

  1. Reach out to colleagues, administrators, or other professionals who can provide guidance and support. Share the challenges you are facing and seek their support and advice.  Listening to experienced teachers or supervisors can show you other ways to deal with these problems.
  2. Modify the existing procedures to suit the class.  This is not to water-down the expectations you require but another way to communicate and reinforce them!  Consider procedural adjustments that may better address the specific challenges and obstacles you are facing and be open to trying new strategies and approaches that have the potential to yield positive results.
  3. Clearly communicate any changes or adaptations to the procedures to your students. Explain the reasons behind the modifications and how they will benefit the learning environment. Ensure students understand the expectations and the rationale for the adjustments.  Students appreciate being included in solving the problems.
  4. Identify students who may require additional support.  In some cases this may require you to go beyond the school’s resources.  In these cases it should be the principal that seeks that assistance.  Within the school support staff, such as counsellors, special educators, or social workers can help to develop individualised plans or interventions that can help address their needs.
  5. After any modification of a procedure you are obliged to monitor its effectiveness.  Not all change makes things better.  Collect data, observe student behavior, and seek feedback from students and colleagues to gauge the effectiveness of the modifications. Make adjustments if things are still not working!  

 

It is a popular truism that the most predictive influence on a child’s future success lies in the family into which they are born.  I believe this is blatantly unfair; a child’s future should not be determined by their parent’s resources, not that I’m advocating that all parents should not want to and do provide every opportunity for their kids, they should.  But it falls to the schools to even out the playing field so all kids, especially those who have been abused and neglected by their parents are given a second chance.  It takes a brave teacher to accept this challenge and fortunately we have these in abundance!

 

Posted by: AT 12:50 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Wednesday, June 21 2023

Surviving an 'Out of Control' Classroom.

The next series of Newsletters will focus on managing very difficult classrooms.  From as long as surveys have been taken focusing on teachers’ greatest concerns, managing difficult behaviours has inevitably been at the top of that list (only in recent years has the extreme workloads displaced it).  Also, with the rise in private and selective schools there has been a residualisation of those schools who take students who, through no fault of their own have dysfunctional behaviours.  Teachers in these schools should be exposed to training and development that helps them deal with these behaviours.  The driving force behind all our work has been to provide that help.

 

Regaining control of an out-of-control class can be a challenging task, there are times when you feel like throwing up your hands and giving up.  This is understandable but inevitably the extremely disruptive behaviour is initiated by a few students, the majority deserve to be taught in a calm secure environment, so at least you have a responsibility to:

  • Protect the students – you must ensure, as much as possible the safety and security of the members of your classroom.  It may be necessary to remove the offending student from the classroom or in certain situations you might move all the others out to a safe area nearby
  • Protect yourself, you are of no use if you are injured.  It is often necessary to remove the offending student from the classroom or in other cases you might move all the others out to a safe area nearby.
  • Protect the offending child as much as you can from being harmed, either physically or psychologically.
  • Protect the property. 

 

If you have removed the student from the classroom you must ensure they’re safe.  In some cases the student might flee the school area, if this occurs notify your executive and they will contact the child’s family.  In any case you need to notify your supervisor in a manner that maintains everyone’s safety, that is do not send a student out with a message if there is a chance they might be confronted by the perpetrator.

 

It may be that two, or more students are having a physical fight in the classroom.  If this is the case then:

  • Ensure the immediate safety of all students. If necessary, evacuate other students from the immediate area to prevent them from getting hurt or becoming involved in the fight.
  • Do not physically intervene, as a teacher, it's crucial not to put your-self in harm's way. Your primary role is, protect the other students, to defuse the situation and seek assistance if needed.
  • Immediately call for help, contact your supervisors, or at least another staff member and inform them about the fight and request their immediate assistance.
  • While you shouldn't physically intervene, you can attempt to defuse the situation verbally. Remind them firmly that fighting is not acceptable and that there will be consequences for their actions.
  • If it is safe to do so, try to create physical distance between the fighting students but never put your-self or others in danger.
  • It is very important to document the incident, note of any important details regarding the fight, such as the names of the students involved, witnesses and any relevant information that may help in addressing the situation later on. This documentation can be helpful for school

 

You have to remember that you are the adult in the room and you do have a responsibility to regain control of the class.  When this situation arises the first response is to remain calm, you need to put on your boundaries.  Take a few deep breaths to manage your own stress levels before addressing the situation.  The previous Newsletters have plenty of advice on how to do this but as far as the students are concern you need to:

  • Stand up for yourself in an appropriate level of assertiveness – you are in-charge when being the teacher 
  • Model non-hostile body language, stand up straight, hands off hips, fists unclenched, no finger wagging
  • Continue to act as if their behaviour has no effect on you
  • Sustain a steady, positive gaze
  • Speak clearly
  • Remain silent after you have delivered your message.  You must give enough time for that message to be understood.  Silence, coupled with confidence is a powerful way to communicate
  • Maintain appropriate eye contact
  • Don’t stand too close or touch them

Remember, your demeanour can have a significant impact on the students involved and the rest of the class

 

After the crisis has passed you will need to document the event.  This will provide a record that might provide pointers that will help you avoid this particular situation reoccurring.  The following points will help:

  • Once the situation is under control, ensure that the students involved receive appropriate support. Talk to them individually, privately, and calmly to understand the underlying causes and offer guidance or referrals to counselling or other resources if needed. It's important to address the issue rather than simply punishing the students involved.
  • If it is a significant event or a reoccurring one then reach out to the parents or guardians of the students involved to inform them about the incident. Maintain a professional, non-judgmental approach while discussing the situation, and be prepared to answer their questions or address their concerns.
  • After addressing the immediate situation, you should reflect on what caused the situation and assess what preventive measures can be put in place to minimize the chances of similar incidents occurring in the future. This will be the topic of an up-coming Newsletter.

Remember, it's crucial to follow your school and the Department’s policies and guidelines for dealing with extreme misbehaviour and violence. However, your primary focus should always be on the safety and well-being of your students while maintaining a supportive and conducive learning environment.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by: AT 12:38 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Wednesday, June 07 2023

Boundaries for Teachers

By defining and communicating clear limits, teachers establish expectations and structure within the classroom, providing a safe and secure learning environment.  Effective and healthy boundaries allow both students and their teachers to navigate through the lesson with a sense of mutual respect and genuine connection.  Children, and teachers for that matter who come from fully functional families generally have already established healthy boundaries but, as outlined in a previous Newsletter…! (Newsletter 238 – Boundaries – 30 May 2023), those kids from neglectful and abusive backgrounds must be taught to have the protection that keeps them secure and allows them to go out into the world to get their needs met.

 

Compromised Boundaries

Even with the best intentions teachers can easily encounter various boundary problems in the classroom. Here are some common challenges they may face:

  1. Over involvement with students’ personal lives – Teachers, by nature are caring individuals who naturally develop relationships with their students. However, the risk is they become too involved and cross the line from professional to personal relationships.  This is inappropriate and dangerous, it leads to favouritism, compromised objectivity, and difficulties in maintaining a fair learning environment.
  2. Lack of respect for personal space – Each of us has a personal space and you will know this because when others move too close your emotional stability is compromised.  You will know your outer limits are being crossed when your stress levels rise.  However, you will never know the others’ outer limits as all of us have a different size ‘space’ so you will never be sure if you are invading the personal space unless you are told.  Teachers who constantly invade the personal space of others by say, touching them without permission, or making inappropriate comments make those students feel uncomfortable and can negatively impact the learning environment.
  3. Emotional boundaries - Teachers may find themselves emotionally invested in their students’ well-being. While empathy and support are important, we must navigate the fine line between being supportive and taking on the emotional burdens of their students.  Maintain your professional role, if the student is need of specialist counselling then refer them to the appropriate person, you are their teacher not their therapist.
  4. Digital boundary violations – With the increasing use of technology in education, teachers may encounter boundary issues related to online communication and social media.  You must be careful in how you use such platforms such as Facebook, understand that any personal information you post can be read by your students.  The Department has pretty good guidelines for this space

 

Professional Boundaries

As mentioned above, professional boundaries involve clearly defining the space between the student and the teacher.  The following are helpful:

  1. Physical Boundaries – You need to maintain this area, not only to protect yourself but to maintain the appropriateness of the relationship.  Enforce the outer limits of your physical space and never invade the children’s. 
  2. Availability Boundaries -You need to define when you are available to deal with students.  It is not appropriate for teachers to be contacted when at home.  Clearly communicating office hours or designated times for student consultations helps manage expectations and ensures that teachers have dedicated time for planning, grading, and personal activities.
  3. Parental Boundaries – Parents have the right to ask about their child’s progress and inquire about problems they may have BUT the school should clearly communicate the procedures that must be followed for parent-teacher interactions.  Establish appropriate channels of communication, and set boundaries around response times.

 

It’s fine to know where your boundaries end but it is important to communicate their outer limits to those with whom you are dealing.  The keys to effective communication are:

  • Explanation – Convey the situation as you see it and be specific.
  • Feelings – Own your feelings and take responsibility for them.
  • Needs – Say what you want.  Be selective, realistic and be prepared to negotiate.
  • Consequences – Outline how things will be if there are changes or if they stay as they are.

It is no surprise that these represent the steps to assert yourself outlined in the last Newsletter(238 – Boundaries – 30 March 2023):

  1. When you …!
  2. I feel …!
  3. Because …! 

 

There will be times, especially with psychological boundaries when the definition of your boundary will require some negotiation.  The following outlines the steps you must take to ensure your integrity is intact and your safety assured:

  • Establish Expectations: - What are the areas of agreement and real difference
  • Check your Intentions: - Is what you want fair for all
  • Consider Your Options: - Investigate the full range of options
  • Suggested Options: - After discussion put forward your proposal
  • Evaluate: - After trial evaluate and revisit procedure if needed
    • Be persistent in putting your view
    • Be aware of other’s feelings
    • Consider short & long-term consequences

 

Healthy Sense of Self

By establishing and maintaining effective personal boundaries, you can create an environment that promotes respect, professionalism, and emotional well-being. The strength of our sense of belonging and acceptance is necessary for us to feel secure in our social group.  This fosters a positive and empowering learning experience for students. 

 

Children who do develop this sense of belonging are categorized as being able to: 

  • Think well of themselves
  • Trust others
  • Regulate their emotions
  • Maintain positive expectations
  • Utilize their intellect
  • Have a sense of autonomy

When working with those students whose abusive and neglectful childhoods have robbed them of any defence against further abuse or exploitation, learning the protective boundaries outlined in this series, teaching them through instruction and modelling is perhaps the most effective skill you can give them.

 

 

 

Posted by: AT 07:36 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, May 29 2023

Boundaries

In the last Newsletter we discussed the protective behaviours students and adults use to protect themselves from stress in their life. In these next couple of essays, we will examine the concept of boundaries; what they are and how to control them.

 

Everyone has a sense of their self.  The extent this ‘self’ intrudes on the external environment in a physical self is relatively easy to experience.  We all have an understanding of our personal space.  When someone comes within that space our emotions change, our stress response is triggered.  If the intrusion threatens our safety (our homeostatic equilibrium) then we will be motivated to protect our ‘self’. If, on the other hand that someone is someone who we love, we still have an emotional shift when they come into our space but this is the result of us seeking that contact; a type of positive stress. 

 

These external boundary violations occur when others do things like:

  • Stand too close, or touch you in any sense without permission
  • Violate our rights to privacy (i.e. going into your bags, eavesdropping on conversations, etc.)
  • Exposing you to risk (i.e. Subjecting others to your illness or smoking in ‘no smoking’ area)

 

We also have a psychological sense of our ‘self’ and these boundaries are not spatial but we react in a protective manner when others are denigrating our position in the community or we will, or should have a positive sensation when our standing is celebrated.

 

Internal boundary violations are assaults on your psycho/social self by others.  This includes:

  • Yelling or screaming at you
  • Lying or breaking a commitment made to you
  • Calling you derogative names
  • Patronising or telling you what you should do
  • Addressing you in a sarcastic manner
  • Shaming you or your community

 

So these boundaries are the physical and psychological space between you and the outside world.  They define the outer limits of your physical and emotional sense and intrusions that cross this border trigger an emotional response expressed as stress. 

 

In the classroom, teachers have to be aware of their student’s personal physical and psychological space and understand that this ‘space’ will vary from student to student.  The illustration below indicates that point of intersection.

 

Simply put, effective boundaries control what is okay and what is not okay on how others treat you. 

 

In the last Newsletter we examined inappropriate behaviours to control stress levels under the heading of people addiction.  The use of such behaviours may protect you in the short term, at the point of your boundary but the following illustration shows how this action ‘to protect’ will build what could be called walls around you.  

 

As you can see, the walls do protect you but also entrap you; you are unable to move into the environment freely to get your needs met.

 

Types of Boundaries

Soft

This is when there is no real division between where you finish and the other starts.  These people have no real protection and are:

  • Easily exploited
  • Victimized by others
  • Have difficulty getting their own needs met

 

Rigid

This occurs when people close their ‘self’ off from others for protection, always reacting in the same manner when stressed.  They will never understand how to deal with others in an appropriate way, to either reject unwanted advances or initiate connections.  These are the walls discussed above.

 

Spongy

People can use a combination of soft and rigid depending on how the other person presents, that is:

  • If they are comfortable with the other person they have soft boundaries they will accommodate the other person. 
  • On the other hand, if the other person startles them then, they cut them out, put up walls.

 

Flexible

These are the ‘goldilocks’ boundaries, not too soft and not too rigid but just right; an appropriate application of boundaries.  The person has enough of an understanding of their right to get their needs met.

 

The illustration above shows how you can be protected from physical and emotional abuse by being responsible for the things you do wrong, we all make mistakes and we accept appropriate consequences and protecting your ‘self’ when you are under threat.

 

The kids who are causing you trouble will inevitable have poor boundaries and many adults suffer that same incapacity but you can learn to apply effective boundaries following the steps outlined below.

 

Importantly it is the stress that causes you to behave.  Controlling this is important if you want to use boundaries to control your life. I use what is described as a relaxation response.  With practice I have developed a style of relaxation by counting from five to one in the following sequence:

  • 1. Relax the muscles in my head
  • 2. Relax the muscles in my neck and shoulders
  • 3. Relax my arms and fingers
  • 4. Relax the muscles in my stomach, lower back and buttocks
  • 5. Relax the muscles in my legs and feet, down to my toes

 

I do this slowly and after a period of training, when stressed I just count down from five to one.  I have placed an extended description of this technique in the resources section in our web site – www.frewconsultantsgroup.com.au

 

When you are calm you can use the following steps to learn how to deal with any situation.

 

  1. Ask the Questions
  • ‘What is really happening’?  Often this is not the immediate action that you observe, there could be other factors that got you to this place. 
  • ‘Who is responsible’?
    • If the answer is ‘me’ then I must take responsibility, take action to address the cause of the stress.
    • If not ‘me’ then I ask a further two questions:
      • ‘What is causing the incident’?
      • ‘What do I have to do to change this situation in the long run’?
  1. Take Action.

Assert you rights without threatening the other person.  You can use the follow script:

  • ‘When you …’
  • ‘I feel…’
  • ‘Because...’

 

The ‘when you’ step is the time to describe to the other person what the situation is, say for example if you are having trouble with their behaviour, you tell them ‘when you’ and describe exactly what they are doing that is causing the problem.  The ‘I feel’ allows you to let them know how their behaviour is upsetting you.  Don’t be afraid to tell them how you really feel and finally the ‘because’ gives you the opportunity to tell them what are the consequences of their behaviour. 

 

If the confrontation is more serious or the students are not engaging in the process of solving the problem, then a stricter approach can be:

  • ‘If you …’
  • ‘I will…’

This is when you can spell out that if they behave in a certain way you will deliver a set of consequences.  The decision on what to do is theirs but they will have no control over what happens next.

 

  1. Let Go

Sometimes even if you have done everything possible to contain of the other person or a class is out of control, using the right techniques and with the best intentions but things are still not working, it is time to seek help.

 

Letting go is a difficult thing to master, everyone wants to believe they control their life, this gives us our security but rationally we understand the only thing we can control is how we prepare for life and as life presents us with the inevitable challenges we respond in a way that we currently understand will get our needs met. 

 

Healthy boundaries are vital in taking control of your life.  Students who have been raised in chaotic families rarely have developed them but they can be learned; that is the same for teachers.

Posted by: AT 01:03 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, May 22 2023

The Impact of Elevated Stress

In the previous Newsletters we have discussed how stress is generated when we feel vulnerable because the conditions in our external environment pose a threat to our safety.  Further, we examined how this elevated stress impacts on our choices of behaviour in order to protect ourselves.  We also discussed how stress is needed not only to initiate behaviour but that stress allows us to learn new methods to deal with hostile external conditions in the future.  As can be seen from the illustration below, as an individual becomes more aroused their brain is said to ‘gate-down’.  Although the graph moves up from a state of calmness the neurological attention is moving down from the cerebral cortex, through the limbic system on to the midbrain/brain stem hence the phrase ‘gating down’.  

You can notice that we have moved from being able to consider a range of alternate behaviours when using our total brain into a condition of concrete thinking where we will only access behaviours that have worked before.  These issues have been covered in detail in two recent Newsletters, 228. Stress = Life - 1st March 2023 and 233. Gender Differences in Dealing with Early Childhood Trauma – 3rd April 2023.

 

In this essay we want to describe how people deal with this problem, first in a dysfunctional manner and then how to act in a way that will allow us to deal with future situations that echo the characteristics of the threatening environment.  In their early careers Margaret Paul and Erika Chopich presented a model of the different responses to threatening levels of stress; the following outline is founded in their work.

 

All addiction is an attempt to deal with painful stress which of course drives the need to return to homeostatic equilibrium.  Unfortunately, the use of any dysfunctional, protective behaviour in which you redirect your cognitive process or manipulates the cause of the threat or if you change the chemical composition of your brain without making a change to your behaviour condemns you to always being at the mercy of such situations.

 

These dysfunctional behaviours are shown in the illustration above, the people and activity addictions are the attempt to redirect the cognitive process of the perpetrator and, of course substances addiction is a well-known method of protection.

 

When you talk to substance addicts they almost invariably will tell you the first time they were ‘high’ on whatever substance they felt a sense of peace and personal power.  For kids with a history of abuse and that resulting sense of toxic shame it is no wonder the slide into addiction is easy.  Of course, the issue is that the more they use the drug of choice the more they will need of it.  Eventually, and this applies to all addictions the behaviour to protect themselves from stress becomes the source of future stress.

 

Activity addiction is not easily recognised as an addiction.  To understand the process that makes an activity an addiction is that whenever they feel stressed they will busy themselves with a distraction.  This is more easily illustrated in adults with the workaholic being the poster child of activities addiction.  Years ago when I was forming this model I was explaining it to a colleague.  When I mentioned activities addiction he exclaimed ‘that’s me’!  I had suspected that was the case and I continued on with ‘you don’t have to be that way’ to which he quickly replied, ‘that’s alright, I’m going to do my PhD’!  I had suspected this because of his frenetic approach to his work and the times he talked about the deteriorating quality of his marriage.  Needless to say, him achieved his PhD and lost his marriage.

 

This same addiction is seen right across society, from children being addicted to activities such as skateboard riding to becoming a fanatical football fan to some underserving team.  A word of caution, not everyone who has a consuming hobby, loves a particular team or spends most of their free time involved in a sport is an addict.  It is when they retreat from difficult situations they achieve that status, for that colleague, every time his wife wanted to address their problems he was ‘too busy’!

 

Finally we come to the people addiction and understanding the use of this type of protection will help you recognise what drives some of the behaviours of students. When being stressed by other people those choosing to protect themselves have a choice, they can try to control the other person or resist any attempts for the other to affect them

The types of people addiction are shown in illustration below.

The attempts to control the ‘other’ using overt behaviours can be summed up as ‘if you stress me, I will stress you back to a level you will leave me alone’!  They are, as the graphic indicates bullies; they threaten, use their friends to tease them or mock them to make them the centre of ridicule.  Eventually, the perpetrator will withdraw removing the source of the stress from the overt control addict.  This may work in the short term, the stressing behaviour of the adversary my cease but unfortunately when a similar situation arises the student will have to again be aggressive.

 

An alternate way to ‘control’ the stressful situation caused by another is to be so nice to them they will never attack you.  This is the covert method of people control.  Like the overt model the use of being a ‘best friend’ or ally is that you have to submerge your own need to avoid being exposed.

 

The final type of people addiction is that of resistance.  This is when a potential victim of ‘intimidation’ from others chooses to isolate themselves, refusing to accept any responsibility to whatever stressful situation exists.  They refuse to take part in organised activities, are absent a lot and isolate themselves.  However, there will be times when the resistors join forces and justify their behaviour with each other.

 

These acts of addictive behaviour are not just for the students, adults will also use these forms of control.  The selection of whether or not to be covert or overt depends on their perceived personal power in regard to the other.  It is more likely that a ‘boss’ that is feeling overly stressed will take on the overt role.  It is easier to bully those with less power.  Alternatively, those who work for an overt style boss might find it more comfortable using the covert techniques, ‘sucking up’ to make sure they are not their target.  The use of either control method disempowers the individual, the boss will lose the respect if their staff and those using the covert style will not be respected by fellow workers or skilled managers.

 

In the last illustration I have presented the student diagram as it applies to staff.

I’m sure we can all recognise these behaviours in our school staff.  Overt control teachers are those who put their students down, ‘why would I waste my time with this lot’.  Covert control teachers seek to be popular by letting their students ignore school norms, forgiving them for not handing assignments in on time.  What they don’t understand is that they are denying their student their right to learn about responsibility and in the long run they are never really respected.  Finally, we have those who sit up the back at staff meetings, reading the paper or talking amongst their allies.

 

I hope this information will help you identify those students and colleague’s dysfunctional behaviours not to condemn it but to let you approach them with compassion and understanding that these behaviours come from a faulty and toxic self-belief.  I have put a copy of Chapter 8 of my book ‘The Impact of Modern Neuroscience on Contemporary Teaching’ called Acting to Protect Yourself.

 

In the next Newsletter I will talk about how to deal with stressful situations in a healthy way.

 

Posted by: AT 01:50 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, May 15 2023

The Key is Stress Management

 

This is the first in the latest series of essays on the impact and importance of the levels of stress in the classroom.  In broad terms, stress is the process where the brain comprehends, and attempts to maintain, a person’s homeostatic status.  Of all the Newsletters we have produced those discussing the impact of stress on behaviour and learning far outnumbers any other topic.  Like all living things we humans are driven to survive and reproduce and when any situation in our environment either threatens or nurtures our existence we will act to deal with such a situation; we will behave!  This Newsletter will focus on that process focusing on homeostasis.

 

Homeostasis is the process by which the body maintains a stable internal environment despite external changes.  Our internal environment consists of our physical, social/emotional and intellectual world.  This three-part feature is embodied in the physical structure of the brain, often referred to as a triune brain shown below.

The brain’s only task is to regulate its behaviour in response to the external environment to retain homeostatic equilibrium. 

To maintain homeostasis at the physical level much of the processes are reflexive, that is they are achieved at an unconscious level; part of our genetic organisation.  These are things like breathing, maintaining blood pH and sugar levels.  The act of breathing to maintain our oxygen levels demonstrates the power a deficit can have on your behaviour.  Just try holding your breath for say two minutes and feel the growing urgency to address the disequilibrium.  The continual process of oxygen depletion and renewal demonstrates our need for continual adjust to the changes both in our bodies and the environment.

 

As well as this biological feature of the physical realm there is that of movement.  From the moment we are born we have to learn to move our body to sustain equilibrium.  Watch a new-born try to get their finger into their mouth.  Just like any lesson, through trial and error eventually a neural pathway will form, a behaviour is learned.

 

The social/emotional level involves the regulation of how our sense of self interacts with the community that is in our immediate environment.  The limbic system through structures like the amygdala and hippocampus regulates our stress levels.  When there is a perceived threat or danger, the limbic system initiates the "fight or flight" response, which triggers the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. When we perceive something in the environment that we need to address a deficit, say we are hungry, the stress response if not a product of a fight/flight response but one of seeking food in this instance and is driven by dopamine.

Once the threat or deficit is addressed the brain's homeostatic mechanisms work to restore the body to a state of equilibrium.

 

Finally, at the tertiary level is a treasure trove of memories that inform our behaviour in response to social cues, such as facial expressions and body language and environmental conundrums that may impact on our stability.  The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for what is referred to as executive functions like decision-making and impulse control plays a crucial role in maintaining that equilibrium. 

Importantly, it is this tertiary section on which we want the students to be focused.  Teachers need to create a level of uncertainty related to the content of the lesson they are to deliver.  The resulting stress is expressed as curiosity!

 

The status of homeostatic equilibrium refers to a state where the whole body is safe and secure.  To achieve this the whole brain has to provide the energy to sustain those demands require to keep us alive.  However, the brain is incredibly energy-intensive consuming roughly 20% of the body's total energy, despite only making up 2% of its weight and that energy is vital in supporting our physical, social/emotional and intellectual needs. 

 

For example, when there is a deficit in say our social needs the resulting state of disequilibrium will demand that the brain adjust its energy consumption to focus on rectifying this problem.  Given that we have a finite energy budget, this focus on the social problem means there is less to service the other needs.  Overall, the distribution of the brain's energy is tightly regulated to support the diverse functions of different brain regions, and this regulation is critical for maintaining normal brain function and promoting overall health and well-being, that is homeostatic equilibrium.  The following illustration explains the consequences of different types of disequilibrium.

It is obvious which state is suitable to maximise the learning outcomes for our students.

 

It is a truism that kids learn best is a safe and secure classroom and this is why.  It is the teacher’s professional responsibility to, as much as possible produce an environment where the student’s social and physical needs are not under threat.  In reality classroom management is really stress management!

Posted by: AT 12:35 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, May 01 2023

Toxic Shame

The ability to integrate our ‘self’ into our community is perhaps the most important skill an individual has.  All emotions are just a communication from our ‘self’ of how we are satisfying our needs.  When our behaviour is rejected by others we experience a particular emotion, shame which confirms the importance of belonging.  The fact that people take their own lives bears witness to the power of the underlying dynamic of rejection.

Shame is an emotion that we all experience at times. It's a feeling of embarrassment, self-consciousness, or guilt that can arise when we perceive ourselves to have fallen short of our own or others' expectations.  This is referred to as healthy shame, it is a signal that what we are doing is likely to lead to rejection.  It is a natural and necessary emotion that arises when we recognize that we have done something wrong or hurtful to ourselves or others.  It can motivate us to take responsibility for our actions, make amends, and strive to do better in the future

Healthy shame also reinforces our humanity. When teaching at a school for highly dysfunctional adolescents I used to claim I was a perfect human.  Of course, that got the reaction I wanted and so I followed up with the fact that no one could be perfect and so, not being perfect I was a perfect individual.  I used this because we are not and can never be perfect, we will do things that hurt others.  Not because we want to—we just make mistakes.  

This healthy shame also allows us to understand the imperfection of others, they will do things to us that are hurtful and will make us want to push them away. It is much easier to forgive them if we accept the imperfection in ourselves. If we never experience shame, then we are either God or the Devil. We are either divine or totally corrupt.

This is healthy shame and protects us from abusing our community and promotes our empathy for others, helps us be more tolerant of their mistakes.

The ability to recognise that our actions influence our acceptance or rejection from others is not instinctive.  Parents have to teach children through providing feedback when they behave in a manner others find repulsive and/or teaching them a better way to get their needs met.  Another important teaching device is to model the correct methods of satisfying their needs but not in a way that mistreats others.  More importantly they make the real distinction between the mistaken behaviour and the child, that is the child made a mistake they are not a mistake.

Young children are incapable of understanding they are not old enough or strong enough to complete some task set for them.  An example is asking a child to drink milk from a cup before they have the motor skill for such a challenge.  They will fail and, when this happens the child should be comforted and patiently taught to perform this act.  However, children from abusive parents are rarely taught this distinction. Young children are incapable of understanding they are not old enough or strong enough to complete some task set for them and when they make a mistake, like spilling the milk they are often verbally abused and in some cases physically punished.  They can only conclude that they are stupid, weak and useless; it’s their fault!  Toxic shame is not shame over what they have done; it is shame over what they are.

Children with toxic shame take this debilitating belief into school.  At any level learning consists of trial and error and so it is at school, there will be the inevitable errors.  To healthy kids a mistake informs them that this is not the right way to solve a problem.  For the child with toxic shame the mistake is confirmation that they are not the right person to be in the class. These students fear the unavoidable negative evaluation about their work and the resulting stress suffered will make any real learning impossible.  The inevitable failure reinforces their sense of shame, this toxic shame.

In a vain attempt to hide their shame from the world, these children develop behaviours that will protect them. From about the age of three, they learn to manipulate others. They develop an inner dialogue, a self-talk that takes on a self-destructive tenor as illustrated below:

  • “Just give in. It’s easier than getting into an argument.”
  • “You have to do what that person wants or there will be trouble.”
  • “It doesn’t matter. It’s not important anyway.”
  • “You should …”
  • “You shouldn’t …”
  • “You better …”

This self-talk, this belief system, combined with the feelings that come from deep in the mind, form a potent force in decisions about how to act. The feelings are powerful and almost automatic, particularly in times of stress.

Teachers play an important role in creating a safe and supportive learning environment for their students, including those who may be struggling with toxic shame. The following will help:

  1. Build positive relationships: Students who experience toxic shame may have difficulty trusting others and may feel like they are unworthy of love and acceptance. By building positive relationships and showing them that they are valued and accepted for who they are; they are not their behaviour. 
  2. Encourage success with your language, in previous Newsletters (Newsletter 76 -The Impact of language on Behaviour - 4th February 2019 and Newsletter 77 - 100 Ways to say “Well Done’ - 11 February 2019) offers plenty of techniques.
  3. Students with toxic shame will have a negative self-image and struggle with self-awareness. Teachers can encourage self-reflection by asking open-ended questions, providing opportunities for self-assessment, and helping students to identify their strengths and areas for growth.
  4. Teachers can help by emphasizing and celebrating students' strengths and progress, and by providing specific feedback that highlights their accomplishments.

These strategies are just another way of expressing our underpinning philosophy; provide all the students with a safe and secure environment that is structured, expectations are understood and positive professional relationships are fostered. 

Posted by: AT 11:30 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, March 27 2023

Patterns of Abuse and Their Consequences

 

In our recent Newsletters we are building a picture of how early childhood abuse and trauma influences the behaviour of the victims, in our work focussing on the classroom.  Children who experience abuse can be subjected to a range of different types and patterns of abuse. Two patterns that can have distinct impacts on a child's development, behaviour, and mental health are consistent abuse and unpredictable abuse.  The difference will determine how the child deals with future stressful interactions.

Although it's important to understand that each individual responds to trauma differently, depending on a person's personality, experiences, and support system.  When a child is raised in an environment where the abuse is predictable that is, there is a repetitive pattern, the child can develop a strong protective response that minimises the impact of that abuse.  These children will bring that response into the classroom.

One example that stays with me was during my time coaching junior teams.  I remember a small, immature child who I could see was afraid of the physical contact expected in the sport.  Every time he hesitated to make a tackle or missed his opponent his father would consistently berate him or show his displeasure.  To avoid this rejection the child threw himself into collisions that would physically hurt but the resulting pain was not as worrisome as that rejection.  That child presents to the class as a tough kid a behaviour that hides his true temperament. As an aside, we understand that to build behaviours we need repetition and these children have learned behaviours that are ‘functioning’ in their abusive environment.

On the other hand, unpredictable abuse occurs when a child is subjected to a range of assaults or when it occurs randomly or intermittently.  The uncertainty and unpredictability in the child's life doesn’t allow them to develop protective behaviour.  Each episode is different and so the child does not have the repetition to create the behaviours.

The resulting inability to predict what will happen develops a sense of hopelessness in these children, that they have no control over their life and so their behaviour becomes erratic with no apparent purpose especially in times of stress.

Examining the responses to the predictability, or lack of helps us understand what drives the student’s behaviour in class.  The difference between these two extremes of response to abuse can be illustrated by examining how they relate to the following five particular characteristics.  On the left side we examine those children raised in unpredictive families and the right predictive.        

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 The children from unpredictable environments feel:

  • Less Than – These kids, through their sense of worthlessness and shame never feel they are really entitled to have their fair share of life.  When they are rejected, or by-passed, their response is not to stand up for their rights but say what they think ‘it doesn’t matter’ because they think they don’t matter.
  • Vulnerable – They are unprotected from future abuse and they lack the assertive capacity to get their own needs met.
  • Bad/Rebellious – Remember it is their sense of self that shapes their reality and because they have felt their abuse was deserved, they believe they are basically were ‘bad’.  Then, in some act of defiance they confirm this opinion by their actions; it’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy – ‘so you think I’m bad well I’ll just show you how bad I am’!
  • Dependent – Because they have no sense of competency, no belief they can do anything properly, kids with no protective behaviours they depend on others to make decisions for them. 
  • Out of Control – These kids have no concept of being in control of their life. How could they when they have never experienced consistent consequences for their attempts to protect them self.  When they make decisions, they have no prior knowledge about what will happen and so they make their ‘best guess’. 

These ‘out of control’ kids are easy to recognise, in fact they demand our attention.  They will act impulsively and with dysfunctional behaviours that were functional in their childhood homes.

At the other end of the spectrum are the children who have been abused in a more consistent manner.  They display the following characteristics:

  • Better Than – Because they had to be just what their parent wanted they learned that they could have a deal of power over the situation in which they found themselves.   Getting the decision on how to act was important, it had to be ‘just right’ to survive. 
  • Invulnerable – These kids become very self-reliant, they don’t let anyone get close enough to find out how they really feel. This being locked in makes them appear and feel invulnerable but the cost is isolation.  Regrettably, this emphasis on preventing authentic contact with others limits opportunities to get their own needs met. 
  • Good/Perfect – Much the same as ‘Better Than’ this characteristic is also a result of the earlier need to make no ‘mistakes’ when dealing with their abuser.  This reliance on perfection is their defence from being punished and they are well aware of how to avoid this. 
  • Independent – Because they have been raised in an atmosphere of having things done to them and because there was no one to support them when they were being abused these kids don’t really feel they can trust others and so they never risked depending on another person.
  • Total Control – It is no surprise that these kids don’t take risks, it is too dangerous if you make a mistake.  The tragedy is that the behaviours they use to ‘control’ their environment are the ones they learned in a dysfunctional environment; to try new behaviours is too dangerous and so they control what they can and ignore anything else!  

It is obvious from the descriptions above those kids who have been raised in unpredictive, abusive environments are easy to identify and our classic response of structured, predictable and consistent approach helps deal with them.  The kids who are damaged but in a predictable way will be at home in that environment and this is where the relationship component is decisive.  Only through getting to understand all the kids, not just the ones that demand your attention will you be able to help them become integrated members of the classroom. 

 

Remember none of us are:

  • Less Than or Better Than – we are unique and there is no point in comparing our worth!
  • We all live through times when we are vulnerable and there are times we have to risk being vulnerable.  All we can do is the best we can knowing that life will do things to all of us!
  • Bad/Rebellious or Good/Perfect – Of course, no one is perfect, this is an impossible ambition and there might be some reward in being a bit cheeky and rebellious, it means you are human.
  • We live in communities and so it is really impossible to be totally independent however, it would be a mistake to be totally dependent.  There are times when you will need to behave in ways that are near these extremes to either protect yourself or get your needs met but you need to be informed about the possible consequences before you make those decisions
  • Just like dependence, you are never in control of the environment and so you can never be totally in control.  The purpose of behaviour is to provide you with defence against assaults or the ability to acquire something from the environment that will nourish you.  Education is learning this level of control!

Regardless of the type of abuse experienced, the strategies outlined above are applicable.  

 

Posted by: AT 06:45 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, November 21 2022

Three Strikes and You're Out

In almost every school and every classroom you visit you will see a certain type of behaviour management.  For example a student, let’s say Craig starts to talk out of turn; his name is written on the board.  A short time later he throws something at another student and the teacher puts a tick beside his name.  Craig gets angry and pushes his chair over, another tick and then he swears at the teacher, a final tick and he is removed!  Now he is out of the room and no longer that teacher’s responsibility.  This non-verbal system of control is potentially an effective intervention but there is much more that needs to be considered before it is just introduced!

 

In 1976 Marlene and Lee Canter published a book called ‘Assertive Discipline: A Take Charge Approach for Today’s Educator’.  Like other programmes of that era such as Rogers’ ‘Decisive Discipline’ and Glasser’s ‘Reality Therapy’ this program was a response to the disruptive environments in the modern classroom.  The feature that made Canter’s approach was the promise to put the teacher in charge again.  A close examination of the program would reveal this has the potential to be an appropriate approach to classroom management.  However, there is one feature of the program that has been embraced without reference to all the necessary groundwork that has to be done prior to its use and that is the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ procedures.

 

It must be accepted that the approach was promoted as ‘putting the teacher back in charge’ and I hope those who have followed our essays would be wondering why this would be a problem.  There is a subtle difference in that many of the fans of Assertive Discipline interpreted this as being in charge of the students.  One of the most liberating truths you can have is that you can’t make anyone do anything.  All you can do is offer them choices of consequences and they will choose.  In our work we know that the teacher must be in charge of the choices, which is the behavioural expectations and the structured consequences!

 

The Canters understood what needed to be put in place before the non-verbal cues were used and their advice is well worth reiterating.  They have identified four competencies teachers need to possess in order to successfully manage classroom behaviour.

  1. Identifying appropriate behaviours that form the basis for classroom rules
  2. Systematically setting limits for inappropriate behaviour
  3. Consistently reinforcing appropriate behaviour
  4. Working cooperatively with parents and principals

 

In our model these points would be:

  1. Establishing expectations
  2. Designing structure, that is consequences for various behaviours
  3. Applying the reinforcement consistently and persistently

 

As for their Point 4, this would be part of the structure.

 

We would not be so controlling to state the following steps Canter prescribes for the first day in class.  He recommends the following be asserted:

  • “None of you will stop me from teaching”
  • “None of you will engage in any behaviour that stops someone from learning”
  • “None of you will engage in any behaviour that is not in your interest or the best interest of others”

 

It is this insistent approach that appeals to teachers who struggle with control of their class.  Canter’s warning to the students is a promise to the teacher that can’t be achieved in every case.

 

There are two issues here that I would disagree with granted that they are not critical.  The first is I know you can’t make anyone do anything.  This is extremely liberating for the teacher as eventually you can’t be responsible for their choices, nor should you want to be.  The second problem is, for the extreme kids that we focus on, this threat is also a challenge.

 

Canter strongly focuses on classroom rules which the teacher dictates.  In a broad sense this is the only difference between his approach and ours which, where ever possible the rules are made by the class (see Newsletter 96 - Creating Structure - 12 August 2019 for a full description of how we generate rules).  Our preference on the class designing the rules is that this develops their self-reliance rather than the expectation that they must comply.  To develop unquestioned obedience is a direct threat to democracy and it is possible for rules to be developed with a sense of representative ownership by the students.

 

To finalise this short examination of Canter’s Assertive Discipline the concept is dependent on the teacher taking charge of the classroom, this is at the heart of its popularity.  Some scholars have likened the teacher to the alpha male in a wolf pack.  Someone who controls behaviour, directs activities and ensures the well-being of the pack.  As far as a wolf pack is concerned this alpha position is always envied and up and coming challengers are constantly emerging and the right to have the power is fought over.  Control is power over others and this is inappropriate for the development of our society.

 

Further, for every alpha there is an omega wolf, one who lacks the qualities that would allow them to challenge and really has no power.  In a democratic society this is not such a problem, we are all of equal value we just have different abilities.

 

Canter puts a great deal of emphasis on the use of I-messaging, that is when he is correcting student’s behaviour he is directing the student on what to do.  This can be at the level we describe in boundary setting:

  • When you … - describe the students behaviour
  • I feel … - let them know the impact their behaviour is having on you

In our model:

  • Because … - explain the impact the behaviour is having on their environment, that is the effect on others and their own learning.

In Canter’s model this last step is:

  • I would like … tell the student what to do.

 

When students are not complying, maybe they are angry or distressed or just defiant then Canter will use statements like ‘I understand’ or ‘that’s not the point’ to get some movement towards compliance.   What he advocates is that you should take control. So when a student doesn’t want to do an assignment you would say something like ‘I understand you do not like this subject but it will be examined in the test’ or ‘that’s not the point, you need to understand this’.  However, this verbal intervention has a limit and non-compliance soon attracts a behaviour check.  We discuss these issues in Newsletter 144. Communicating with Difficult Kids in Difficult times (30 November 2020).

 

There is much to admire about Canter’s model however, the teacher needs to be of a certain personality type to make it work most of the time.  To do this you must be an assertive teacher by nature.  There are a range of personality types in teaching and all need to introduce into the classroom what both Canter and us insist on and that is expectations and structure and these are to be administered consistently and persistently.  Unlike Canter we hold that the most important characteristic is a relationship between the student and the child that is equal in importance.  The difference is in their responsibilities.

Posted by: AT 05:21 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, November 14 2022

Modifying Behaviour - To What?

I guess there is an accepted assumption we all make when we consider introducing programs that are designed to modify children’s behaviour because how they are acting is not working for them.  And that’s fair enough, the purpose of these essays is to help teachers deal with those kids who are failing at school because of their dysfunctional behaviour.  We know what we want them not to do but if we want this to become a decision that comes from them, from their beliefs then this is a more profound undertaking and this should only be done in a way that empowers the child.

Of course, we want them to function in the world, teach them how to behave in certain situations but at a deeper level what do we want their basic ‘skill set’ to be?  When you think about this you realise modifying behaviour is really modifying their sense of self.  Remembering that behaviour is just a method of getting our needs met and those kids who are acting in a dysfunctional manner are satisfying their needs.

Take for instance a scenario where a student helps another complete a task.  That student may be motivated to improve the other’s learning for ethical reasons, they want them to succeed.  On the other hand that ‘other student’ may have access to something the students wants and so the help is more trans-actual, the drive is for an overt, selfish reason.  It is the motivation to act that exposes the core make-up of the student. 

For the children on which we focus, those who have experienced neglect and/or abuse we understand they have a ‘damaged’ sense of self.  This is best described as having a sense of self that exposes a core of toxic shame (see Newsletter 14 – Toxic Shame – 03 July 2017).  I see no ethical impediment in helping that child change such an unhealthy sense of self.  But the ethical question I have to ask myself is what do I want the child’s sense of self to be?

This forces us to face a couple of issues before we make such a decision.  The first is to consider the environment in which they live.  Most of these kids live in dysfunctional environments and those behaviours we want to eradicate are really functional in their homes.  By imposing what we consider functional may jeopardise their security at home.  So we have a conundrum.  Taking away their existing behaviours might be good for the classroom but might be very risky for them ‘at home’ where they are getting the best they can with the behaviours they have. 

However, teaching them to act other ways to suit different contexts, a type of ‘code switching’ allows them to succeed in both settings. This choice of behaviour to suit the setting is used by successful people.  Teaching the kids can behave one way at school and another at home can later be applied throughout their life, it empowers them to behave to get their needs met.

The goal of intervention should never be to change the child but to empower them and then let the child understand they have the power to change if they want to. To teach them additional behaviours that will let them meet their needs in this new environment gives them choice.  This is a difference between this approach and what has been the conventional method of dealing with students who have severe behaviours.

I have thought long and hard about this problem and investigated all the popular psychology movements such as the positive psychology movement with their list of character strengths and virtues and American psychologist Ken Sheldon’s personalities and traits.  There has been a rationalisation of these works and there has been a movement to distil personality characteristics into 'The Big Five' Personality Traits’ (for a detailed description of my investigation into this issue I have down-loaded Chapter 4 of my book ‘Neuroscience and Teaching Very Difficult Kids’ in the resource section of our webpage).  However, this work is focused on what exists now, I want to describe what I would want any changes to these kid’s sense of self to lead to and I arrived at the following:

Sense of Self

A strong independent sense of self allows the students to approach work with confidence and purpose.  This is achieved by learning how to act when confronted with new problems in life.  This requires strong boundaries which allows us to apply the following approach to problem solving. When you feel the stress of being ‘out of control’ you should do the following:

  • Stay calm
  • Ask yourself the following questions:
    • What is really happening?  This is not always obvious.
    • Who is responsible?
      • If it’s me then I have to change my behaviour
      • If it someone else I have to decide what I want and act in a way to get those needs met in the long term.  It is critical that you understand you can’t make anyone change unless they want to!
  • Then act to address the stressful situation

The Reality of Self

The reality is that you are:

  • Special - You have unique abilities that can improve your life and/or the life of others
  • Precious - You are alive, this will not always be the case so don’t waste a moment.
  • Unique - There is no one alive that is like you so do not compare your ‘worth’ with others 

This is critical that you accept this and also understand everyone else is special, precious and unique, we have this in common and this fact should be celebrated!

Relatedness

We are social beings and get our needs met more effectively when we behave within a community.  Successful integration depends on us developing appropriate social skills for the community in which we operate.  Rejection from the community is life threatening so knowing how to get on with others is imperative.   

Self-Responsibility

We have to realize that we make our choices about how to act to get our needs met and in the end it is our responsibility to do just that.  However, we need others but understand that no one exists just to serve us so understanding that our actions can harm others and we must be accountable for that!

Autonomy

Autonomy differs from sense of self in that healthy adults conduct themselves in their community in a manner that respects the needs of others while defending their own authentic self.  Autonomy is a fundamental trait that allows you to be the author of your own life.  You can take an internal attitude towards where you want to go and what you want to do. 

Aspiration

A healthy life is one that has a purpose, a direction.  Successful people have aligned their life’s purpose with their distinct sense of who they are.  They have long term goals that has been reduced to manageable short-term goals.  Of course, it is usual and appropriate for aspirations to change over time but for each day to be moving toward a successful future.

Developing such a set of core beliefs is not easy especially for the kids whose life has acted against them ever achieving such a healthy sense of self.  The way we can help them move towards such a state is using those techniques we come back to all the time.  Have high expectation of how they should behave in your class, provide a meticulous structure that reinforces those expectations and deliver this with a genuine acceptance of the child which will allow the development of those strong relationship that underpins all our work!

Posted by: AT 08:40 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, October 24 2022

Why Changing Behaviour is so Difficult

There is so much evidence that explains why it is so hard to change people’s beliefs.  We have discussed this in Newsletter 149 (Beliefs 01 February, 2021) where we examined how our drive to survive in our environment created banks of both emotional and cognitive memories which form our sense of self or our beliefs.  The conditions that fashioned our beliefs will be the conditions we seek out when our self is threatened.  This is critical for teachers to understand when they are dealing with students dysfunctional behaviour.  This is because the behaviours they are using are ones they learned to get their needs met in the environment in which they were raised.  The conflict is the result of the child learning to behave in a dysfunctional environment and applying those behaviours in a functional one.   

 

In this essay we will look at the interaction between the power of these memories and the neurological structure created in their formation.  The combination of these features will influence the child’s analysis of the external environment restricting the level of access to all available information that could inform alternate decision making.

 

We have already discussed the physical damage that can result from being raised in an abusive or neglectful environment (see -Physical Damage from Early Childhood Abuse - 10 August 2020, The Impact form Neglect - 12 September 2017 and Damage to the Brain - 13 July 2020).  This damage, put on them by adults has already placed these children at a significant disadvantage but to compound this handicap is their ability to see alternate opportunities in the environment is limited.

 

This limitation is understandable, Timothy Wilson of the University of Virginia has made the following broad observations:

  • The cognitive mind can process 40 pieces of information per minute
  • The unconscious mind sorts through 12 million sensory inputs per minute
  • The unconscious mind checks for threat and/or opportunity

Of course these numbers are estimates but they make the point.  We are exposed to an extreme amount of stimulus all the time we are awake and it is impossible to focus on it all.  I suspect the idea that we can process 40 pieces per minute is a guestimate however those 40 would be characteristics on the environment that have the potential to either threaten our survival or provide nourishment to maintain us, this is the unconscious checking that Wilson identifies (the brain will instantly observe unexpected threats that are beyond our expectation; for example if you are crossing the road and a runaway truck is heading for you will take immediate action to avoid the collision).

 

As stated in the opening paragraph, the conditions that fashioned our beliefs are those that gave us the best chance to maintain homeostatic equilibrium, to survive.  Not only will these be the conditions we seek out the neurological process will involve the same circuits and these are the ones that are the most dominant.  The brain is wired to attend to those things that have supported them in the past.  In a sense the neural networks originally are to optimise our survival and these are the ones we focus on; the brain chooses what to attend to.

 

There are at least two functions of the brain that increase the efficiency of our perception.  The first is held in a neural network that is located in the brain stem and projects onto the hypothalamus which by releasing targeted hormones keeps the body in a stable state or homeostatic equilibrium.   The second is the cerebellum which continually monitors the relationship between our homeostatic state, the external environment which includes our body and the behaviours that maintain equilibrium. 

 

One of the principal functions of the cerebellum is to make instant adjustments to our behaviour to maintain equilibrium.  The first investigations into the cerebellum was in its importance to balance.  Most early research into the brain was carried out by observing changes to behaviour when part of the brain was damaged.  The most obvious impact of a damaged cerebellum is a lack of balance and motor skills.  For years it was believed that this was its primary, almost exclusive function.  Later research has revealed a much more complex array of behaviour regulations are controlled by the cerebellum.

 

For the purpose of this essay it is how the cerebellum handles the interface of the external world and our memories, our beliefs that is pertinent to how the brain’s structure helps reinforce existing beliefs.  If you take the example of balance it is easy to see how this happens.  Those of you who have observed a child learning to walk will have watched that child, through trial and error mastering that skill.  Once they become skilled at walking they don’t have to think about it, it is an intrinsic, subconscious memory and if they trip they immediately adjust their body to regain their balance.  The immediacy of the reaction is because the cerebellum bi-passes any reference to the memory bank, it ‘knows’ what to do and sends out instant instructions.  This is known as the ‘feed forward’ feature of the cerebellum.

 

This feed forward feature makes for an efficiency when there is no clash between the environment and the individual’s beliefs however, when there is a clash and the environment threatens the individual’s beliefs thereby increasing their stress levels, they will invariably act according to those beliefs rather than the evidence presented by the environment.  As I stated in a previous Newsletter (No. 214. Changing Students' Beliefs – 27 September, 2022); “the issue is that our beliefs are formed in one reality and when we are faced with another it is challenged.  When you consider that our beliefs are about actions that help us survive and if we are threatened in the contemporary situation the anxiety that is generated will have us apply those beliefs on which we have relied”.

 

Much has been written about confirmation bias and what has been discussed above explains this phenomena.  In the majority of cases this relance on beliefs makes life much easier.  If I ask you to tell me where your car is right now you could with a high degree of certainty and in the vast majority of cases you would be right but unless you can see your car, you have evidence that it is there!

 

Obviously, for the students we are concerned with their belief systems, although functional in the environment in which they were raised is likely to be dysfunctional in a well-run classroom.  Our goal for these kids is to help them become functional in the classroom which means we have to change their beliefs and that is extremely difficult to achieve.  You have to build a new set of memories and that can only happen if you over-ride the existing ones and this can only happen over time, in a supportive relationship and in a consistent and persistent environment!

Posted by: AT 08:25 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, October 17 2022

The Problem of Dealing with Autistic and Neuro-Diverse Students

Our focus has always been on helping teachers deal with students with severe dysfunctional behaviours.  It is our strong belief that all these students with such behaviours act in such ways because of no fault of their own.  The vast majority are the victims of:

  • Parenting that has been abusive, or neglectful which results in profound damage to the brain
  • Inappropriate modelling, where children learn to behave in a fashion that works in a dysfunctional household however, when they use those behaviours in a school, presumably functional classroom that behaviour is unacceptable.
  • Atypical neural construction of the brain.  These are the psychotic, schizophrenic, autistic, etc. children who do not interpret the environment as the rest of us.

 

In all cases it has not been the child’s fault, their behaviours have been put on them either by a fault in nature or the intent of their early childhood carers. However, most of our work is based on the parenting, either the abuse and/or neglect or the inappropriate modelling.  In these cases there can be a notion that the students have a rough recognition of the external environment similar to what we would interpret.  Of course the attention to detail and the responses will be shaped by their belief systems which are at odds with our own (assuming we are ‘functional’).

 

Dealing with the last group of children is not so straightforward, for instance psychosis is a term used to describe when people lose some contact with reality. Common symptoms of psychosis are hearing voices or having strong beliefs that are not shared by people within your community.  Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and non-verbal communication.  The problem for the non-specialist teachers who have to deal with these children in a mainstream classroom is they have no way of anticipating the reactions to given situations.  I fully accept there are many excellent specialist teachers and programs that can make a significant difference but I have yet to see any evidence where these programs are successfully used for integration for students at the severe end of their disorder.

 

I recently came across an article by Alexandria Robers from the University of Minnesota who addresses this problem for the autistic student.  In the article ‘Radical Behaviourism’ often referred to as applied behaviour analysis (ABA) which is a popular but controversial approach for working with autistic children.  In general, the principles behind ABA are:

  • Behaviours are affected by their environment.
  • Behaviours can be strengthened or weakened by its consequences.
  • Behaviour changes are more effective with positive instead of negative consequences.

The controversy comes because many see this approach as a form of classical and/or operant conditioning where the stimulus-response is used to modify behaviour through reward or punishment or as we prefer to refer to as consequences.

 

I have no real issue with the use of consequences but there is a point of difference between what the critics of ABA, Robers and ourselves. 

The critics see consequences through the eyes of B. F. Skinner and his colleagues where behaviours are forced onto students without any consideration to emotions and beliefs.  This implies that the students are powerless, they have no choice.  I would contend that none of us have a ‘choice’ in our early childhood when we are unable to make a choice and our suite of feelings and beliefs are being formulated; this is the construction of our sense of self!  In fact, in later years those feelings and beliefs dictate our behaviour when confronted with situations that are the same or similar to those when our sense of self is formed.  Our behaviour is determined, there is no choice at the moment.  I will expand this concept later in the essay.

 

Robers takes an interesting view on the point of consideration of the consequences.  She argues that the conventional view about the effectiveness of consequences on shaping behaviour is that it is an action based on the antecedent conditions, that when we are faced with a set of circumstances, we will act to protect ourselves from the consequence or to seek /obtain that consequence.  Her view, I suspect influenced by her work with autistic students is that all behaviours are chosen specifically to get the consequence the student wants.

 

She presents a model she refers to as SEAT:

  • S – the student is seeking sensory input and for the autistic child this may be a repetitive movement
  • E – this is to escape, to avoid different situations they do not enjoy
  • A – This attention seeking behaviour, these are efforts to engage with others.
  • T – This is the seeking of tangibles, access to activities in which they want to participate.

I really have a problem seeing any point to this approach, the thesis is that the behaviour is designed to get a consequence but surely that consequence is to satisfy a need which is the antecedent condition!

 

I indicated above I would revisit the notion of determinism the contrary view of free-will.  I suspect that those critics of ABA who lament the child’s lack of choice assumes they have free will.  I would contend that they don’t and nor does any other child at the time they are confronted with a situation; but determinism is not inevitability.

 

Those who have followed us know our model, the establishment of a positive relationship and the construction of clear expectation and a structured environment.  Our view is that our sense of self, our feelings and beliefs that drive our behaviour have been formed in a specific environment.  If these behaviours are dysfunctional for anyone then we need to change the environment, have alternate clear expectations and persistent and consistent consequences for behaviours that are driven by needs so the children can learn other ways to behave.

 

Our model is straight forward, we understand that all behaviour is driven by deficits in our security, our homeostasis.  We all learn how to satisfy those needs in the environment in which we live.  If the environment is dysfunctional the behaviour will mirror that dysfunctionality.  To change a child’s dysfunctionality we must change the environment.  This sounds simple but it is not so easy for the following reasons: 

  • The children described at the beginning of this essay participate in our schools at a huge disadvantage through no fault of their own.
  • Teachers are ill-equipped to deal with these kids in a classroom where 29 other students are entitled to the teacher’s attention.
  • There is an absence of mental health professionals to assist these kids at school.
  • There is little recognition and even less attention paid to the issue of dysfunctional behaviour in schools by governments and their bureaucratic staff.

 

However, despite the difficulty, you the teacher may be the only chance these kids have, and you will make a difference.  Robers refers to her 4C’s control, consequences, consistency and compassion and I can’t disagree with these!

Posted by: AT 08:02 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, October 10 2022

Stress

Stress can be seen as the energy that drives changes in our behaviour that are motivated by our drive to reach a position of security in the world.  This condition is referred to as homeostatic equilibrium where all our needs are being met.  Whenever our needs are not being satisfied we are in disequilibrium and this will trigger a change in our physiology that will drive our behaviour in a way that will return us to a homeostatic condition.

 

The manifestation of stress is in the form of an endogenous range of electro/chemical reactions, that is an internally induced response that floods the brain with a complex cocktail of chemicals that prepares the body’s defence against whatever threat has been identified.  Among the chemicals are epinephrine, norepinephrine, vasopressin and oxytocin but most critical are cortisol and dopamine.  These chemicals get the body into a state of readiness.

 

The classic fight/flight response is a neural phenomenon that has obvious survival advantages.  The speed in which this process is initiated allows us to dodge an oncoming car, catching our balance when we trip before we are even conscious that we are under threat.  These are times when ‘thinking about a behaviour’ could produce a life-threatening situation. 

 

There are times when we activate this fight/flight response to instigate a positive experience. We seek this ‘positive’ stress by engaging in activities like riding a roller coaster or skydiving.  These events are intense but short lived and homeostatic equilibrium is soon restored and we feel good, especially as they occur in a non-threatening situation.

 

Another situation where stress is of value is when we want optimal performance from our bodies.  By getting our stress elevated, the endogenous changes prime the body for action.  This elevation of arousal is common in sporting endeavours to get the athletes ready to go ‘into battle’.  It is also important in learning as the raised neuron excitement facilitates new synaptic connections and new potential learning. The secret is to get the optimal level of arousal and this differs between individuals.  The following diagram, referred to as the ‘inverted U curve’ was first used by sports psychologists but is relevant to all behaviours.

 

There are times when we are faced with threatening, chaotic conditions that are out of our control or on occasions when we are isolated without any support.  At these times, we will experience a full-blown stressful response.  How these situations impact on children depends on the estimated nature and magnitude of the threat, their existing resilience and the protection the environment provides.

 

From the diagram above it becomes obvious that the level of stress will determine the quality of the performance.  At school this can be directly related to learning.  Teachers understand that they have to engage their students.  Rarely do we think about this process as being about the child’s survival but it is.  Successful learning satisfies our need to understand the environment, by doing so we become more attractive to others in our community, learning gives us a competitive advantage.

 

However, when we are dealing with the students that suffer from a history of abuse and neglect we are more often dealing with the ends of the inverted U curve; particularly the high-end side where stress is overwhelming the student.  I will deal with these extremes relative to those students on which we focus.

  1. Under Aroused – students who have a history of failure based on their belief that they just not good enough will be reluctant to even try.  They will not be aroused by any lesson that will result in them being judged.  In other Newsletters we have described these kids as being resistors, that is they don’t engage therefore they won’t be rejected!

 

  1. Highly Aroused – this is when our anxiety is such that we are unable to consider the task in front of us.  The high levels of stress may not be directly related to the task in hand and the student may try to complete the work.  However, at the first set-back the doubts and faulty beliefs ‘I’m stupid’, ‘I can’t do anything’ etc. will increase the level of anxiety.  This may be followed by other students answering the question or the teacher trying to challenge them.  It’s not long before their brain has gated down to be working on the level learned in early childhood.  The diagram below illustrates this phenomena.

It can be seen that the only place where the student can apply their cognitive brain to the lesson is when they are calm.

 

So how do we manage stress in the classroom?  Obviously, it is dealing with the levels of stress students experience.  When I looked up the term ‘student engagement’ in the Glossary of Education Reform, I found that it refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education’.  What an example of ‘educational speak’, a committee-based statement that covers every possible measure.  But, within this wordy platitude is a crucial fact – it is stress that - ‘extends the level of motivation’!  The question is how does a teacher decide how much stress to put on their students and more importantly each student has a very different tolerance to stress.

 

Teaching is hard and teaching students who:

  • don’t think they can learn,
  • don’t want to learn,
  • see school as a threat to their sense of self and,
  • can’t see the reason for learning

are the most demanding!  Teaching students who come to school with the opposite view reduces the task to providing pedagogy and little more.

 

Students with mental health issues that are the result of early childhood abuse and neglect are the most difficult to have in your classroom.  Their disruptive behaviour can destroy the best planned lesson however, as we have shown it is the level of stress they experience that sets off their behaviour, for better or worse.  The fundamental skill required by a successful teacher is to control the general level of stress in the classroom and then motivate their students at a personal level.  It is the creation of the emotional environment that is critical in providing an education for all the students!

Posted by: AT 11:29 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, June 27 2022

Avoiding Manipulation Part 2: Developing Boundaries

In the previous Newsletter we discussed techniques students use to avoid the stress associated with facing the painful impact from stressful, negative consequences that are imposed as a result of their behaviour.  As pointed out the continual use of such behaviours can easily become addictive, that is they are the ‘go-to’ response in times of rejection or psychological pain.

 

There are many types of addictions described in the previous essay, substance, activities and people.  That is when we can’t endure the pain of the situation we will habitually access one of these types of protection from the stress.  The objective of this work is to focus on ‘people addiction’ as this describes the behaviours used to manipulate the stressor.  However, a brief account of ‘substance ‘addiction’ and ‘activities addiction’ will be given.

 

Substance addiction is probably the most commonly portrayed of these addictions.  This is when the individual alters their emotional state with the use of chemicals.  The popular media focuses on those illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine but the more common legal substances such as alcohol and the multitude of other substances such as anti-depressants and food, either binge eating or anorexia are used to avoid the pain.  Dealing with these addictions is not the occupation of a teacher.

 

Activity addiction is another way of dismissing stressful situations.  This is when you take your mind off the presenting problem by focusing on an alternative behaviour.  By doing this you become too busy to deal with the current stressful situation.  This works in the short term but like all addictions it never prepares the person in a way that will allow them to address the same or similar situations in the future in a healthy manner.

 

Types of activities that are used by children to escape the stress are often the latest craze.  Things like computer games or collecting cards. Sport is another common distraction, either participation or supporting a particular team.  Adults will also access these activities perhaps becoming ‘mad’ football fans.  One addiction that is difficult to acknowledge is an addiction to work.  The workaholic is not easily identified as an addict, despite the descriptive name pointing that out!  In school the student that spends so much time doing their work will most likely be rewarded with complements and good grades.  The teaching workaholic will have the same outcome with being recognised as competent and likely being promoted. 

 

It must be remembered that these activities are the walls of protection and although they keep the stress out in the short term these behaviours eliminate the ability to get their nurturing needs met!

 

The addiction we will focus on in this Newsletter is the people addiction.  This deals with dysfunctional responses to the stressful interaction between individuals, specifically the teacher and the student!  The underpinning concept behind the model presented below is that, when students are stressed by the behaviour of the teacher they will attempt to manipulate that teacher to change their behaviour.  This is a case where, if the presenting environment clashes with the set of beliefs disrupting homeostatic equilibrium, instead of modifying beliefs the student attempts to change the environment! 

 

The model recognises three types of manipulative behaviours, overt and covert control and resistance.

 

 

Overt Control

This is a case of when the teacher stresses the student that child will behave in a way that is calculated to stress the teacher so much that they will stop stressing them.  They do this by either actively physically or emotionally attacking them.  These could be threats of aggression or in extreme cases actual violence.  Emotionally, they may attempt to denigrate the teacher by making fun of them or through threatening accusations about their behaviour.  The idea is, if you stress me I will stress you even more until you give up!

 

Covert Control

This is a more passive attempt to avoid being stressed in the first place.  These students will do almost anything to eliminate the need for the teachers to actually stress the student.  For the teacher, this approach is not threatening, they do what you want.  However, when they act this way solely to avoid being challenged they are using a type of ‘walled’ behaviour and walls may stop the stress but they deny the student getting their legitimate needs met.

 

Resistive Behaviour

These students really won’t engage in the classroom.  When they are challenged they withdraw.  While ever they resist the behaviours of the teacher or others they simply disengage.  These students like others use this behaviour as a protective wall and by so they deny themselves the opportunity to grow, getting their needs met!  They employ tactics like refusing to intellectually engage in class activities and physically becoming isolated in the room or playground.  They generally refuse to participate in the faulty belief that if they don’t they can’t be hurt!

 

Of course, unless we learn to deal with stress then these addictive behaviours to avoid stress continue throughout life.  Unfortunately, there are too many teachers who use these strategies to deal with the stress students impose on them.  The following diagram illustrates the ways these occur.

As can be seen, the methods of avoidance are so similar however, the impact on the students is more harmful because children are in the process of developing their belief systems and if you recall a recent Newsletter (Number 204 - The Importance of Personal Presentation - It's not what you do but how you do it – 13 June 2022), the students will adopt the behaviours presented by the teacher, reinforced because of the modelling and the qualities of mirror neurons.  A quick summary is as follows:

 

Overt control

These teachers are authoritarian bullies and because of their position they most often succeed in getting the students to cease being a threat to their authority.  By frightening the students the resulting anxiety detracts from the potential learning that could be available.

 

Covert Control

These teachers attempt to be ‘friends’ with the students, they are reluctant to challenge them in case they retaliate creating the feared stress in the teacher.  These teachers will put-up with low level, dysfunctional behaviours which makes the classroom unpredictable.  Perhaps more damaging is that they don’t teach the students responsibility.  They will accept substandard work, late submission and even pardon lack of completion.  The result is the children do not acquire that self-reliance and the relationship between effort and results.

 

Resistive

These teachers will not properly follow the instructions of the department and the school.  In secondary schools they will dismiss any whole school approach to welfare with comments such as ‘I teach science, I’m not a social worker’.  My pet observation was always in staff meetings, especially those held in the library, these teachers would sit up the back and grab a book to look at while school policies were discussed.  Of course their lack of commitment put their students at a distinct disadvantage!

 

So what to do, as stated in the last Newsletter the use of boundaries will help teachers and students learn to deal with stress rather than protect themselves.  We discussed what boundaries are but the following presents techniques that help you create them. 

 

The following are steps that will impose boundaries for you.  They may feel ‘artificial’ at first but eventually they will become automatic:

  1. Stay calm - when you feel yourself becoming anxious stop and try to relax.  It is important you stay ‘in the moment’.
  2. Ask yourself ‘what is really happening’ – too often what you see is a result of what is truly happening; it is not always the first thing you see.  You won’t always get this right but never jump to conclusions.
  3. Then ask who is responsible:
    1. If it is me then I must change my behaviour – that is I must learn another way to behave
    2. If its not me, then it’s the student therefore I can’t ignore the problem.  I must work out what I want to have happen and learn to make the changes to get that result.
  4. Take action -you must make an effort if you want to make a change.  Learning new behaviours is not easy you have to over-ride existing beliefs.
  5. Evaluate – after a period of time assess whether or not the stressful problem still exists.  If so assess the effectiveness of your application of your solution, perhaps you were not vigilant enough.  But if you were thorough in your efforts then go through these steps again.

The approach above does require some cooperation from the students but when dealing with very dysfunctional students the following approach can be used.  This consists of a directive and the description of consequences both of compliance and defiance:

  1. If you … (clearly describe the offending behaviour)
  2. I will … (outline the consequences)

In some extreme cases the student’s behaviour is beyond the ability of a classroom teacher and a main stream school and in these cases the system should provide assistance!

 

Interactions in the classroom will always generate some clashes between the teachers’ beliefs and that developing of the student.  The use of addictive, walls of behaviours will reduce the resulting stress in the short term however, the same or similar threatening situations will re-emerge.  If you take the time to learn how to deal with these issues when they arise, you will have a behaviour that will deal with that problem, you eliminate the stress in future incidents.  However, don’t get too comfortable life continually throws-up different problems to face.  Using the process of boundaries will help you navigate your way through this changing but always interesting life!

Posted by: AT 07:04 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, June 13 2022

The Importance of Personal Presentation - It's not what you do but how you do it.

In a recent Newsletter we discussed the importance of the way you present yourself to the school community, particularly your class (See Newsletter 202 - Survival Tips for Casual Teachers – 30 May 2022).  In this essay we will expand on how you present yourself to your students as this is critical in controlling their emotional state.  It is often suggested that 93% of the emotional content of any communication is conveyed through non-verbal cues, these being facial expression, body language and tone of voice.  The percentage may be in dispute but it is true that the feelings you have towards a student will not be conveyed by the words you use but how you deliver them.

This is so important when you are correcting the behaviour of highly disruptive students who have a history of abuse and/or neglect.  Your use of these non-verbal cues will go a long way in deciding if you maintain a positive relationship whilst delivering unpleasant consequences.

This opinion goes beyond ‘common-sense’ it is underpinned by neurological knowledge.  We are social creatures and how we are accepted in our community determines our safety and security.  Our survival depends on how we can carefully convey to others what we want and also understand the intentions of others when they are dealing with us.  The rich array of neurons that exist in the brain to support the various functions includes a specialised set called mirror neurons. 

Essentially, mirror neurons are intimately involved in our movements. At the basic level mirror neurons fire when we generate a physical action.  They also fire the same neurons in ourselves when we watch an action taken by someone else.  This helps us to imitate that action thus providing the proof why the demonstration of desired behaviours to students is so important.  More than this they allow us to experience the associated emotions and predict the possible outcomes that will likely follow any observed behaviour.  They are responsible for myriad of other sophisticated human behaviour and thought processes.

 

At the University of Parma in 1996, a group of neuroscientists were busily mapping the neural pathways associated with hand movement in Macaque monkeys. The team of Rizzolatta, Gallese, and Fogassi uncovered what is potentially the most significant neurological component in human behaviour.   These researchers placed electrodes in the ventral premotor cortex of the macaque monkey to study neurons specialized for the control of hand and mouth actions. They recorded electrical signals from a group of neurons in the monkey's brain while the monkey was allowed to reach for pieces of food, so the researchers could measure their response to certain movements.

 

In a break in the experiment one of the research team reached out to pick-up a piece of food.  The research subject had remained connected to the recording device and to their amazement they found the same neurons fired as they did when the monkey picked up the food themselves. This explained the link between imitation and learning, not only skills but also importantly the emotional intention of others. (To provide more detail about mirror neurons in the Resource section of our webpage I have included a copy of a Chapter from my book - The Impact of Modern Neuroscience on Contemporary Teaching, 2017. Published by Xlibris and availably on Amazon).

 

Our focus has always been on those kids who, because of their history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of their early childhood abuse and/or neglect are hyper-sensitive to the emotional signals given by adults in authority.  They really struggle to accurately interpret the message the teacher is sending particularly when they are about to receive a negative consequence.  Another feature of mirror neurons is that they not only fire when they perceive actions they infer a purpose on that action.  How they predict what will happen is significantly influenced by their assessment of the teacher’s emotional state and that message will come almost entirely from the non-verbal content of the communication.

 

There is much available regarding non-verbal messaging on the internet and the following is a brief summary focusing on the broad categories of tone of voice, body language and facial expression.

 

Tone of Voice

It’s true, especially for the dysfunctional kids, the way you say things has more impact than what you say.  The emotional content is interpreted long before the cognitive substance of that message.  And your emotional state will be communicated through your voice.  The tone you use must match the attributes of the message you are delivering.  If the message is about a serious issue then your voice should convey that sentiment, if it’s good news then your tone would be more up-lifting.  Of course, the tone must match your facial expressions.

 

Not everyone has good control over this feature of communication and the following tips may help:

  • If you speak with a slightly lower volume level you will be seen as having more ‘authority’.  However, too soft and the students might not hear you.  If you have a voice that is too loud then you will come across as being abrasive.  Most importantly the class or individual must hear you!
  • The pace of your communication is another way you can manipulate the message.  If you slow-down a fraction it projects a sense of confidence which will be conveyed to the children.  It also gives them the opportunity to absorb the message.  If it becomes too slow they will disengage and conversely if too quickly you will appear to be anxious and nervous.

It is not easy to change the way you speak but mastering the art of giving a message with the right emotional content is the hallmark of a great teacher.

 

Body Language

How you hold yourself projects an impression on those who observe you.  In general terms if you present an ‘open’ posture, that is stand up straight, feet firmly planted on the ground and chin up this projects to the students that you are friendly, open and confident.  They will be willing to trust you. 

 

However, if you present a ‘closed’ posture, slumped forward, hands in your pockets or just lazing in a chair at the front of the room you project an unfriendly even hostile persona which will make the students anxious. 

 

The use of your hands is an important indicator of your personality.  Sometime ago, as a new principal I was sent to a workshop on communication.  At this venue the presenter emphasised that we needed to coordinate our hand gestures with what we were talking about.  These days, when I watch TV shows like the Drum, where professional ‘talking heads’ give their opinions I cringe when some of them flap their hands about as if conducting the whole speech.  There needs to be some hand movement otherwise you will appear wooden but too much either makes you look anxious or you just distract your audience. 

 

If you touch you face or hair too much you really will look either nervous or disinterested in what you are saying.

 

Facial Expression

Facial expressions are really tied to emotions.  There has been plenty of research that confirms that our facial expressions communicate our emotional state and more importantly if you think about the qualities of our mirror neurons they also project to the audience the intensions of the behaviour those emotions will drive.

 

There is strong evidence of seven universal emotions that are conveyed through our facial appearances.  These are anger, contempt, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, and surprise. 

 

The eyes are often described as the mirrors of our soul but it is the mouth that provides the major clue about our emotional state.  The following are ways the mouth does this:

  • Pursed Lips – the tightening of the mouth indicates a level of disapproval or disgust
  • Lip Biting – this will convey a feeling of anxiety or stress
  • Covering the Mouth – this is an attempt to hide your emotions from others.  This indicates a lack of trust both ways.  You don’t trust yourself to be authentic and the audience will not trust you because they will conclude you are not honest.
  • Turned-Up or Turned-Down Lips – The direction the lips go has a direct correlation with your emotional state.  If they are up, you’re smiling then you are happy.  Down, frowning you are emotionally ‘down’.  It is very difficult to have a turned-up smile on your face when you are angry at a student; that smile will be so obviously false!

 

Eye contact is also important.  This varies on whether you are dealing with an individual student or the class.  Looking at others captures their attentions but like hand gestures there is a balance.

 

If you are dealing with a single student eye contact is a real challenge.  If you are discussing a behaviour issue, you may be delivering an unwanted consequence then eye contact should not be too intense.  A rough guide would be about 60% of the time.  BUT, if the student is really damaged, eye contact is really difficult for them and I’ve even found it better if I sit or stand beside them so I don’t set them off. 

 

When talking to the whole class your eyes should be constantly scanning the room.  However, if there are particular students whose attention you need then hold eye contact with them for about three to five seconds then move on.  If you really do need to get that student’s attention still move away but come back relatively quickly.

 

Throughout these Newsletters predominantly considering how teachers help those students whose behaviour disrupts their learning and that of others, we have emphasised the importance of the level of stress a student experiences.  This stress is a reaction to the emotional content of the environment they are experiencing at the time.  You are the teacher and providing the learning environment is your professional expertise.  This is why, to be an efficient educator you need to master the non-verbal skills outlined in this essay.

Posted by: AT 12:18 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, May 30 2022

Survival Tips for Casual Teachers

In recent years Departments of Education have deliberately moved to ‘casualise’ their work force.  Despite this policy being one of the root causes of the current staffing crisis, casual teaching will remain a feature of our system.  This type of work is challenging particularly if you are employed on a day by day basis.  However, it is always a testing time on the first day you are appointed to any school.  You arrive with little ‘corporate knowledge’ of how the school operates, its structures and expectations and as a new arrival you will be tested by the students to see if you can handle them.  The following advice may help casuals survive the introduction into what I consider the best job in the world.

 

Arrival – First Day

This is when you will make your first impression on the principal, the staff and most importantly the students.  As you may only be there for a day you don’t have the luxury of building a meaningful relationship so, especially in the classroom you must get off to a good start.  The kids, like everyone will formulate an opinion of you in the first 20 seconds of your arrival.  This is what is known as the primacy effect which will influence every subsequent interaction.   The following points will help:

  • Be punctual – I understand that sometimes you will be called in at the last moment and you must deal with this.  However, when possible arrive early; this will impress the person in charge of employing the casuals and give you time to familiarise yourself with the surroundings.

 

  •  Acquaint yourself with the school management structure:
    • Have the staff member that is your immediate supervisor identified and introduce yourself to them
    • Be briefed on the behaviour management policy of the school
    • Be informed about procedural matters such as evacuations
    • Receive your teaching allocation for the day so you can quickly familiarise yourself with the assigned curriculum – in most cases you should be provided with the lessons you are expected to teach.  However, in some cases this will not be provided and so you will need to have a set of interesting, educational lessons you can give to engage the class.
    • You may need to get work-sheets organised and the photocopying procedures will be different in each school.
    • Roll-marking procedures, you will probably be given a roll-call class.  Most schools have on-line marking but in some cases the old hand roll marking might still be used and so you will need to know where to collect them, how to mark them and where they are sent for collating. 
    • You will most likely be given a playground duty so find out when and where you are assigned
    • Get a plan of the layout of the school and the location of the staffroom with which you will be assigned.

 

  • Dress Professionally – as mentioned above you only get one chance to make a first impression and the way you are dressed will go a long way towards establishing that impression.  Most educational departments have a dress code which is supported by the teaching unions.  They understand that the way you dress influences the way students and the school community will respect you.

 

The style may vary depending on the circumstances of any particular school and also the climate in which the school is situated.  In general, for a classroom teacher a normally smart business level of clean and tidy presentable attire will be sufficient.  Remember, this is a school and modesty is paramount.

 

  • Bring Your Own ‘Supplies’ – you should not be expected to provide the equipment to deliver any lesson but you may not have easy access to things like marker pens, some schools have IPADs for roll-marking and you may need to use a smart phone.  You should bring any resources you will need for times you have to improvise because you have not been left prepared lessons.

 

Also make sure you bring your own coffee mug, coffee and food.  Most schools have a canteen but some smaller ones don’t so you will need to sustain yourself. 

 

Also most staffrooms will have spare coffee cups and will share coffee but I think every teacher has been in a staffroom where, if you pick up the wrong cup there will be a ‘problem’, likewise you’ll be taking a risk if you help yourself to any coffee or tea supply!  Better to look after yourself.

 

 

The Classroom

Being a first time casual you will not have the luxury of knowing the dynamics of the classroom and the things you would have normally in place will not be there.  Things like seating plans, students with extra needs or the time periods for work to be completed.  These are things you have to ‘wing’ in the first instance.  What you can anticipate is that you will be ‘tested’ by the students.

 

As with the whole school, the first impression you make is critical.  I assume you have dressed professionally and this impression can be enhanced by being first to the classroom.  One of my mentors (not that he knew he was – I just watched him because he was so good) was always the first to the classroom.  The message is that you want to be there with the kids.  I know in some schools students line-up before they enter but I would suggest you let them in as they come.  This gives you the chance to greet them personally as they arrive.  Introduce yourself, ask them their name and smile!

 

Get straight into business, whatever the lesson is you have to deliver start by giving the students clear, direct instructions.  In the early stages don’t give a choice, say what you want and move to the next instruction; if you pause too long they have a chance to get off-task.  However, I do understand that you probably have to go back to the initial instruction but they will be aware that you mean business as far as the learning goes.

 

We have always advocated a pro-active approach to behaviour management and the following tips will help you take charge before you have to recapture the class:

  • Move about the class
  • Model the behaviour you expect
  • Explain tasks
  • Always be polite and friendly
  • Be accepting of all students
  • Interested
  • Be firm but friendly
  • Speak in a calm even tone
  • Refer to class rules and consequences if these are known

 

However, you will be challenged and will need to provide some discipline.  When this is called for you will be delivering a message with some emotional content for the targeted students.  Remember it is estimated that 93% of the emotional content is conveyed through non-verbal means, body language, facial expression and the tone of your voice.  The most effective discipline is delivered this way.  To do this you must:

  • Continue to act as if their behaviour has no effect on you
  • Maintain a steady, positive gaze           
  • Speak clearly
  • Maintain appropriate eye contact – be careful you don’t turn eye-contact into glaring at the students
  • Stand up straight
  • Address the behaviour without threatening the individual – we always accept the child and reject the behaviour
  • Never apologise for not getting emotionally involved
  • Remain silent after you deliver your message
  • Allow them time to digest the message
  • Give them time to make a decision.

 

The following diagram explains the gradient on which each strategy should be used from the subtle least invasive at the bottom to the most invasive which should rarely be used at the top:

As a new casual you will not have had the time to set-up in-class time out consequences and so when the inevitable time arrives when a student or a group of students have gone too far they will need to be removed from the class.  This requires some advanced planning.  As mentioned above, whenever possible you should have met your immediate supervisor and at this time you should ask about the discipline policy but more importantly how you can remove very disruptive students.

 

More often than not you will be asked to send a note with them or a ‘trusted’ classmate explaining what has occurred so have the means to do this.  Some casuals are reluctant to do this because they fear they will be harshly judged and will not be invited back.  However, this approach indicates a level of professionalism which should impress the permanent staff.

 

Finally, stay positive, remember that:

  • Challenging behaviour is just that – challenging
  • Remind yourself you are a professional adult often dealing with needy children
  • Dealing with the problems one child presents skills you for future behaviour issues, this increases your ‘expertise’

 

If you treat these opportunities to do casual work as an opportunity to develop your teaching skills and you become identified as a reliable and effective teacher you will not remain a casual for long.

Posted by: AT 11:27 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, May 23 2022

Message to Subscribers

Last week we produced our 200th Newsletter (over 200,000 words) which covers an extensive range of topics focused on helping teachers deal with dysfunctional behaviour.

 

Throughout the series we have concentrated on minimising the negative consequences of disruptive behaviours on:

  • The offending student’s learning
  • The learning of their classmates
  • The teaching effectiveness of the teacher
  • The mental health of all the above

The techniques have come from over years of dealing with such students and searching for the best approaches both in special settings and mainstream schools. 

 

Marcia spent 20 years working in schools attached to juvenile detention centres, at Reiby as Assistant Principal for ten years and a further ten at Juniperina Juvenile Justice Centre as Principal.  From there she finished her formal career as Principal of Caringbah Primary School. 

 

John was the foundation teacher at Smith Street Unit for Emotionally Disturbed students and after two years was promoted to become the foundation Principal at Campbell House Special School for Conduct and/or Oppositional Defiant students.  He served this school for ten years seeing the school grow from catering for 24 students to 84 at the end of his time there.  From Campbell House he moved to Holsworthy High as Principal where he remained for 17 years until retirement.

 

The formation of Frew Consultancy Group was motivated by our desire to continue to help teachers deal with students with severe behaviours.  The main work has been to produce the free Newsletters for anyone who wants them.  On top of this we have conducted numerous workshops for schools both in Australia and overseas and groups on behaviour management, consulted with schools in their preparation of discipline/welfare policies and mentored individual teachers. We have also presented at conferences as key note speakers and facilitated workshops.  John has written three books that extend the information in the Newsletters.  These are:

  • The Impact of Modern Neuroscience on Contemporary Teaching
  • Insights into the Modern Classroom

Published by Xlibris

  • Neuroscience and Teaching Very Difficult Kids

Published by Austin Macauley

These are available from on-line stores or from our Group.

 

We take this week to pause and reflect on that time and ask for your feedback and suggestions on the way forward.  If you have any comments, criticisms or suggestions we would love to hear from you.

 

Thanks for your on-going support.

Marcia and John

 

The following is the list of previous Newsletters:

 

Newsletter 1 – There is more to Bullying Than Meets the Eye

Newsletter 2 – Bullying and Power

Newsletter 3 - Dealing with Difficult Situations

Newsletter 4 - The Troublesome Teens

Newsletter 5 - Challenging Beliefs – Not So Easy

Newsletter 6 - The Great Lie

Newsletter 7 - True Grit

Newsletter 8 – Education the Over-Indulged and Narcistic Child

Newsletter 9 – Routine – Support for Student Expectations

Newsletter 10 - ADHD Is Real but what does it Mean for Teachers

Newsletter 11 - Self-Esteem or Self-Love

Newsletter 12 - The Intricacy of Stress

Newsletter 13 - Teaching our most Difficult Kids

Newsletter 14 - Toxic Shame

Newsletter 15 - Locus of Control

Newsletter 16 – Time Out

Newsletter 17 - Anxiety

Newsletter 18 - Teaching Practical Boundaries

Newsletter 19 - Integration of Dysfunctional Students

Newsletter 20 – Ethical Teaching – Morality in the Classroom

Newsletter 21 - Independent Behaviour Programs

Newsletter 22 - The Passive Aggressive Student

Newsletter 23 - Dealing with Difficult Students

Newsletter 24 – The Impact of Neglect

Newsletter 25 - Vacuous Shame

Newsletter 26 - Characteristics of the Abused Child

Newsletter 27 - The Silver Lining

Newsletter 28 - Physical Damage from Early Childhood Abuse

Newsletter 29 - Effective Behaviour Management

Newsletter 30 - Education for the Future

Newsletter 31 - Common Mistakes Teachers Make

Newsletter 32 – What’s in a Name?

Newsletter 33 – Boredom

Newsletter 34 – Anger Temporary Madness

Newsletter 35 - Educational Myths

Newsletter 36 – Boredom – Mark 2

Newsletter 37 - Creating a Purpose

Newsletter 38 - Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder

Newsletter 39 – Relationships

Newsletter 40 - Emotions Direct Attention

Newsletter 41 - Dopamine

Newsletter 42 – Dopamine for Teachers

Newsletter 43 – Consequences

Newsletter 44 – Consequences not Punishment or Reward

Newsletter 45 – Taming that Difficult Class

Newsletter 46 - A Question of Choice

Newsletter 47 - At the Time – There is No Choice

Newsletter 48 - Planning for a Disaster

Newsletter 49 - A Question about Control in the ‘Structure’

Newsletter 50 – Rejection

Newsletter 51 - Different Expressions from an Abused History

Newsletter 52 - Relationships – They Know What You’re Thinking

Newsletter 53 - Dysfunctional Behaviour to Deal with Stress

Newsletter 54 - Attention Seeking

Newsletter 55- Passive Aggressive Personality Disorder

Newsletter 56 - The Tribal Classroom

Newsletter 57 - Theory of Mind

Newsletter 58 – Transference

Newsletter 59 - The Impact of Poverty and Neglect

Newsletter 60 - Accept Lack of Empathy – Just for Now

Newsletter 61 - Let It Go

Newsletter 62 – The Danger of Praise

Newsletter 63 – Areas of Indifference

Newsletter 64 - Getting to the Truth

Newsletter 65 - Resilience

Newsletter 66 - Boundary Considerations

Newsletter 67 – Dissociation

Newsletter 68 – Childhood Trauma

Newsletter 69 – Rituals

Newsletter 70 – Poverty and Student Success

Newsletter 71 - Respecting Other’s Boundaries

Newsletter 72 – Trust – The Glue that Sustains Relationships

Newsletter 73 – Testing Tough Kids

Newsletter 74 - End of Year Recovery

Newsletter 75 - Tips for Emotional Encounters

Newsletter 76 - The Impact of Language on the Behaviour

Newsletter 77 - 100 Ways to Say well Done

Newsletter 78 – Empathy

Newsletter 79 - Creativity

Newsletter 80 - A Timely Reminder

Newsletter 81 - Motivating Students

Newsletter 82 - Converting Teacher’s lessons to Intrinsic Motivation

Newsletter 83 - The Dishonourable Lie

Newsletter 84 – Malevolent - The Condemned Disability

Newsletter 85 – What are the Chances

Newsletter 86 - The impact of Abuse – It Depends how it Happens

Newsletter 87 - Perfectly Imperfect

Newsletter 88 – Addiction – Behaving to Avoid Stress

Newsletter 89 - Faulty Beliefs

Newsletter 90 – Mindfulness

Newsletter 91 - Beliefs

Newsletter 92 - Addiction - It's the Seeking not the Consumption

Newsletter 93 – Debriefing

Newsletter 94 - The Tribal Teacher

Newsletter 95 – Levels

Newsletter 96 - Creating Structure

Newsletter 97 – Student Stress

Newsletter 98 – ‘Do or Not Do’ - Yoda

Newsletter 99 - Looking After Yourself

Newsletter 100 - Recovery Time

Newsletter 101 - Sense of Self

Newsletter 102 - Sense of Self - Part 2

Newsletter 103 – Dreikurs’ Model of Behaviour

Newsletter 104 – Relatedness

Newsletter 105 - Drives and Needs

Newsletter 106 - Secondary Drives

Newsletter 107 - The Social Teacher

Newsletter 108 – Prejudice

Newsletter 109 - Another Year Over

Newsletter 110 - Sense of Self Continued

Newsletter 111 – Special Relationship

Newsletter 112 – Expectations

Newsletter 113 – Supportive Relationships

Newsletter 114 - The Importance of Emotions

Newsletter 115 – Conversations

Newsletter 116 - The Inner Critic

Newsletter 117 - Dealing with the Emotional Stress

Newsletter 118 - Developing Social Skills

Newsletter 119 – Avoiding Cabin Fever

Newsletter 120 - The Hidden Cost of on-Line Learning

Newsletter 121 – Trauma and the Environment

Newsletter 122 – Purpose

Newsletter 123. Toxic Resilience

Newsletter 124. Nature Vs Nurture

Newsletter 125. Structure

Newsletter 126.  Expectations

Newsletter 127. Pedagogy

Newsletter 128.  The Wounded Child

Newsletter 129.  Damage to the Brain

Newsletter 130.  Generating Stress

Newsletter 131.  The Complexity of Stress

Newsletter 132.  Routine

Newsletter 133.  Physical Damage from Early Childhood Abuse

Newsletter 134. Anxiety

Newsletter 135.  Toxic Shame

Newsletter 136. Dealing with the Exploding Kid

Newsletter 137. The Crisis Response

Newsletter 138. Personal Action in Times of Crisis

Newsletter 139. Making Matters Worse

Newsletter 140. Critical and Creative Thinking

Newsletter 141.  Be Persistently Consistent

Newsletter 142.  Creating a Calm Environment

Newsletter 143. Designing a Correction Plan

Newsletter 144. Dealing with Touching and Restraint

Newsletter 145. Theory of Mind

Newsletter 146. Communicating with Difficult Kids in Difficult Times

Newsletter 147. Prejudice

Newsletter 148.  Starting Off on the Right Foot

Newsletter 149. Beliefs

Newsletter 150. Structure in a Crisis

Newsletter 151. The ‘Gas-Light’

Newsletter 152.  Getting to the Truth

Newsletter 153.  Music

Newsletter 154.  Authenticity

Newsletter 155.  Supporting a Sense of Self

Newsletter 156.  Mono-Cultures

Newsletter 157.  Tips for Teaching Teenagers

Newsletter 158.  The Teens – a Time for Specific Change

Newsletter 159.  A Time for Reflection

Newsletter 160. Dealing with the Angry Ant

Newsletter 161. Dealing with Justified Anger

Newsletter 162.  Trauma Informed Teaching

Newsletter 163.  Restorative Justice - Proceed with Care

Newsletter 164.  The pursuit of Purpose

Newsletter 165. Hidden Types of Abuse

Newsletter 166.  Changing Behaviour

Newsletter 167.  Just Say No

Newsletter 168.  Achieving Excellence as a Teacher

Newsletter 169.  Indirect Bullying

Newsletter 170.  The Queen Bee

Newsletter 171.  Girls – They are Different

Newsletter 172.  Rewards and Punishments

Newsletter 173. Competence and Warmth

Newsletter 174. Student Discipline – What About Welfare

Newsletter 175.  Dealing with Students with Severely Dys. Beh’s.

Newsletter 176.  Multi-Tasking

Newsletter 177.  Emerging from Lockdown

Newsletter 178. Dealing with a Crisis

Newsletter 179.  Dealing with Student Anxiety

Newsletter 180.  Oppositional Defiance Disorder

Newsletter 181.  Modern Teenage Challenge

Newsletter 182. Teaching Truth Seeking

Newsletter 183. Creating Policy for Student Wellbeing

Newsletter 184.  Supporting a Sense of Self

Newsletter 185. Am Ignored but Vital Workload

Newsletter 186.  Beware of Despair

Newsletter 187.  Time for revision

Newsletter 188.  Acquisition and Memory of Behaviours 

Newsletter 189.  The Early Years and Dysfunctional Behaviour

Newsletter 190.  Early Childhood Modelling

Newsletter 191. The Importance of Stress

Newsletter 192. Early Childhood Trauma

Newsletter 193.  Dealing with the Impact of Early Childhood PTSD

Newsletter 194.  Boundaries - The Point of Contact

Newsletter 195. Dysfunctional Boundaries

Newsletter 196.  Identifying Source of Dysfunctional Behaviour

Newsletter 197.  Healthy Boundaries

Newsletter 198.  Stress

Newsletter 199.  Toxic Stress and Trauma

Newsletter 200. Toxic Shame Revision

03/21/2017

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Posted by: AT 09:43 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Tuesday, April 26 2022

Healthy Boundaries

In the three previous Newsletters we examined the relational difficulties that occur when our boundaries are violated or we do not possess effective, healthy boundaries.  As we develop through childhood we established the boundaries that are the physical and psychological space between you and the outside world.  They define where you start in relation to all others and how that any intrusion across our boundaries triggers an emotional response.  It is wise to remember that any time your physical and/or psychological boundaries are entered you will have a stress response.  The effect the contact has on you depends on your current set of beliefs and emotional memories about the nature of that contact and how it matches with your sense of self. 

 

As explained previously (see Newsletter 194. - ‘Boundaries - The Point of Contact’ - March 21 2022) the importance of a healthy boundary is relative to the closeness of the relationship.

 

 

In the diagram above there is a decreasing intensity of the effect a boundary violation has on the individual.  It is easy to see that the relationship between yourself and an intimate other will generate much more stress than between you and a stranger.  This is not always a negative experience, when you share cherished moments with a loved one this ‘stressful’ experience is pleasing.  Because of the potential tension relationships at this level can generate, the benefit of honesty is crucial in maintaining trust. 

 

Simply put, boundaries are controlling what is OK and what is not OK for you in any given situation.  When we let people get away with what’s not OK it is natural to resent them.  However, this assumes the other understands what you require when in fact they might be doing the best they can, this is the mature nature of having healthy boundaries.  If we assume they are doing their best it allows you to stay in the relationship but you must act to ensure it becomes on your terms.  In broad terms you have to:

  • Provide an explanation – you need to convey the situation as you see it, how you want it to be and be specific.
  • Acknowledge your Feelings – own your feelings and take responsibility for them but let them know that you have them.
  • Articulate your Needs – say what you want.  Be selective, realistic and be prepared to negotiate in the knowledge that both parties have equal rights in a relationship.
  • Recognise Potential Consequences – Outline how things will be if there are changes or if they stay as they are.

 

A practical script to help you in this type of negotiation is to say the following:

  •  “When you …” – describe exactly what is upsetting you
  • “I feel …” – let them know that this is having an emotional impact on you
  • “Because …” – tell them why you are upset

This approach lets you communicate all aspects of how, what and why the situation impacts on you.  When they are aware of this they can choose whether or not they wish to remain in a relationship with you but it will be on your terms. There is no guarantee that this will work but if not then you should re-evaluate the value you have in the relationship.

 

 Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation where this approach is ineffective or with strangers when stronger techniques are required.  In these cases use:

  • “If you …” – clearly identify what it is they are doing
  • “I will …” – explain what you will do in response to such action.  This is where you let them know what the consequences may be remembering never make a threat you can’t carry out!

 

Having healthy boundaries is really taking responsibility for your life.  However, this is a continuous task as while ever you are in the company of others your boundaries will necessarily over-lap.  As mentioned, when this happens your will feel a change in your emotions and if this signifies you are under threat you need to identify what is happening and what you need to do to protect yourself.  The following steps will help:

  • Stay Calm – you will have feelings but don’t let those feelings control your behaviour
  • Ask yourself, what is Really Happening – sometimes, especially with dysfunctional students the driving force behind the behaviour is not clear and in most cases their anger will not be directed at you
  • Who is Responsible?
    • Me         -           You must take action to address problem
    • Not Me      -       You can’t ignore the situation but must take action to get the result you want in the future
  • Review the outcomes, after you have taken these steps and things have changed for the better then the action has been a success.   If not you should revisit the steps and try another approach.  If the situation cannot be resolved then you should end that relationship!

At this stage of establishing healthy boundaries you will be in a period of negotiation with others.  At this time you need to:

  • Establish Expectations: - What are the areas of agreement and real differences
  • Check your Intentions: - Is what you want fair for all, be aware of others’ feelings
  • Consider Your Options: - Investigate the full range of options considering short and long-term consequences
  • Suggested Options: - After discussion put forward your proposal
  • Evaluate: - After trial evaluate and revisit procedure if needed and be persistent in putting your view

 

The illustration below summarises practical boundaries which in reality defines a functional adult who:

  • Accepts responsibility for their actions
  • Protects themselves from abuse
  • Gets their needs met in a just manner

 

Boundaries for Teachers

The discussion above is really based on relationships between individuals with equal status, this is not the case with teachers and students.  This equity is not to be confused with equal importance, everyone deserves to be treated equally but children are ‘works in progress’ and they are developing their boundaries.  It is the teacher’s role to demonstrate effective boundaries and provide opportunities for students to develop their own.

 

You have to remember that you are the teacher and there is a real power imbalance. You:

  • Have a position of power in the classroom, you have the authority to make decisions
  • Are an adult with a tertiary education and the status that goes with this

This is the time for authenticity, it is not a time to ignore those things for which we are responsible or to disregard the moral and aesthetic irritations that come with dealing with the truth because we find doing this uncomfortable. It is a time to model responsibility no matter how difficult that may be because that’s how the students will learn.

 

As the leader in the classroom you need to establish the quality of its environment, that is you need to establish what are the professional needs within the setting considering:

  • The teaching requirements; you need to present the assigned curriculum at the appropriate level for all students
  • Ensure there is an opportunity for all members of the class to get their physical and psychological needs met
  • The physical and psychological protection of all class members including yourself
  • Demonstrate and even teach appropriate assertiveness and functional boundaries

 

You need to understand that effective boundaries support all healthy relationships and relationships underpin all successful teaching and learning environments!

 

 

Posted by: AT 06:54 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, March 28 2022

Dysfunctional Boundaries

I’ve chosen the title Dysfunctional Boundaries because it is the disorganized quality of some individual’s boundaries that leads to their inability to authentically engage with their community.  This is at the heart of our students and our own dysfunctional behaviour.   It is no surprise that the formation of protective boundaries occurs in early childhood when we are ‘taught’ to protect our ‘self’.  The functionality of a student’s boundaries reflects the environment in which they were formed.  Of course, we can put into place physical boundaries where necessary but it is how the dysfunctional boundaries affect teachers in the classroom that is the focus of this Newsletter. 

 

Our sense of belonging and acceptance is necessary for us to feel secure in our social group and this starts to be formed from the moment of birth.  How our family of origin treats us dictates the nature of any protection offered by our boundaries.  Children raised in functional caring families, at the appropriate age learn the practical, consequential behaviours in response to dealing with a threat or the denial of something desired.  Eventually these allow them to:

  • Think well of themselves
  • Trust others
  • Regulate their emotions
  • Maintain positive expectations
  • Utilize their intellect
  • Have a sense of autonomy

 

However, the majority of children in our classrooms who present as disruptive are rarely raised in such families (see Newsletter 189 - The Early Years and Dysfunctional Behaviour -   14  February, 2022).  These students have been reared experiencing three types of parenting, neglect, poor modelling of behaviour and abuse.  Of these three, poor modelling and neglect are not as vulnerable to environmental factors.  This is not to discount the cognitive damage but this impairment is less significant at the boundary but more in the impaired belief systems that drive their behaviour.  Abuse creates the stress reactions at the boundary.  The strength of the stress experienced at the time of the presenting violating event replicates the characteristics of the initial abuse.  Teachers need to understand that what they may feel is a gross over-reaction by a student to a classroom situation is most likely a reflection of their formative response in similar situations.

 

Children who are abused not only suffer a range of types of abuse but also the consistency, or not of that abuse.  By examining the constancy of the type of abuse will describe the extremes of the reactions to abuse in regards to the form of boundary protection they develop.  The extremes are a child who is repeatedly abused the same way in familiar circumstances contrasted with the child who is subjected to abuse in different forms at unpredictable times.

 

Children who are systematically abused in the same manner learn levels of protection to survive the attack.  Take a couple of examples, as a football coach I have seen, predominantly fathers expect their child to place themselves in physical danger say by tackling a bigger, stronger opponent.  When the child ‘misses’ a tackle the father heaps verbal abuse on them and then rejects them after the game; this is abuse.  In these instances the child who has no desire to play this game will soon learn that the physical risk is less damaging than the rejection.  They learn to behave in a way that ‘protects’ them from abuse.

 

Another more dramatic form of self-protection during assaults is when a child is subjected to sexual abuse from a father, uncle or other type of powerful adult.  The abuse is most often followed by a threat, the threat is the child will be punished if they tell anyone.  The child is made to believe they were responsible for the abuse, that they caused the defilement, they experience profound shame and because they fear rejection they conceal the desecration.  In these cases the ‘protection’ is to dissociate and so when the perpetrator revisits the victim the child will protect themselves by dissociating.  This works in a short-term dysfunctional manner.

 

In the case of consistent abuse the child learns a behaviour that is solely designed to ‘deny’ the abuse by presenting as not being ‘hurt’ by the abuse.  I will describe this as building walls to keep the abuse out.  These walls can be presenting as funny, angry, disinterested, the list of avoidance behaviours goes on.   The thing is these actions never reflect their true stressful feelings.

 

The unfortunate consequence of locking off the outside world is that the child cuts off any chance to get their own needs met.  The illustration below described these walls.

The other type of abuse is the inconsistent, unpredictable type.  In the family of origin  most often this type of abuse occurs when the caregivers are either addicts or suffer some psychotic illness.  In both cases the abuse will be related to the psychological state of the abuser and that is erratic.  Unlike the children who are consistently abused these children have no way of anticipating when and how the abuse will materialise and so they can’t establish any defence and become erratic themselves.  They are vulnerable to abuse from any source as illustrated below.

 

The following illustration shows the difference between those children with no learned ‘protection’, those with an exposed core and those who have developed ‘walls’ of behaviour to protect themselves.  The differences are explained in reference to five qualities of self-esteem.

 

Those with no protection are the children it is so easy to identify as being damaged.  They see themselves as not only being out of control but also not worth caring about.  They are vulnerable, bad and rebellious, dependent on others and of course unable to behave appropriately.  Conversely, those who have learned to hide their real feelings believe they must appear to be totally in control, they are good students, invulnerable and independent.  These students have learned to hide their real feelings from their immediate families so concealing them in the classroom is no challenge.

 

It is the second group that I worry about the most as they are difficult to identify and are more often female.  I recall a family I dealt with when principal of a school for Conduct Disordered and Oppositional Defiant students.  This family came to the school from Cambodia where they had suffered during the reign of Pol Pot.  The boy was clearly acting out, reflecting the characteristics of the exposed core.  I had reason to meet with the boy’s father and because he could not speak English he brought his daughter to translate.  She appeared to be a ‘straight A’ student, polite, well-spoken and articulate the very model of a pupil with a strong wall of protection.  I checked with the school and they agreed with my assessment, she was a ‘star’ student.  I have no real evidence that I’m right but that girl suffered at least as much trauma as her brother and I suspect, like all females probably more.  There is no way she will get any special care from the school, all their support resources are focused on the acting out behaviours.  Yet like all those kids living behind walls help should have been provided.

 

As I have outlined before, there is a growing number of teaching tuitions on dealing with trauma usually described as Trauma Informed Practice.  Our opinion on these is best explained in our previous Newsletter 193 (Dealing with the Impact of Early Childhood PTSD, 13 March 2022).  To recap teachers are not mental health professionals nor do they have the time to address these students’ considerable disabilities while teaching in a classroom.  This is exactly why we take the approach we do and that is endeavoring to control the amount of stress provoking incidents in the classroom.  This is why the calm, safe, predictable and consistent environment managed by a teacher with a genuine warmth towards the children is the best we can do for both the out-of-controlled student and those hiding their pain.

 

Understanding the damage suffered by these kids and the difficulty of dealing with their protective behaviours in a classroom presents a huge challenge which is not acknowledged by the bureaucracy nor the academic world.  But it is a real problem faced by teachers every day.  Despite the difficulty these kids present the teacher must not:

  • Give up because the repetitive dysfunctional behaviours continue without apparent change, these kids are never a ‘quick fix’
  • Become discouraged because students will block approaches.  For them to trust others is too risky therefore they avoid relationships.  The trick is to hang in longer than they expect you to.

 

We often hear the characteristic of empathy being a prerequisite for being a ‘good teacher’.  I understand the intention behind this belief but I prefer the quality of compassion.  Empathy infers you ‘know how they feel’ but it is impossible for anyone to know how it feels to be abused as a child.  Even if you have had that experience you can’t know how another feels but you must know it is an horrific form of abuse put on a child when they are unable to defend themselves.   These kids are not bad they are injured so never give up on them even if it means they need to be referred to a more suitable environment.

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Monday, March 21 2022

Boundaries - The Point of Contact

In the previous Newsletters we discussed the impact stress has on our ability to ‘control’ our behaviour.  As explained, stress occurs when the conditions of the outside world threaten our survival either from attack or the denial of needed resources; the level of threat determines the level of stress!  This ‘point of contact’ occurs in the cerebellum where the perceptions of the environment, arriving via the purkinje cells are compared to learned effects assembled in our memory and communicated by the granular cells (see The Importance of Stress - Tuesday, March 1, 2022 for more details).  This is the biology of our boundaries, the space between our physical and psychological sense and the outside world.  Our boundaries define where we begin in relation to all others.

 

We have determined in the previous Newsletter that as the level of stress increases your ability to control your actions decreases.  Therefore, it stands to reason that the way to control your behaviour is to control the stress which is generated in the cerebellum.  In regard to classroom management the level of stress experienced by the students will determine the level of cognitive control, the potential learning that is available to all members of the class.  This is the biological explanation of why calm classrooms have always been recognised as being the most effective.

 

From the above, it becomes clear that boundaries are the place teachers should concentrate to control their own levels of stress and to limit the opportunities for students to violate each other’s boundaries.  Within the classroom boundaries are the point of contact between everyone.  When any of these ‘relationships’ become threatening there will be an increase in the levels of stress, boundaries are being violated. 

 

So just what are boundary violations?  These can be both physical, external and psychological, internal described below.

 

External Boundary Violations

These are the assaults on our physical sense of safety and include:

  • Standing too close, or any type of touching without permission.  This includes being hit, sexually violated or even tickled against your will.
  • Others violating your rights to privacy.  For example, someone going through your bags or wallets, eavesdropping on your conversations, looking at the data on your smart phone
  • Others exposing you to risk (i.e. Exposing you to their illness, they smoke in a no smoking area, not isolating when infectious, driving too fast for your comfort)

 

Internal Boundary Violations

These are the attacks on our psychological wellbeing.  Examples of these include:

  • Being yelled or screamed at
  • Someone lying to you or breaking a commitment they made
  • Calling you names
  • Patronising or telling you what you should do without being asked
  • Being sarcastic
  • Shaming you or your community
  • Rejection from the group

 

Any interaction that creates stress is a boundary violation.

 

What is important to the strength of any boundary violation is the closeness of the relationship.  In the illustration below you can see how this operates.

 

 

There is a gradient of potential stress from a high propensity to be aroused through the interaction with intimate others.  That is the closer the relationship the more potential for elevated levels of stress and the more need for honest communication. 

 

The most important yet the most difficult is the relationship you have with your ‘self’, Level 1 on the diagram.  This is critical for teachers to ‘get right’ when they question their own practices.

 

In a later essay we will deal with the need for honest reflection on your own behaviour in any stressful situation.  The reason self-evaluation is difficult is because your sense of self is really an amalgamation of your beliefs, in a sense you are trying to evaluate your performance using the same set of personal values that led to the behaviour.  Also, we can only interpret the behaviour of others when we reach the stage of development identified as acquiring a ‘theory of mind’, that is when children become aware that others are separate form ourselves.  But, just as we have difficulty in evaluating our own behaviour our evaluation of others is created by projecting those values on the ‘other’ and using these as the ‘reference point’ for our decision.

 

Another important fact is that we are hard wired to evaluate the external environment, this is how we predict the potential action of others in our group.  As Louis Cozolino in his excellent book ‘The Social Neuroscience of Education (W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2013) points out, if we put a person in a brain scanner and ask them to analyse the behaviour of others, all sorts of neural networks become activated.  However, if we ask that same person in the same scanner to analyse their own behaviour there is much less activity.  Analysing others is most often reflexive and automatic while self-awareness requires concentration, effort and runs the risk of triggering anxiety.

We progress through the descending threats to our boundaries with Level 2 being the most important relationship.  For a child this begins with the primary caregiver exclusively up until birth and most likely from then on.  In the early years any boundary violation of an infant is most probably involving the parent and this contributes to the destructive nature of the early abuse.  As we get older we expand our circle of relationships increasing the potential to have our boundaries violated but reducing the intensity of a lot of these violations.  For example if your very best friend criticises say your hair that would be more stressful than if a stranger said something about your hair.  In the first instance you would be really hurt but the same comments from a stranger might just mildly annoy you.

 

In the classroom the relationship between the teacher and the students should be, and most usually is very strong particularly relative to the stage being taught.  Most parents have experienced that time when their five-year-old corrects you because their primary source of information, the truth is their teacher!  By the end of their schooling the relationship is still important but not nearly as powerful.  This is why teachers must present themselves and the classroom as being non-abusive but rather safe, calm, consistent and predictable and where they are all highly esteemed.

 

Unfortunately, too many children come to school with highly damaged boundaries or no ability to construct a boundary, this is the subject of our next Newsletter.  Providing the environment that supports the development of healthy boundaries can be achieved is one way we can assist those damaged children to get some sense of their ability to control their own behaviours and that is all any of us can do!

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Sunday, March 13 2022

Dealing with the Impact of Early Childhood PTSD

In the previous Newsletters we discussed stress and early childhood trauma, in this essay we will link these issues to help teachers cope with these students in class.  To do this it is important to appreciate that teachers have to deal with the results of the disabilities generate in their classroom.  Even if only one student is suffering from the effects of early childhood Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) the potential impact their behaviour can generate on the other students is significant. 

Over the years there have been a succession of intervention programs that have been designed to help teachers deal with the dysfunctional behaviours experienced when these damaged students attend the classroom.  All of these have some value and experienced teachers learn to take a pragmatic approach when applying the tactics described.  The latest of these types of approaches come under a methodology described as ‘trauma informed’.  The Department of Education, NSW has an excellent publication called ‘Trauma-informed practice in schools: An explainer’ which provides a thorough description of both the causes and approaches teachers can take to deal with the resulting disordered behaviours.  However, and this is where our approach differs significantly from other programs, the cognitive damage that drives these dysfunctional behaviours resides within the student’s brain, ingrained in their cerebral belief systems.  To change these structures requires a significant intervention over a substantial period of time by a highly trained mental health worker.  This is not practical nor ethically acceptable for teachers who have to deal with these students for relatively short periods of time in a setting that has to cater for the needs of up to twenty-nine other students.   

[A Note:  Our approach is to help teachers control what they can, the external environment of the classroom in a way that minimises the impact of excessive stress on the behaviour of students and the teacher.  This philosophy will lie behind all our future work.]

Add to this is the geographical disproportionate rates of lost learning this disability afflicts on our society.  It is generally estimated that between 1% and 11% of the population will suffer PTSD resulting from childhood trauma and in some low socio-economic areas, the proportion can be up to 26%.  This means that in a class of thirty students a teacher may have between zero students with these behaviour problems or up to eight who are suffering from PTSD.  Not only will these disabled students’ behaviour impede their classmates’ learning but they will also have a cumulative effect on each other.  This distribution becomes more concentrated when you consider the number of students who attend private schools that do not enrol students with disrupting behaviours so the ratios would be higher than those estimated above in certain areas.

 

Another issue is predominantly these behaviours are carried out by boys, approximately 80% of referrals to special settings and suspension data along with proportion of adults in incarceration supports this tendency; males act out and females internalise.  

There is a real difference of expression between the genders which appears when the students begin to be emotionally aroused.  The boys resist the threatening characteristics of the environment while the girls become compliant.  The simple answer to conclude that these behaviours are cultural and historical, females have learned to stay quiet about how they feel and suffer in silence while the boys fight back.  However, there is an alternative explanation of these disproportionate numbers.  This is based on the work of the anthropologist Louis Leakey who concluded that once humans became the apex species the main threat to survival was attacks from another tribe.  In the event of such battles, males had a greater chance of survival if they act-out, fought the invaders or ran to safety; that is they took action.  Such a response was not as effective for females and children.  They were more likely to survive if they surrendered or dissociated; they would be taken as trophies, it was a preferred action to survive (for a more detailed discussion about Dissociation see Newsletter 67 – Dissociation - 29 October 2018).

The graph below illustrates the impact that increased levels of stress has on the behaviour of students.

 

This particular graph is based on the work of Bruce Perry well known psychiatrist who has been at the forefront of research into the impact of abuse on the cognitive development of children.  It can be seen that as the level of stress increases (the ‘X’ axis) the mental state (the ‘Y’ axis) ‘escalates’ from being able to think in an abstract manner, the style of engagement we want in our classroom up until the boys are ‘out of control’ and the girls are suffering a mini psychotic episode, a condition where nothing is learned.

 

If you examine this graph you can see how the stress controls the area of the brain we access to survive.  This represents a fear response, the fight/flight/freeze explains the protective behaviours likely to be observed.  There is a similar impact on behaviour when students’ stress levels are elevated because they can’t get their needs met.  Of course, this model reflects the propensity of genders, there are plenty of students who will react contrary to this portrayal, the girls will act out and the boys internalise.

 

In the illustration below it can be seen that at any given level the teacher believes they are ‘engaging’, that is they are influencing their level of arousal, the student reaction will vary.  This is another version of the importance of the inverted ‘U’ curve discussed in a previous Newsletter (The Importance of Stress - Tuesday March 1 2022).  The difference is that in what appears to be an unacceptable level of classroom arousal will terrify Student 1 while hardly disturbing Student 3 who finds the chaotic lesson reflects their childhood environment.  In a sense they are happier when things appear to be out of control.

 

 

Another extremely important consideration is the impact increased stress has on decision making.  Many of the behaviour management programs offered to schools are based on the use of some type of cognitive intervention.  The classic is the once popular ‘Stop -Think – Do’ program created by Lindy Petersen an Australian clinical psychologist specialising in behaviour management of students.  The approach is to teach the students to stop before they react to a situation and then think about the consequences of their automatic behaviour and compare this to a more functioning response and then do what is best!   This makes sense to everyone and when it is discussed in the school counsellor’s office the projected long-term outcomes will be appear to be excellent.  But, back in the classroom, when the student is confronted and they become highly aroused this idea of delaying any attempt to protect themselves is ineffectual.  The table below illustrates the impact stress has on our cognitive functions including our consideration of long-term outcomes.

It can be seen that as the level of threat increases the reference to future consequences becomes increasingly less considered.

 

It is obvious that the levels of stress initiate descending levels of our cognitive functions and in the case of the students with extreme disordered behaviours we work with, any elevated stressful environmental conditions will access entrenched belief systems that drive their reactions.  The most effective and attractive approach would be to change these belief systems however this process is extraordinarily difficult for a practicing mental health worker dealing with the student in a one-to-one environment over an extended period of time.  Such an approach is not available to a teacher who is not a trained mental health worker, does not have the luxury of dealing with the student individually over a period of time.  Our only chance to improve the learning outcomes of all our students is to focus on the other side of the ‘equation’ and that is to control the level of stress in the classroom.

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Monday, November 29 2021

Supporting a Sense of Self

Throughout all writings about success there always a link to the concept of a robust sense of ‘self’.  This is described in terms like positive self-esteem or self-confidence and there is no doubt that how we feel about our selves really does impact on our performance.  The same relationship holds for our students; if they feel confident they approach their lessons with a positive attitude.  But, what about those students in our classes who suffer low levels of self-esteem, those who have suffered abuse or neglect or those who come into the system with undiagnosed disabilities.  These kids are already at a disadvantage even before they start the lesson!

The emergence of our sense of self occurs in our childhood.  In the first three years there is a massive period of learning through trial and error and, because our cognitive memories do not take shape until the hippocampus becomes active all these memories are emotional.  This explains the degree our sense of self is based on emotions.

 

At about the time a child reaches the age of eight their sense of self is reasonably stable.  At this time, we ‘know’ who we are and that ‘who’ is the aggregation of the emotional and cognitive memories.  But, as stated earlier this sense is highly skewed to the emotional memories.  It is my understanding that this emotional dominance of our sense of self is the reason cognitive interventions are limited in their success when dealing with those children who have suffered early childhood abuse.

 

Many, or most of these damaged kids suffer from Toxic Shame, that is they don’t make mistakes, they are mistakes (see Newsletters Toxic Shame – 3rd July 2017 and Faulty Beliefs – 6th November 2019).  The challenge for the teacher is to counter this negative mindset by producing a classroom atmosphere where the lesson is no threat to their sense of ‘self’, eliminating the negative impact of their faulty beliefs!  By consistently presenting an environment that esteems the student their attitude will change but this is not a quick nor easy solution.  Remember, these beliefs have been formed over many years, it may take the same number of years to change them but it is the only a teacher can make this happen.  

For children who have suffered abuse or neglect, the consequence they received for their actions produce levels of fear and anxiety no matter what they tried to do to get their needs met.  Eventually they will either accept their inability to succeed, cease trying and disengage from their world.  This feeling of worthlessness and incompetence underpins that toxic shame.  

 

All beliefs are just memories that are formed in response to our needs and the environment in which we find ourselves.  The illustration below crudely explains how this process functions.

 

The student comes into class from home with a certain attitude, they might be feeling great after a big breakfast and positive encouragement from mum or they might be hungry leaving home early so they didn’t get hit by their angry father who was abusing their mum; this is their ‘antecedent condition’ or their contemporary ‘sense of self’.  The situation is the classroom and the lesson and this is where the teacher has some control.  The decision on whether or not to participate depends on how they feel about being in class, do they feel secure and accepted and how the teacher frames the lesson, is it interesting, do they think they can do it!

 

From then on, the process is much more difficult to influence, the action they choose and how they perform that action.  How the teacher reacts to their effort impacts on the consequence of their actions and that feeds back into their memory, back into their belief system.  Knowing how this process works and using all the teaching skills, this is where you can change their sense of ‘self’!

 

We need to create an environment around building, or re-building their sense of ‘self’ in stages.  The first stage is to get a predictable connection between the child’s actions and the consequences.  The more we can make this a successful and importantly a pleasurable experience, that ‘experience’ will feedback into the emotional and cognitive memory bank, their sense of self, the second stage!  This takes some creative manipulation of the curriculum and lesson delivery.

 

There will obviously be times when their actions will be inappropriate and they should get a predictable, negative consequence.  It is at these times the feedback is delivered in a way that addresses the behaviour but respects the child.  If this approach is adopted eventually the child will understand that ‘they made a mistake’ but they re NOT a mistake!

 

As always, the skills the teacher needs to have, other than their pedagogical knowledge is to be able to:

  • Have a structured and persistent discipline and welfare policy
  • Set understandable expectations for the behaviour and class work
  • Develop strong professional relationships with their students

 

The following Newsletters have detailed descriptions of these features:

  • Creating Structure - 12th August 2019
  • Structure - 15th June 2020
  • Be Persistently Consistent - 26th October 2020
  • Expectations - 17th February 2020
  • Relationships – They Know What You’re Thinking - 25 June 2018
  • Special Relationships - 10th February 2020

 

The road to recovery is cyclic, as the student experiences success their memories will be changed, their sense of self will change and the student will attempt to take on situations they denied themselves previously.  They will say yes to opportunities and more notably they will say no to those who try to deny them what they need.

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Wednesday, November 24 2021

Creating Policy for Student Wellbeing – Behaviour Management

 

For as long as there have been classrooms one of the significant problems teachers have faced has been the management of students’ disruptive behaviours.  Throughout my over 40 years working in NSW Public schools, I have seen a procession of interventions that range from physical punishment to making everyone feel good about themselves!  Since the mid-eighties there have been a succession of commercial programs trying to cash in on the problem filling the void left by education bureaucrats and academics.  The Education Department has never taken a real interest in this problem leaving it in the ‘too hard’ basket with not much more than platitudes and unrealistic suspension policies.    

 

The latest proposed ‘student welfare policy’ does little more than making schools more responsible to solve the problem without any effective non-commercial training and support.  It is time teachers were provided with an accessible, substantiated and effective approach to behaviour management that is part of their training.  Instead they rely on those commercial programs that are expensive both on school revenue and teacher’s time!

 

The history of ‘off-the-shelf’ programs includes the classics like Reality Therapy which morphed into Choice Theory, Assertive Discipline, Restorative Justice, Social-Emotional Learning, Positive Psychology in the form of PBIS and PBL4 and the latest silver bullet Trauma Informed Practice.  All have provided useful approaches, the problem is, because they are the property of a private enterprise they need to limit their tactics to make their programs unique.  Generally, they insist on in-house training, provide workbooks, recording scaffolds and incident records which increase the workload of the teacher and the school.  Of course, training, recording are important but can be done much more efficiently than is required and schools already have the facilities to do this.

 

I would like to comment on the current front-runners in the choice most schools are acquiring those based on Positive Psychology and more recently Trauma Informed Practice.

 

Positive Psychology came from attempts to aggregate and rationalise the factors of studies identified as leading to a life of satisfaction.  Using empirical data Positive Psychology studied how our activities impacted on our lives at all levels, physical, psycho/social or intellectual.  The common conclusion in the field is that to experience the ‘good life’ you must be engaged in meaningful activities.  This research underpinned the programs developed from that data.  In the current form, that was purchased by the department this approach produces a considerable amount of unnecessary administrative work.  I personally have a few of issues, these being:

  • Although the focus on feeling positive is attractive it is not a real reflection of human nature.  There are many times it is appropriate to feel sad, it is part of a grieving process but more importantly it is fitting that everyone should feel a sense of shame when they ‘do the wrong thing’.  This is what I refer to as healthy shame as opposed to toxic shame (see Newsletter 14 – Toxic Shame – 18 August 2020).
  • Children who suffer from early childhood trauma and neglect require a good deal of healing before the principles of positive psychology even make sense and in their literature they acknowledge this approach is not effective for extremely disturbed children.
  • Any success relies on full school training and commitment and even if you achieve this at the end of every year there will be a change in staff and this requires additional commitment including the full training of the new teachers.

 

The positive psychology approach has been practiced in schools for a significant amount of time and I would argue that unlike the impact on workload, any influence on the general behaviour of students has not been significant.

 

The trauma informed approach does attempt to address the problems children with early childhood repeated abuse and neglect bring to the classroom.  A prominent program is the Berry Street Education Model and like all other models it provides a commercial package which requires teachers to complete their program.

 

A problem with dealing with these children with recurring early childhood abuse and neglect, the basis of complex trauma is that any attempt at a therapeutic approach by non-qualified mental health professionals is extremely dangerous and could exacerbate their emotional status.  I understand this approach has gained attention since my retirement I have only a superficial understanding of the course content and this appears to be well considered.  Of course, those who follow these Newsletters and understand my line of attack there seems to be a great congruence between both approaches.

 

The strategies of their approach are:

  • Expect unexpected responses
  • Employ thoughtful interactions
  • Be specific about relationship building
  • Promote predictability and consistency
  • Teach strategies to "change the channel"
  • Give supportive feedback to reduce negative thinking
  • Create islands of competence

 

My concern is that there needs to be a strong focus on the boundary limits between the lived history of the student and the presenting environment in order to avoid activating past experiences.  Teachers need to be very sure of where their professional responsibility ends and the work of qualified mental health practitioners begins.  In my experience it is too easy and tempting for teachers with the noblest intentions to feel ‘qualified’ to cross that line.

 

Successful teachers have always been Bower Birds when it comes to their work.  They collect resources from where ever they can to supplement their lessons.  They should be the same about behaviour management, all the programs have something very valuable to add to any teacher’s repertoire when dealing with a disruptive child.  However, all the effectual advice should be free and offered in a straightforward manner. 

 

This has been the purpose of our Group.  Our three books and the over 180 free Newsletters present advice to help teachers particularly those dealing with very difficult students.  The outline of our work is caught in our description of a complete learning environment as shown below.  All the parts of the model are important but the most important is the relationships between the student, the teachers, the school and the community.

 

Our group has never charged for Newsletters and the resources we make available and nor should they be so.  Successfully dealing with kids with dysfunctional behaviour is an on-going challenge and being locked into a prescribed program fails to accommodate new approaches.

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Sunday, October 31 2021

Oppositional Defiance Disorder

Every teacher has experienced that student who just refuses to follow your instructions.  They are defiant, disobedient and, if challenged will escalate the conflict even in the face of extreme consequences.  These kids attract the diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD).  The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association, lists criteria for diagnosing ODD. These include emotional and behavioural symptoms that last at least six months. Of course, this is not for a teacher to diagnose but it’s helpful to know the obvious symptoms.

 

Angry and irritable mood:

  • Often and easily loses temper
  • Is frequently touchy and easily annoyed by others
  • Is often angry and resentful

Argumentative and defiant behaviour:

  • Often argues with adults or people in authority
  • Often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults' requests or rules
  • Often deliberately annoys or upsets people
  • Often blames others for his or her mistakes or misbehaviour

Vindictiveness:

  • Is often spiteful or vindictive
  • Has shown spiteful or vindictive behaviour at least twice in the past six months

 

The severity of the effect of this disability is variable ranging from:

  • Mild - Symptoms occur only in one setting, such as only at home, school, work or with peers.
  • Moderate - Some symptoms occur in at least two settings.
  • Severe - Some symptoms occur in three or more settings.

For some children, symptoms may first be seen only at home, but in time extend to other settings, such as school and with friends.  However, by the age of eight years the disorder is well established being more common in boys than girls.  Girls do become more defiant coinciding with the onset of puberty.  Another factor that may influence the apparent difference between the genders is that boys act out their resentment and are generally more aggressive while girls will internalise and appear to be more compliant.

 

The causes of ODD are predictable and as with most developmental disorders they come from a chaotic or dysfunctional childhood.  Typically their home-life is hectic and unpredictable resulting in at least an insecure attachment to their parents.  These behaviours may have started as a way of getting attention and this was reinforced by the parent; defiance worked!

 

It’s hard to say exactly why children develop ODD. It’s probably not because of any one thing. But there are some risk factors that have been identified that are linked to the development of ODD.  These are:

  • temperament – some children are born with an easy-going nature and conform to rules however, ODD kids resist from the start of their development
  • low academic performance at school – for example, if children have learning difficulties they will resist new lessons
  • speech and language problems in everyday life
  • poor social skills, poor problem-solving skills and memory problems
  • parenting and family factors – for example, inconsistent and harsh discipline, and a lot of family stress
  • school environmental factors – for example, schools with severe punishment or unclear rules, expectations and consequences
  • community factors – for example, negative influences from peers, neighbourhood violence and a lack of positive things to do with free time.

 

Children with ODD often have comorbid difficulties most prevalent being attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with 65% of ADHD attracting the ODD diagnosis. There is some suspicion that the defiance is a result of the child’s ADHD leading to them missing instruction and appearing to be defiant.  Other combined disabilities include learning disabilities, autism, anxiety and mood disorders or language impairment.

 

Never underestimate the power of this disability; when faced with a direct conflict between following the teacher’s instruction or maintaining their defiance the latter will prevail because following the teacher’s instruction would represent a loss of their sense of having power over their ‘self’.  In most cases this can be avoided by giving the child a choice in the way they perceive the consequences you present.  Say they are refusing to start to write in a lesson, you might say ‘do you want to do that with your blue or black pen – it’s your choice’.  The tag, ‘it’s your choice’ is the critical feature of the dialogue you have with ODD students.  Giving them that choice allows them to preserve a sense that they are in control.

 

I remember one particular child, call him Mark, in a special setting who was directed to get on a train at the end of the school day, just to go home and avoid causing trouble on the station.  He was told that if he didn’t get on he would be expelled.  You have to understand Mark was an extremely dysfunctional student who had passed the school leaving age and had received multiple long-term suspensions.  At our school the students were taught about behaviour and they all knew about ODD.  I said to Mark ‘what if I had told you not to get on the train’ what would you have done.  He knew he would have got on the train but even knowing this he still refused and was expelled.  I have often thought about my behaviour in this situation and if I knew then the lessons in this Newsletter I hope I would have acted differently.

 

As you can see dealing with these oppositional children is a real challenge. And in such a case as Mark’s it would have been better not to get in such a situation however, there was a lot of other things going on in this case.  But there are some things that will help you deal with these students.  These are: 

  • Understand the causes of ODD, the lack of positive attention and identifying ways to increase the opportunities to provide positive feedback
  • Modelling emotional control - ODD kids invariably have poor emotional regulation so it is important that you remain calm
  • Give short instructions with limited choice (i.e. ‘Would you like to play in the sand or have something to eat?)
  • It often works to give two similar choices with a time frame, such as “I’ll give you a minute to choose to write with the blue pencil or the red pencil”  If there is no choice made after your time limit, the teacher makes the choice of something quite different such as, completing a different aspect of the task not using pencils.
  • Avoid negative consequences – this is difficult for older kids but for pre-schools emphasis on positive reinforcement on positive behaviours.
  • Emphasise the child’s importance by doing things they like with them – pay them real attention.

Finally – look after yourself.  These kids consume a lot of the staff’s energy so make sure the organisation provides opportunities to withdraw from highly charged situations and have access to debriefing.

 

Posted by: AT 12:20 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, October 25 2021

Dealing With Students' Anxiety

As schools return to full time attendance teachers should be aware that the prevalence of anxiety amongst their students will be elevated.  We have dealt with anxiety previously (see Newsletter – Anxiety – 24 July 2017) however in this essay the focus will be on the effect anxiety has on the level of concentration.

Anxiety is that lingering apprehension or almost chronic sense of worry about particular things or even life in general.  Professionals would diagnose someone as having clinical, generalized anxiety if they displayed three or more of the following over a six-month period:

  • Restlessness
  • Fatigue
  • Concentration Problems
  • Irritability
  • Muscle Tension
  • Sleep Disorders

In general, anxiety is described in three ways; panic attacks, social anxiety and generalised anxiety.  We will focus on concentration which will be the product of their generalised anxiety.

In a recent article in the Conversation, 18 October, 2021 Elizabeth J Edwards from the University of Queensland reported that one in seven Australians are currently experiencing anxiety. The prevalence of anxiety among children is 6.1% of girls and 7.6% of boys.  These statistics were before the COVID pandemic and if research reported in the Journal of Medical Association can be applied to our population then it has doubled.

Throughout these essays the impact of stress on our cognitive functions is at the heart of our approach to improving the learning outcomes (see Newsletters - Generating Stress – 20 July 2020 and The Complexity of Stress - 27 July 2020).  It must be remembered that stress is just a response to our personal level of homeostatic equilibrium, that is how our needs are being met.  In our everyday life we experience a continuous variation in these levels of stress depending on how our needs are satisfied by our immediate environment.

 

We have already pointed out that we need children to be suitably stressed to be motivated learn, and that there is an optimum level of anxiety that will have the child perform to their potential.  Too little stress, they will not engage, too much and they will not take advantage of their cognitive resources (see The Complexity of Stress - referenced above).  This is the focus of this essay.  As you move along the level of arousal you go from low levels of anxiety up to extreme levels which result in trauma.  The results of these levels of arousal come from the work of Bruce Perry, a professor of psychiatry at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago are summarised in the graph below.

 

This graph shows how as we increase the level of arousal different parts of the brain dominate the thinking process and result in the behaviours associated with these processes.  This is not to say no learning takes place when we are in an elevated condition.  We use all our brain all the time it’s just a matter of where it is focused.

 

The following diagram shows how the capacity for high order thinking, the process of academic learning is influenced on our levels of stress and these levels are controlled by our security in our immediate environment.

The table below presents and excellent summary of the impact of stress on our ability to participate in meaningful education.  Examining the bottom row shows as we increase of level of anxiety we move from being calm through the various stages of arousal to the level of terror.  The next two rows above this show the impact on our cognitive organisation with the focus moving away from the neocortex, the part of the brain used for working memory, to lower parts of the brain.  Eventually this means predominately using the autonomic section of the brain where all responses are reflexive.

 

The top row is important because to be truly motivated to learn we have to delay the gratification of that knowledge into the future.  This really only occurs when we are calm and have access to these areas of the brain that create such memories, the limbic system and the neocortex.

 


This Newsletter puts reason to what we know to be true, school-based learning takes place when each child is calm and relaxed.  This is why the management of classroom dysfunctional behaviours is so important.  Whenever such behaviours exist the learning capacity is reduced proportionately to the level of stress that behaviour produces in the offending student, their classmates and the teacher.

Posted by: AT 07:53 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, October 18 2021

Dealing With A Crisis

Throughout these essays the focus has been on providing an environment that allows the students to focus on their schoolwork in a calm and secure manner.  However, I am certain that any teacher who works in difficult communities will be confronted by the uncontrollable child who at times will behave in a way that is temporarily ‘out of control’.  These are periods where the focus is on managing the immediate crisis.  Without preparation when such an explosion happens what you do will depend on what you have planned to do before-hand.  At the time of the crisis everyone, including your own’s stress levels will be so elevated it is difficult to make considered actions.

 

The following provides a scaffold to create a framework that will support your actions while experiencing such a crisis.

 

Of course, being forewarned is a benefit and the first thing to do is to identify any potential student who is likely to explode uncontrollably.  Apart from preschool, and in some cases kindergarten all kids come to a new school year with a record.  Teachers are entitled to be warned about those very difficult kids and if possible, have some prior knowledge about any potential problems with their behaviour.  However, if you are not forewarned you will soon observe an explosion and after two or three such events you should start to collate that information for yourself.  What you need to record is:   

  • Previous episodes of persistent outbursts of severe behaviours.  When these occur ask yourself:
    • Where these flare-ups are likely to happen: in the classroom, in a particular subject, moving between periods; knowing this will allow you to address that environment.
    • When do they happen: after a change of routine, when left alone, when they are with another particular student, in a crowd or when isolated.
  • Other factors:
    • The frequency these outbursts occur
    • The antecedent conditions of the environment, are they agitated when they arrive at school, maybe they have had a ‘custodial’ visit from a separated parent
    • Warning behaviours, do you see them becoming agitated

From this data you can build a picture of the conditions that you need to design and alter the classroom setting in a way that makes the uncontrollable, manageable.

 

Despite your best efforts there will be times when you are confronted with such an outburst and these events follow a particular pattern as shown below.

 

The Trigger

The information you acquire from following the steps above help you identify just what is the trigger for this outburst.  The warning signs may be the emotional state of the student, they may be extra argumentative or just a bit more restless than usual.  You can often see this heightened level of stress in their body language their muscles are tight, fists clenched, etc.  Knowing possible triggers for a student may enable you to remove them or reduce their occurrence.

 

Escalation

You will observe the early phase of escalation in their body language, their eyes narrow, mouth tightens and jaw thrust forward.  You may observe a change in their breathing patterns.

 

Their behaviour becomes more overtly threatening:

  • They become more defiant, disobedient, making insulting comments.
  • Their voice becomes louder, challenging, threatening, swearing, arguing
  • Body language becomes even more threatening – fists clenched, tapping feet or fingers, chest and shoulders puffing up, hands on hips

 

This is a time to start to intervene, to try to stop this crisis by following the steps below:

  • Don’t stand too close or touch them
  • Model non-hostile body language, hands off hips, fists unclenched, no finger wagging
  • Remind them of previous success they have had in gaining self-control; acknowledge their strong emotions but show confidence
  • Consider physical activity e.g., a supervised run or send them for a message, just get them out of the immediate environment.

 

The Crisis

At this stage the child is incapable of rational thinking.  You will observe the following behaviours:

  • They may spit, push, kick, choke, head-butt, bite, pull hair, pinch, punch etc.
  • They may flee from room or grounds
  • They may use objects as weapons to smash, break or throw
  • The child has lost self-control and may harm their self-and/or others

 

The best action you can take at this time is to control your own behaviour.  Deal with them in a way that shows that you are not going to get involved in the crisis.  Address the child as follows:

  • Use a firm, low voice, refer to them by name and give a short clear instruction and repeat it several times if needed.  Keep tone and volume of voice consistent
  • At times you may need to stand back and let a tantrum run its course.  It may be necessary to remove other students/audience
  • Don’t attempt to intervene in a playground fight without back-up.  Say STOP and send for help
  • After outburst get child to time-out ASAP
  • Be aware of your own reactions, take some slow deep breaths.

 

 Recovery

After the crisis everyone needs to return to a calm state, to a condition known as homeostatic equilibrium where:

  • The student’s body chemistry is returning to normal
  • The muscles become progressively more relaxed
  • Ritual inappropriate behaviours become less frequent

It is important to note that the student is not yet at baseline and is vulnerable to re-escalation.  The child should be moved to a quiet place where there is no audience, allowing them to calm down.  This gives you and the rest of the class that same opportunity.

 

At this time, you should show concern for the student and support them.  It is tempting to unload on them to get rid of your heightened stress but refrain from lecturing, becoming hostile etc. and just as important is to resist the temptation to rescue them.

 

Throughout all our communications one of the consistent principles for dealing with difficult kids is that we have a 100% rejection of the inappropriate behaviour and a 100% acceptance of the child!  This is the time to demonstrate that principle.

 

Post Crisis

When the child has recovered enough you have to deal with them.  Remember that their outburst has taken its toll on their physical condition.  They may go through a stage of emotional withdrawal, crying, exhaustion, fatigue, depression, muscles relax and they may slump forward.  They may be thirsty, hungry, or even need to urinate, their body has been under extreme levels of stress.

 

Psychologically they may feel regret or remorse over what they have done but for kids with severe dysfunctional behaviour which would attract the diagnosis of conduct disorder they are more likely to be concerned about the consequences you must impose.

You will need to discuss the event with the child.  When doing so:

  • Use open ended questions with a long wait time and LISTEN.  You don’t need to fill the silences
  • Discuss with the child what they could do differently next time.  Let the ideas come from the child … don’t give them the answers
  • Have the child be specific about what they will do next time, telling you how that will look and sound.  This helps them move towards change and growth and avoids “parrot responses”
  • Be sure you don’t reward the student for the outburst e.g. By giving too much TLC, special activity, food afterwards
  • Now is the time to talk about what happened but not why.  Stick with what you saw and heard and focus on how the child calmed down … what was helpful?

 

Debriefing

This is that important time when you look after yourself.  The following steps will help you do this:

  • Write a report stating who, when, where, what happened, injuries, follow-up ASAP.  This can be quite cathartic!  When finished date and sign it and file it, this is the data for future planning!
  • Don’t take it personally; remember these children have complex problems resulting from what has been done to them and these are not your fault.  The cause of the outburst and how they behave during that crisis has nothing to do with you but how you deal with the event is the skill you can learn.
  • Revisit your crisis plan with a support person and make any necessary adjustments.
  • Teaching in difficult schools results in being exposed to such outbursts much more frequently.  This will take its toll unless you deal with the pent-up stress that will naturally build-up in your body.  Talking it over with someone who understands the environment in which you work allows you to relieve this stress.  A supportive colleague is ideal.   
  • You may talk it over with your ‘at home’ partner but this is not as effective.  Home should be your haven a place to relax and see that your personal needs are met.  Exercise is always important but it may be particularly beneficial after a day when you have dealt with such a crisis.

 

Working with damaged students is the most challenging work teachers face and the least acknowledged by educational authorities.  However, the value of this work cannot be underestimated.  These kids will never learn when they are in a state of conflict and that is a loss is not confined to that child.  The other students who are victims or spectators to such outbursts will also be incapable of learning in any effective way and of course the teacher will be distracted from their planned lesson.  This is a time when you must acknowledge the value of the great work you do.

Posted by: AT 05:34 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, October 11 2021

Emerging From Lockdown

Of all the public activities that are planned to re-start after lockdown, none seems to be more pressing for politicians than the opening of schools.  There have been many promised dates that have come and gone but it seems, in the current situation with vaccination rates meeting acceptable levels schools will open in the near future.  There has been plenty of advice on how this will happen but the one consideration that is not really addressed but is critical, is the anxiety that is inevitable for many of our students not to mention the staff.  Not least of these concerns is the real fear of contacting this contagious disease.

 

Since lockdown was introduced students and staff had to learn to work in a completely different environment.  It goes without saying the structure of each child’s ‘at home’ learning would vary from house to house.  Some parents, who had time would develop their own timetable while others just let the kids work at their own pace hopefully getting their work done.  In any case, most kids were living in isolation and this seclusion presents a significant problem.

 

Living near a beach, and being ‘retired’ I was conscious of the number of students who were in the surf during so called school time and, I know if I was them I would have ploughed through my lessons just to ‘hit the surf’.  Now we are expecting the students to come back to a regimented program.

 

These constantly changing conditions will create a deal of anxiety for the students as well as the staff and parents.  They have all been through a continual upheaval through this pandemic.  The whole community has been unsure about the future, this has been going for almost two years with no real solution in sight.  Some students are more hypersensitive to conversation than others.  We all have different levels of self-confidence, and this will influence the level of anxiety we experience.

 

The immediate task for the school in regards to the mental safety of the students is to deal with the resulting anxiety.  The social fabric of the classroom will have to be re-established, there is a need to reconstruct the sense of belonging to the group (see Newsletter - The Tribal Classroom – 6 April 2020 and Creating a Calm Environment – 3 November 2020). 

 

One way of doing this is to take advantage of any opportunity to do some type of group work especially for younger students.  Of course, the relationship with the teacher is critical and hopefully this has remained during the on-line meetings but the student to student relationships are just, if not more important.

 

As always, when we have to re-set any program in our classroom we need to restore the appropriate underlying properties and the diagram below illustrates these:

 

 

The focus on pedagogy is our core business, and it is while delivering the curriculum the other pillars to the model are established.  This is what we do best but at this special time it is most important that the organisation of your classroom is very business-like!  Think about the difference it makes when going out for dinner.  If the seats, table arrangement, music, welcome from maître d’ and ambience are all not working in tandem, that affects your experience and overall enjoyment; it’s the same in the classroom.

 

Until the students have completely resettled it is important to have that emphasis on cooperation.  Have a lesson plan that incorporates teacher talk; paired work; sharing with class; workbooks; review/game.  Paired and group activities promote student relationships and have them present their findings to the class.  I know this is telling you to suck eggs but kids working in isolation is good practice some of the time but less important in circumstances where we are trying to re-establish peer relationships. 

 

Remember humour is one of your most powerful teaching tools!  Laughing is proved to:

  • Improve memory recall
  • Increase conceptual understanding
  • Increase attention to a task
  • Stimulate brain regions important for complex and abstract thinking
  • Activate brain growth

Make sure your class is a place where there is an emphasis on having fun!

 

It is most important to reinstate the structure in the classroom (see Newsletter – Creating Structure - 6 April 2020).  This is not about classroom rules although it often is and at this time might be needed until the accepted behaviour is established.  However, it is about establishing the routines you want in your lesson, the steps that you provide the students with the predictable sequencing of the lesson.  This provides the students with a sense of security and fosters confidence in the way the lesson will go.  The establishment of ritual at the start of each ‘lesson’ allows the teacher to quickly focus the children on the task at hand.

 

It is vital that both the teacher and the student knows what will happen in a lesson, there are no surprises, these expectations will need to be restored (see Newsletter – Expectations – 6 April 2020).  This is the remembered experience of what happened before when the particular environmental conditions were present.  If they know what happened before, they can imagine what will happen next and if the structure is effective and the expected consequence is delivered, the student is not disturbed and can remain calm.

 

There is an old adage that people live up or down to your expectations and this is critical for the teacher but it is only a truism if the teacher and student know what that expectation is!

 

Research has shown that the teacher/student relationship is the central quality of a successful learning experience (see Newsletter – Relationships – 4 April 2020 and Competence Vs Warmth 31 August 2021).  The advantages of a strong, supportive relationship are:

  • Teachers higher in ‘warmth’ tend to develop greater confidence in students
  • Students who believe their teacher is a caring one tend to learn more
  • Positive relationships enhance social, cognitive and language development
  • Students’ feelings of acceptance by teachers are associated with emotional, cognitive and behavioural engagement in class

 

It is important to understand that this relationship is professional, you are the adult in the room and you are the one with academic qualifications that authorise your right to be in that classroom.  You have to support their needs, they have no obligation to support your needs, this makes you the authority.

 

It is also important to understand that as the students gain in competent independence the significance of the relationship becomes less important.  All things being in place, by the time they reach Year 12, the teacher becomes more of a facilitator.  But, in the very early years of schooling the teacher/student relationship is critical.  The exception to this is when you are dealing with very damaged kids of whatever age.  In a sense they need the same attention as the infant until they regain some control over their behaviour.  This latter circumstance is the focus of all our work.

 

Finally you must look after yourself!  Be aware of the following conditions:

  • Don’t take the inevitable problems with the end of lockdown personally.  The school and the children create complex problems – these are not about you, but you have the professional responsibility to address them
  • Be aware of your feelings, you should be ‘stressed’, it is not easy to deal with when you have so many students to nurture so look after your self
  • Debrief – Discuss problems with an appropriate supportive colleague.  Keeping things to yourself never solves the problem (see Newsletter – Debriefing – 4 November 2020)
  • Report to your supervisor in writing any issues that have been unforeseen or potentially threatening. This can be quite cathartic!  Date and sign it
  • Look after yourself at home too - exercise, relaxation and maybe listen to music, etc. but rarely is alcohol the answer!

 

It is a very difficult time for all teachers and in the present environment support from the top is limited if not non-existent so it is essential you look after yourself and your colleagues!

Posted by: AT 09:49 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, October 04 2021

Multi-Tasking

The hustle and bustle of life in our schools seems to be growing at an ever-increasing rate of knots; already there is really too much we have to do.  This chaos is intensified by the reliance on digital devices.  The constant demands for our attention results in us having to move from one seemingly important task to the next just to get through our work.  This switching of our focus can give us the impression that we are able to get everything done but the evidence clearly demonstrates that our so-called multitasking results in a reduction of the quantity and quality of our output.  This demand on time and the resulting efficiency loss is a problem across our economy but for schools the loss of productivity has distressing outcomes for student’s learning.

 

An accepted definition of multitasking is the practice of performing two, or more tasks simultaneously or more accurately in very quick succession.  Examples are when you are perhaps marking an essay in the staffroom and someone comes in and asks about an event that happened last week.  You stop your assessment, address the issue and return to the marking.  Of course, too often many more ‘tasks’ must be addressed before you get back to the original assignment.

 

Fundamentally there are lots of things our brain simultaneously controls; things like our need to breathe, change our sugar levels, etc., things that are reflexive and there are some habits that are so ingrained, we act on them without consideration.  At this level we do multitask.  However, in the past we needed to concentrate when we were hunting for food, not only was this important for survival but when stalking dangerous prey any mistake could be fatal.  So, for higher order tasks, the work we do at school the evolutionary formation of the functions of our brain, dictates that we can only seriously focus on one thing at a time. 

 

There is plenty of evidence that multitasking degrades the quality of any one’s work.  It is estimated that there is up to a 40% reduction in productivity.  This occurs because of:

  1. The increased time it takes to get through the task.  It is more that an aggregation of the actual time taken to do the task, if you added the minutes spent either uninterrupted or tallied the actual time you were ‘on task’  would not be the same.  You lose time going back to pick-up where you left off.
  2. Our accuracy level decreases; when we shift our focus, a change referred to as context switching, we tend to forget the last part of the work from which we were distracted.  We rarely go back to clarify assuming it will come back and besides we don’t have time.

This productivity loss increases as the complexity of the task we have at hand increases.

 

With all the extra demands placed on teachers by their employer and despite the demonstrated loss of overall productivity it is impossible to avoid multitasking, it is not a practical option.  The Education Department puts more significance into volume of work they can get out of a teacher over the quality of the work from that same teacher.  It is illogical but we have to live with it!

 

I suggest we approach this problem in two ways, the first is to manage those tasks you know you have to address, our fixed work and then also how to survive the unexpected interruptions.  Let’s deal with the first challenge.

 

There are tasks we know we have to do in the day ahead.  In a sense we have some control over these and so we can plan our time to deal with them in a structured way.  Here are some suggestions:

  • Make a to-do list and get the things that you least want to do over with first.  When I was a child I had to eat my cabbage, I always left it until last.  The fact was that I knew I had to eventually eat the cabbage and this realisation spoiled the rest of my meal.  Since I have sort of grown up I get the things I don’t like done first and then I can look forward to the rest of the day. 
  • Prioritize your tasks - of course, there might be reasons to put some tasks at the top of the list; say a report might be due by recess, then this will be at the beginning of your day sheet.  The thing is to get some structure into your plan
  • Group similar tasks, some of your work will require the use of supporting resources so it makes sense to use them when they are available.  Those resources also include your cognitive skills.
  • Reduce distractions, the staffroom might not be the best place to get work done, other teachers will be there resulting in plenty of interruptions to take you away from your work so, if possible find a quiet place to operate.
  • Monitor your progress – set yourself little short-term goals so when your reach them you get a little intrinsic reward.  For example, if I have to mark 30 exams I might divide these into blocks of five.  Even checking the five off in a box can give you a lift!
  • Delegate tasks, if needed – there are many things you have to do that are just part of a combined task.  Don’t do work that is other’s responsibility, they won’t really thank you and you’re not helping them.

At first, you will need to plan to make your to-do list but eventually it will become your ritualised approach to the day.  At the end of my career creating my to-do list was in draft form at the end of the previous day and in the morning, after I checked ‘overnight events’ I finalised my ‘day sheet’.

 

However, in the real world of teaching no day can be planned, everyday throws-up challenges that have to be dealt with IMMEDIATELY and so whatever task you were on must be left!  This is stressful and so I go to the very process I recommend whenever you are facing a challenging situation and that is to put on your boundaries (see Newsletter - Teaching Practical Boundaries – 31 July 2017).  In summary, do the following:

  • Stay Calm – this is always the critical step but particularly when switching your focus.  Remember, it is the last thing you were focusing on that is least remembered so while you are take taking a breath, think seriously about where you are up to in your task.  This allows you to return with a bit more certainty and at least know you should back-track to revise this part of the work. Of, course sometimes things are extreme so make it your practice to always revise the last processes you made when you return.

 

The following deals with the boundaries.

 

  • What is Really Happening – once you have closed the previous task then deal with the current issue.  Ask the question what is really happening and when you have this you ascertain the following:
    • Who is Responsible, if it’s my responsibility then I have to do something to make things right
    • If it is someone else’s fault, I have to know what I want and then decide what I have to do to make that happen.
  • Take-Action, if you want things to change you have to act.  Eventually your involvement in the distraction will be over and so you can return to your current task. 

 

Just as you made sure you closed down the task before you were distracted it is very important that you closed down the distraction before you get back to work.  If the event has been stressful you might need some time to debrief and gather your thoughts.  Don’t rush back straight away because the quality of your efforts will be diminished because you are still thinking about that event.

 

The need for multitasking is inevitable in today’s schools.  However, the loss of efficiency could be reduced by your ability to plan your approach to the tasks you must do. 

Posted by: AT 09:31 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, August 23 2021

Rewards and Punishments

Controlling people’s behaviour has been a quest by those who seek to have others behave the way they prefer.  Throughout time punishment was seen to be the preferred option, being able to punish infers you are more ‘powerful’ than those you wish to control.  This feeling of superiority is intoxicating but unrealistic.  You are never better, or worse than anyone else!

 

Throughout history punishment was often extremely cruel particularly in the dark ages where the most hideous forms were handed out to ensure the peasants conformed!  As we became more ‘civilised’ those ‘in charge’ witnessed the malice in punishing and started to try the opposite approach, reward those who conformed.  Even today you hear managers say things like ‘we’ll take the carrot/stick’ approach to solve the problem.  One of the best bits of advice I every received was you can’t make anyone do what you want them to do so, unfortunately, both rewards and punishments will fail in the long run.

 

It was easy to believe that rewards and punishments work, after all if I had to do my homework or get the cane, doing the homework seemed a choice that suited me.   But, that’s the reason rewards and punishments are only marginally successful.  I know plenty of times I didn’t do my homework and got the cane.  The reason was I chose to spend my time more productively while understanding the cost involved – stinging fingers.  

 

In the 1960’s, Skinnerian psychology developed a significant influence on education theory, particularly in rewards and punishments.  He believed that changes in behaviour are the result of an individual’s response to events that occur in the environment.  I agree with this observation with one significant difference and that is with Skinner the manipulation is based on the idea that the person who wants control defines that environment.  The student will conform to the beliefs of the teacher.  I contend that our memories and beliefs define the environment and that is the way we decide what is best to do for us in the presenting circumstances.

 

As a young teacher, I remember students being hit, caned when they misbehaved and given early marks, certificates, etc. when they did the ‘right thing.'  This idea did meet Skinner's requirements but limited moulding of the behaviour of students.  Of course, most students will act to get a reward or avoid punishment, but the driving force of a student's internal motivation can over-ride this.  If we want to change this internal motivation, it will require the child to take responsibility.  The only real discipline is self-discipline.  

 

Punishment

Punishment is an imposition of power-over ‘another' person, the teacher over the student.  This intervention is an expression of authority by the teacher who assumes the responsibility for behaviour in the classroom.  This power-over limits the options for the student when modifying their behaviour. The student is disempowered, and for those students with severe behaviour disabilities, this reinforces their feelings of inadequacy. For those students who are struggling the use of punishment is associated with blame and only reinforces their weak sense of self.

 

In my experience punishment is often used because the behaviour of the student has threatened the teacher.  Students’ behaviour can be very offensive and can threaten those around them.  Often the punishment dealt out is a form of revenge resulting from the teacher’s open or concealed anger. 

 

Using punishment as a control mechanism will result in the following:

  • Teaches the student what not to do
  • Diverts student’s attention from intended lesson
  • It focuses the student’s attention on how not to get ‘caught’
  • Teaches students to be punitive towards others
  • Eliminates risk taking, students will not take a chance on getting things wrong

 

Rewards

Criticizing teachers for using rewards to motivate students is not a straight forward proposition.  In the past, when I challenged teachers for using rewards, I was invariably met with enthusiastic protests.  Giving kids something, they like for doing something you want them to do seems to be a win/win situation, and I agree that in the short term it probably is.  But I challenge this practice to have a long-term benefit for the children. 

 

Using rewards as the goal of the lesson significantly changes the focus of the lesson.  The real objective of any lesson, including learning how to behave appropriately is the value of what is learned not what you get if you conform.  Reward focused management, in reality, is no better than the use of punishment.

 

The use of rewards results in the following:

  • Creates an attitude that learning has no intrinsic value, you only learn to get something
  • Stifles creativity, as with punishments it eliminates risk taking essential for creativity
  • Creates reward driven people, what’s in it for me
  • Validates manipulation, you can buy anything
  • Decreases self-directed learning.  Students give the teacher what they want

 

The elemental message is that the subject of the lesson has no intrinsic value.  The kids do the work for the reward not to learn the content.  Instead of becoming inquisitive they become reward driven.  This approach eliminates risk-taking, stifles creativity and like punishment the teacher is the focus of the behaviour, not the student.  Students will not become self-directed learners in the future.

 

Having said that I am fully aware that working with students who are disengaged from learning the use of rewards, certainly not punishment can be used to ‘capture' a student’s interest.  Rewards at least can make the student feel good for a short time, and this gives us a window of opportunity to begin to engage them in education.

 

For extremely damaged students the simplest of rewards can be enough to begin this process.  In the illustration below, based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs there is a pyramid of rewards that start with those that satisfy student’s primary needs.  This type of reward would not be of any use but for the most extreme cases.

 

The use of tokens, certificates are the most popular reward systems and are used extensively even in the Senior Years of schooling, and this method of motivation is used in the very highest levels of the academic world.  Every year we see the awarding of Certificates of Achievement most of which remain in the filing cabinet only to be accessed when constructing a Resume.

 

Ask any successful self-directed student how important these are you will most likely get a ‘not very’ response.  All too often the Certificates’ are for the parents and grand-parents.

 

The next level, activities or privilege moves from a token-style reward to a reward that provides a benefit for the student.  This type of reward is still toxic but is consumed within the immediate time and not kept as a reminder.

 

Above this, we move into the relationship zone where praise is used, any reward depends on the connection between the teacher and student (See Newsletter - The Danger of Praise - 12 September 2018).  On the surface, this is not a ‘bad' thing, but there is a real danger that in this one the teacher's approval can become the prize.  There is a temptation that the teacher will exploit this.

 

Of course, we need to teach he students that their actions do have consequences but these need to be linked to the behaviour not the person who ‘delivers’ the ‘consequences (see Newsletter - Consequences not Punishment or Reward – 2 April, 2018).

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Monday, August 09 2021

The Queen Bee

In our last newsletter we discussed indirect bullying as a more passive form of manipulation of others through aggression.  This week I want to discuss a more specific form of bullying used primarily by girls.  Although, there is some point of view that question gender difference I will contend that, at this time there is a difference in the expression of aggression and that difference is evidenced in the imbalance between boys and girls in suspension data and enrolment at ‘behaviour’ schools.  That is not to say there is a proportion who adopt behaviours that are not customary to their gender and I suspect, over time adjustment to the, albeit slow changing of our environment in regards to equity this imbalance will evolve.  But, for now the discussion is about a specific behaviour of girls.

 

This work was first discussed by Rosalind Wiseman in her 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes and this was followed up by Valarie E Besag Understanding Girl’s Friendships, Fights and Feuds.  In my work with girls at my last school we produced a program under the supervision of an outstanding teacher, Fiona Bell that attempted to help alleviate this problem with some success and some interesting observations I will share.

 

The underlying feature of the queen bee phenomena is fear and control and the way this is achieved is through the exploitation of the dynamics of cliques.  Cliques are complex and everyone with them has a function.  These positions are hierarchical with the power concentrated towards the apex of the group, the Queen.  These positions are not static but girls can move up or down but for those with a poor sense of themselves they are really stuck in the one position.

 

The Queen

Wiseman describes the queen as “a combination of the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland and Barbie.”  The queen is popular, usually ‘pretty’ and has a level of personal power that allows her to dominate others including boys.  Others do what she wants, she reigns supreme.  In our work, we identified what we called ‘hives’ and discussed the role each had in the hierarchy.  The group of ‘Queens’ saw no problem with what they were doing and if anything formed a very unhealthy elite within the school.

 

The power rests in her ability to isolate and exclude others.  The fear of rejection is her weapon, she can easily enmesh or exclude and will do so to other individuals as the situation requires.  The victims are in a state of unease not knowing how to know just where they fit.  These girls are skilled at either manipulating the teacher or slipping under their radar.  When challenged they are reluctant to take responsibility for their actions.

 

Being Queen comes with a cost.  Although they gain power and attention their position requires constant commitment and this can make them feel isolated and trapped in their ‘image’, they lose their sense of self.

 

The Sidekick

This is the deputy sheriff, the 2IC of the hive.  The Side Kick mimics the actions of the queen making sure she doesn’t overstep her position.  In a sense she does the dirty work for the queen thus placing some distance away from the ‘crime’ for the queen. 

Although any challenge to the queen may come from the Side Kick this would be risky and so she is happy to take orders form the queen.  She gains a sense of power form the queen but at the expense of expressing any opinions of her own.

 

The Banker

The position of the Banker is interesting.  This girl uses information as currency to acquire her position in the group.  She gathers ‘secrets’ and ‘gossip’ treating everyone as her confident, she is friends with everyone.  Then she uses this intelligence to consolidate her position. 

 

Bankers are good strategists and even the queen is reluctant to upset her.  Her information gives her power and security; she is rarely threatened or excluded but although she may appear harmless the girls all sense the danger she poses.

 

The Banker plays a dangerous role because she becomes vulnerable to everyone and, if exposed the trust she trades in is lost.

 

The Floater

Of all the members of the group, The Floater is probably the only authentic one.  She is friends with everyone and easily moves amongst them.  Because she doesn’t base her self-worth on the acceptance of others she is comfortable within herself. 

 

Her peers like her and she does have influence over others but she never uses it against others, she is always positive.

 

The Floater has the ideal position and if anyone can challenge the queen it is this girl.

 

Torn Bystander

The Torn Bystander is an insecure member of the group.  She is desperate to belong and gives up any sense of independence for the sake of keeping the status quo in place.  She will apologise for the Queen and the Side Kick’s behaviour even if she knows she is on the wrong side of a disagreement.  This creates a conflict for the Torn Bystander as she is not good at saying no to her friends.

 

This desperation to keep the group together means she has to give up any sense of personal power.

 

The Pleaser / Wannabe

These are the foot soldiers of the Queen and Side Kick because they will do anything for the Queen so they belong to the group.  Their weakness is the fear they have on disapproval.  The opinions of the more influential members of the group are more important than their own.

 

This rejection of their own importance for the sake of being accepted makes these girls feel insecure and have trouble developing effective boundaries.

 

The Target

This is the victim, the person on whom the Queen and Side Kick can demonstrate their power.  The Victim can be a member of the group or an outsider, it doesn’t matter.  All that does matter is that she is humiliated and excluded.  The result is a feeling of helplessness with nowhere to turn for support.  Any girl who does feel an empathy for her risks the same treatment.

 

The Victim may, or may not try to mask the feelings she has over the rejection, she might say she doesn’t care but the Queen picks her Victims well knowing they are not likely to fight back.

 

In the next Newsletter I will discuss the particular tactics the girls use to establish control over others and how to support girls who become the victims of the Queen.

 

 

 

 

 

v

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Monday, July 19 2021

Just Say No - Not So Easy!

As we again have to deal with a lockdown and we move into the new term we are once more confronted with the challenge of home schooling.  And, again teachers will rise to the occasion, working above and beyond what would reasonably be expected to ensuring that the kids’ education will continue.  However, I am quite fed up with the politician’s and bureaucrat’s insipid declarations of their gratitude for the great work done by those same teachers on behalf of the students.  It’s not that I don’t appreciate the staggering effort made by teachers at this time it is that teachers are constantly asked to meet unrealistic demands and this is resulting in burnout and the subsequent loss of student’s learning.

 

The Department and Government acknowledge the problem of burnout and they have produced plenty of advice on how to avoid it.  Likewise, I have addressed the importance of looking after yourself in previous Newsletters (see Looking After Yourself - 2 September 2019).  Working in an environment that demands more than can be delivered without compromise leads to burnout and if this is happening to you will notice changes to your physical and emotional wellbeing as well as changes in your behaviour.

 

In that Newsletter I also considered the five causes of burnout; these being:

1. Work Overload

2. No Autonomy

3. Under Valued

4. Not Supported in the Workplace

5. Fairness

6. The ‘Meaning’ of your Work

 

I would contend that all of these characteristics exist across the teaching profession.

 

I have consistently advised that the best advice to combat burnout is to have strong personal boundaries (see Newsletter ‘Boundary Considerations’ – 31st July 2017) and the steps are:

1. Stay Calm

2. Ask the Questions - What is Really Happening?

3. Who is Responsible?

4. What Do I Want to Happen in the Long-Term?

 

This last question is critical.  For this current dilemma the answer for the question what do I want in the long-term is that we are not burned-out!

 

If you look at the literature devoted to addressing the issue the pattern of advice is to consider things like ‘enjoy your work’, ‘consider finances’, etc. but within this information three themes stand out.  These are:

  • Know your Values - what is important to you in life.
  • Practice Time Management - Review your typical week and cut down on time ‘wastage’ meetings.
  • Set Boundaries - Set limits on your work time and set aside time for other activities. Learn how to say ‘no’.

For teachers, I contend the overwhelming value is to provide the students with the best possible education.  If other demands take you away from this fundamental goal you compromise your work.  However, it is within the way you manage your time and if necessary say no to demands that distract you away from your core business the elements of a resolution can be found.

 

Let’s start with time management; the extraordinary demands on the modern teacher and school executive cannot be met within a forty-hour week unless there is a compromise in the quality of each task completed. 

 

When the working conditions for a teacher were first established the negotiations were centred around the lesson preparation, face to face teaching and assessment such as homework and reporting.  These were the conditions I had to meet when I started forty years ago.  And, I can assure you that even then I did more than the forty hours expected but I still had time for my life.

 

Contrast those conditions with the demands placed on today’s teachers.  In Victoria classroom teachers in both primary and secondary schools reported working an average of 53 hours per week.  The changes in technology, the increase in student’s mental health issues, mandatory accreditation, repeated changes to curriculum, NAPLAN testing, School Reviews plus an increase demands on teachers to provide pastoral care and personal development lessons; all this and more has been added to our workload without any increase in real support.  In an AEU survey of 3,591 teachers nearly three quarters of respondents felt they spent too much time on administrative tasks.

 

Here’s the thing; if we look at the practice of time management in a systematic way we could record the hours applied to the various demands on individual teachers, teaching with the preparation, marking, face to face, welfare etc., mandatory T&D, accreditation, administrative duties, playground duties, etc.  When we have an unbiased and rational sample add up the hours for a week.  Then compare those hours to a forty-hour week. 

 

The next step is to cull any hours of work over the mandatory forty or what you are prepared to allocate.  Be careful not to be too generous the goal is for you to have a healthy work/life balance!  This is where the value of your work is contested.  You can announce that you will not do certain tasks unless more support is provided and if you are directed to meet set obligations that are outside your adjudication ask what tasks you should not do to so those ‘obligations’ can be met, if you think it is necessary get those directions in writing.

 

This brings you to the moral challenge of saying no!  This is a step that needs to be taken but one that takes a great deal of courage.  If we want teachers not to burnout, not to leave the profession in droves as they do now, to be effective where it matters - in the classroom than we have to have the courage to say no to unachievable demands! 

 

Remember that although the Department consistently praises the teachers for their efforts they never take any responsibility for their continued increasing demands on teacher’s time! In their WHS Policy they assert: 

The department is committed to:

1.11 – providing everyone in its workplaces with a safe and healthy working and learning environment.

But this is never applied to teacher’s wellbeing.

 

I despair at the current state of our profession, we have lost sight of our core business teaching and the understanding that it is the personal connection between the teacher and the student that enriches the learning experience for the student.  I have watched teacher’s focus being diverted from their classroom with dubious administration tasks and a continuous parade of ‘quality solutions’ such as leadership training!  Teachers are qualified to teach and should be in class while they hone their skills on the job.  Leaders will, as always emerge, those who best ‘do the job’ not pass the external test but more importantly kids will regain the full attention of their teacher!

 

 

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Monday, May 03 2021

A Time for Reflection

When Marcia and I retired from teaching over four years ago we still had the passion for education and a predilection for providing support for those children whose behaviour was so dysfunctional it inhibited not only their learning outcomes it also stifled the learning of their classmates.  Our special interest in focusing on this specific feature of the characteristics that must be considered in any classroom has its geneses in our years working is special education settings that catered for these disruptive kids.

 

When faced with a cohort of students where the vast majority are classified as conduct disordered or at least oppositional defiant it made sense to look for the cause of their self-destructive behaviours; it soon becomes obvious they really don’t want to be in the situation they find themselves in, they want to be what we would call ‘normal’.  We soon realised that almost without exception these children suffered from early childhood abuse and/or cruel neglect.

 

With that, as our motivation we started this journey over four years ago offering resources, training and development and a regular free Newsletter, at last count we are at Number 158!  We have also written books specifically aimed at supporting this work. The first ‘The Impact of Modern Neuroscience on Contemporary Teaching’ and ‘Insights into the Modern Classroom – the Getting of Wisdom for Teachers’.  We are pleased to announce the publication of the third in this series ‘Neuroscience and Teaching Very Difficult Kids’ shown below.

 

 

This is a time to take stock and ask you our supporters for guidance as in how to proceed from here!  Could you please take the time to provide feedback on how we can improve our service and importantly inform us of topics we should explore or re-examine.

 

Thanks for your support!

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Monday, April 19 2021

Tips for Teaching Teenagers

For years it was the assumption that children were born with a certain number of neurons and how these were arranged predetermined an individual’s fate. The statement, ‘Give me a child for the first seven years and I will give you back the adult!’ is commonly attributed to Mark Twain but it is a cliché that can be traced back to Aristotle and used by St. Ignatius Loyloa to underpin the Jesuit Order’s emphasis on educating the youth.  This is faulty belief Number 1.  Of course, the early years are critical in the development of a child’s sense of self and their subsequent approach to life but this is not decisive.

The second inadequate truth is that early intervention is the only effective time to attempt to modify dysfunctional behaviours; if you miss this time it is too late.  Of course, it is much easier to change behaviours before they become entrenched in a child’s repertoire but this is not the only time this can be achieved.  When I started working with dysfunctional teenagers I experienced unintentional reluctance to support my work.  My supervisors looked at my school as somewhere to park these dangerous kids while they placed their meagre resources on working in early childhood.

To be clear, I agree early intervention is very much the preferred option when helping those kids who struggle to control their behaviour.  All our work is about supporting such endeavors but I refuse to give-up on any child or any adult just because they missed out during this time.  The conduct disordered and oppositional students, I was charged to look after deserved every chance to change the way they behaved and take their rightful place in our society.
In 2007, Deborah Yurgelun-Todd published a paper, ‘Emotional and cognitive changes during adolescence’ which demonstrated that the onset of puberty marked a significant stage in the development of the brain.  At about age eleven there is a surge of growth in the Brain’s ‘grey matter’ and a significant increase in the presence of myelin in the prefrontal lobes; these are the conditions for development of new areas of cognition and therefore new ways to control behaviour.


This is the period where the prefrontal lobes begin to mature eventually allowing us to consider decisions through the use of our finely matured working memory.  During this transition from behaviours regulated by our concrete thoughts or raw emotions to more measured decision making there is a period of adjustment.  This is particularly marked around the interpretation and expression of emotions.
Up until about age eleven the interpretation of the emotional state of an individual is carried out in the amygdala and this informs the individual’s response to this non-verbal message. Eventually, the emotional message from the environment goes through the prefrontal lobes for evaluation and, unless the situation is extremely stressful the decision on how to react is more controlled.  Of course, when any situation is potentially threatening to our survival the amygdala provides instant response.


During this time of change the child will become less capable of identifying how others are feeling as emotional interpretation function shifts from amygdala to frontal lobes.  A ten-year-old child can more accurately identify the emotions of others at a high level than an eleven-year-old.  The drop-in accuracy is considered to be in the order of 20%.  This frustrates both parents and teachers who, when expressing their great displeasure are confronted with an adolescent who ‘just doesn’t seem to care’.  


Another form of annoyance for the adult is that having given clear instructions about what to do, and receiving a message that their teenager understands the directions and is willing to comply, when they come to inspect the ‘finished task’ nothing has been done and the teenager doesn’t understand why you’re upset; more frustration!


However, this is the developmental period of the prefrontal lobe which, in times of tolerable levels of stress:
•    Controls how we are interacting with our environment
•    Manages how we make judgments about what occurs in our daily activities 
•    Directs our emotional response 
•    Organises our expressive language. Assigns meaning to the words we choose 
•    Involves word associations 
•    Controls memory for habits and motor activities 
This is our working memory in action.
The following is advice for teaching all adolescent students and is the same for those who we focus on, those with dysfunctional behaviours resulting from childhood abuse and/or neglect.  The environment you provide must be consistent, persistent and supportive as always but a bit more patience is needed through these years.  On top of this, the following suggestions will help:
1.    Don’t let the challenges of puberty lower your expectations.  Just because your children may become moody or resistant doesn’t mean you should let them pull back on their efforts in their activities or their schoolwork.  Continue your encouragement and involvement, you can still be appropriately angry when they fail to ‘do their homework’.  It’s all about finding the right fit.

2.    You have to gradually pass the control of the environment from you to them. One of the hardest things to do is to hand over the responsibility from it being your duty to having them fulfil their obligations to it being their responsibility.  I understand how hard it is to let go and watch them make choices that we might not necessarily make; to watch them make mistakes.  But, without going through the process of learning to be self-responsible they will never take their rightful place in our community.  

3.    Organise reasonable routines for your students.   Allow time for the very demanding academic work or schoolwork but make sure you give them plenty of time for other, more social activities.  The amount of time put aside for school work will increase throughout their time at secondary school but the growth should synchronize with the maturity of the prefrontal lobe.

4.    Don’t be surprised if your students focus more on socialising during this time. This is customary and important but friendships aren’t the only significant aspects of their lives and should not displace their other important activities and responsibilities. Be vigilant around their use of social media, this can become a substitute for students who struggle with face-to-face relationships.  It’s best to limit the use of these activities.  

5.    Expect students to grow and change.  Encourage them to seek out new activities to replace ones they outgrow.  Some young teenagers stick with the same activities that they’ve done since they were young children; others go through radical changes; both are normal.

6.    Accept, in the senior years you may have to take more of a back seat in the driving of their education.  But, back seat drivers can be effective in making sure the course they are on is steady and safe!  Teenagers are still hearing what you say even when they seem not to be listening.

I have included, in the resources section of our site a chapter form my book ‘The Impact of Modern Neuroscience on Contemporary Teaching’ – Chapter 8 - The Second Chance: The Teenage Brain, that gives a much more detailed explanation of this stage of their brain’s development.  It is just as the chapter says, a second chance and I have argued that dealing with those damaged adolescents at the time of puberty is a powerful form of early intervention.
 

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Monday, March 01 2021

Getting to the truth

In the last Newsletter (The ‘Gas-Lighting’ Gambit – 22nd February 2021) we discussed how students can use the technique of lying to avoid facing the consequences of their behaviour.  Unfortunately, teachers will have to spend a significant proportion of their time solving school-yard crimes never mind the increase demands for investigations of disputes made on school executives.  Despite the protests of many parents, who insist that ‘their child would not lie to them’ it is a fact of life that kids will lie on occasion especially if they are trying to avoid trouble!

I recently came across an article in Scientific American by Roni Jacobson ‘How to Extract a Confession … Ethically’ and, I thought the process used by President Obama’s High Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) which meets the standards of the American Psychological Association might be of interest.  These ‘standards’ were a result of the reports of torture in the Iraq War.  You are not being asked to investigate real crimes, that’s not your job but the techniques will help you solve the inevitable disputes.

Just a note of caution – if a real felony has been committed or you suspect one may have been perpetrated you must not investigate the crime, refer on to your departmental supervisors who may engage the professionals.  Any investigations you may try to make can contaminate the evidence that may later be required.

The following are the steps developed to get to the truth of the matter in an effective and still ethical way:

  1. Build Rapport

Think about the ‘good cop – bad cop’ scenario you see in all the movies and then eliminate the bad cop.  Develop an empathetic approach to the student you are questioning.  You want to build an atmosphere of cooperation as you approach the problem.  Explain why you are interviewing them using neutral non-verbal cues and a calm steady voice. 

 

This is the important step, not only to get to the truth but because you are genuinely concerned for the student.  The all-important relationship between you and the pupil can survive even after you establish their ‘guilt’.  Remember the child is not the behaviour, we want to find out what happened and if needed provide the consequences, this is how we teach responsibility so it is their actions that are being investigated not their worth.

 

 

  1. Fill in the Blank

Reduce their tension by asking some closed questions not necessarily related to the purpose of the meeting, this will get them used to answering.  Later, these ‘closed’, yes/no questions should be avoided when we are investigating these yes/no answers allow them to avoid addressing more complex issues.  Then lead into the interview by telling what you know about the situation in a manner that suggests you already know what happened.  As you go on with your narrative the guilty student will often start to add details or correct part of your story without realizing they are doing so.  These are usually as a way of defending themselves but by providing additional information they are establishing their presence at the incident.   

 

Don’t go ‘in for the kill’ when this starts to happen – you are building a case, be patient.  Research conducted in 2014 indicated that people who are interrogated using this method tended to underestimate how much they were telling the interrogator.

 

  1. Surprise Them

If a group of students are involved they know they are under suspicion and try to get their stories coordinated, they may even rehearse their answers ahead of time.  In the age of mobile phones, I have seen texts between students where their stories are ‘coordinated’.  Never interview all the students as a group but question them independently and keep them separated until you have finished your interviews.  This way they will be unsure if their partners in crime have stuck to their story.

 

However, under the pressure of the interview individuals must try to keep ‘the story’ intact while they struggle to remain calm and relaxed.  This is the time to ask them something unexpected, something out of the blue about the incident or suggest a different scenario.  This is when they often slip-up while they try to fit these ‘new facts’ into their fabricated story.  It will be impossible for all the students to fabricate the same explanation.

 

  1. Ask Them to Tell the Story Backwards

It might appear counter intuitive but students who are telling the truth will add more details as the retell their story, this is why surprises work so well.  Those students who are lying will try to stick rigidly to their story being careful not to make changes.  However, memories are never consistent, every time you recall an event your memories change this is how memory works.  This is why you should be suspicious if everyone’s story is exactly the same.

 

This technique of getting them to tell their story in reverse order exploits the difficulty liars have reconstructing their story from the back to the front.  Again, the HIG investigation found that liars produced twice as many details when telling their story in reverse order often contradicting their original story.

 

  1. Withhold Evidence Until the Crucial Moment

On some occasions the participants will immediately ‘spill their guts’, they will confess but these types of students will tell the truth eventually; they are not the difficult students we are talking about.  These more problematic children require a more skilled approach to finding the truth.

 

In a follow-up study following, the HIG report it was established that when people were confronted with evidence of their wrongdoing early in the interviewing process they either clammed up or became hostile.  This is why you never present all the evidence at the beginning.  If you do this the process of ‘gas-lighting’ becomes the go-to behaviour and you will have a much more difficult time getting to the truth.   But after a period of time, when you have established the conditions the release of evidence will often be accepted because they give up trying to sustain the lie.

 

There will be times when you ‘know’ what happened but you can’t prove it but at these times keep in touch with reality.  It’s more important that you are seen to be caring, trying to solve the problem in a fair-minded manner.  In fact, the victims will eventually understand this but more importantly the perpetrators will accept that you are fair and knowing they may have a small sense of victory you move on with your integrity intact and relationships in one piece.  You live to fight another day!

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Monday, February 22 2021

The 'Gas-Lighting' Gambit

In recent months the term ‘gas-lighting’ has come back into use thanks to the behaviour of ex-president Trump.  His continual claims of a rigged election, and his ‘overwhelming victory’ has resulted in a fatal attack at the very heart of America’s democracy.  Despite repeated denials, the presentation of overwhelming evidence to the contrary and the failed courtroom appeals, numerous people have chosen to believe his lies and still refuse to accept that this whole outrageous event is based on a lie!  The question is how does this tactic of lying apply to dealing with dysfunctional students?

 

The purpose of these Newsletters is to help teachers deal with student’s dysfunctional and destructive behaviour.  The use of gas-lighting is not obvious but if you haven’t already experienced a version of this practice to avoid responsibility, sooner or later you will. 

 

The name ‘gas-lighting’ came from a 1938 play of Patrick Hamilton called Gas Light which told the story of a husband who manipulated his wife though lies and deception until she was convinced she was going mad.  This is a form of coercive, psychological manipulation to undermine another’s perception of truth allowing them to be deceived.  Kids often use this technique when they are caught doing something inappropriate and their ‘defence’ goes something like ‘No I didn’t’, ‘It wasn’t me’; even when you have personally witnessed their behaviour they will continue to deny it was them.  I remember working with conduct disordered adolescent students who were frequently in trouble with the police.  Their advice to each other was always the same - ‘just deny it, never own-up’ and unfortunately this often worked.

 

So, why does this tactic work?  First, they project an air of confidence, being certain about their story.  Then, when you protest they may attack you both personally implying you don’t know what you’re talking about or they will accuse you of picking on them.  They will stick to their story rarely conceding the validity of any evidence you present.  On those rare occasions they do concede they will acknowledge a part of your evidence but this is rarely decisive, it never alters the basis of their lie.  However, when they do this, they will use their concession as proof they are telling the truth – ‘see I’ll admit when I’m wrong’!  Their whole motivation is to get you to doubt your version of events!

 

This doubt is a natural response when we are challenged; it works because healthy adults understand that everyone sees the world through our own eyes.  We appreciate we all focus on different things in the environment so we must interpret events differently.  It is well known that, if you ask four different people to describe a road accident you will get four different stories, in fact if the stories are identical the statements will be suspected as being colluded. 

 

Not only do we perceive things differently we indorse what we see with our memories of similar events confirming our truth.  But these memories are as personal, just as what we perceive is personal, both sides of the perception of an event is highly influenced by our history.  You need to realise that everyone’s judgement about any event takes place in their brain and it is impossible to verify what you see any other way.  The result is we should have some doubt about our point of view and be prepared to change it when faced with evidence!  This is what mentally healthy people do.  This mature approach to life is exactly why ‘gas-lighting’ works!

 

The student’s use of this deceitful form of ‘gas-lighting’ is primarily to avoid the consequences of their behaviour.  If students realise you are vulnerable to self-doubt they will keep on using this tactic.  This continued doubting leads to a fall in your confidence you can become isolated, confused and depressed.  The other kids in your class can see what is going on and your status as leader in the room will be threatened.  You need to take control of the situation.

 

First of all, trust yourself, if you are reading this I am confident you are the sort of person that wants the best for all the kids, particularly those we focus on in our work, those abused and neglected kids who have never had a real chance until they get to a good school. Counter their monopoly on the conversation and control over what is the truth.  Be like a broken record (for those younger readers, a record is a plastic disc that has grooves and a needle that move around to produce music – a broken record gets caught in one track and repeats the line of music over and over until you stop the record) just keep repeating what you know and what is going to happen.  When they complain acknowledge their complaint, maybe say we will talk about that later and repeat what you know and what is going to happen.

 

One tip is to trust your emotions, even if you have good intentions and a clear understanding of what happened when the students attack you, you will feel threatened.  Take this as a sign that you need to put on your psychological boundaries (see Newsletters Boundary Considerations - 22nd October 2018 and Respecting Other’s Boundaries – 26th November 2018) to protect yourself.  Ask the ‘boundary questions’:

  • What is really going on?
  • Who is responsible?
  • What do you want to happen in the future?

Addressing these questions helps you keep grounded.

 

The ‘boundary questions’ will also make you confront the evidence and unless there is a very strong case stick with your beliefs.  You may be wrong on rare occasions but what you lose by making a mistake is not as significant as the loss of authority if you change just to avoid a difficult situation.  Another thing about evidence, it will never convince another when emotions run high – you will be wasting your time.  At these times the importance of your relationship is paramount because it will be this that will allow you both to move on.

 

Until recently, kids learned to use the technique of ‘gas-lighting’ from their parents.  They watch their mother or father lie to get their way and if it works of course they will do it.  Other kids turn to lying as a survival mechanism.  If their parents dish out severe punishments, physically or psychologically children will lie to protect themselves.  Unfortunately, lying has become part of our daily life almost celebrated in newspapers and television.  Why would we expect our children to respect truth when we see lack of consequences for poor behaviour on a daily basis.

 

 

This is why your work is so important, not only will you teach the importance of truth you will teach them to recognise ‘gas-lighting’ when that technique is used against them.

Posted by: AT 08:46 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, February 08 2021

Structure in a Crisis

It won’t take long in any teacher’s career before they have a student or a class that behaves in such a dysfunctional way it can be called a crisis.  For the unprepared, this is a time that will really test your character and, in some instances the resulting trauma can leave you and many of the students with long term psychological or even physical damage.

 

A crisis rarely, if ever is a single-time event there is a beginning, climax and an end.  The illustration below charts the progress of such an emergency.

 

It starts with a trigger, something that sets the event into motion.  It is not always easy to see what is the cause but on investigation there will be something.  The next phase is the escalation where things ‘heat-up’ until we reach a crisis that can be a single event or as illustrated come in waves.  Eventually things will calm down but everyone involved is left in need of repair.  So, what to do about this?  I was recently alerted to a procedure called the Haddon Matrix that deals with crisis management which provides a useful scaffold that can be applied. 

 

William Haddon was a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health and in 1960 was the lead author of the book ‘Accident Research: Methods and Approaches and later became Supervisor of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  In 1970 was faced with the problem of reducing the number of traffic accidents in his state. He approached this multifaceted problem by organising all the statistics in a matrix that sequenced the data based on personal attributes, vector or agent attributes and environmental attributes; before, during and after an injury or death.   By utilizing this framework, one can then think about evaluating the relative importance of different factors and design interventions.

 

The Matrix has been originally organised along two dimensions, the first based on the sequence of an incident, pre-event, event and post event based against the factors that are likely to initiate an incident, things that will influence the event and finally what conditions shape the final outcome of the event.  When applied to the analysis of a classroom crisis the following elements must be considered:

  1. Pre-Event

What is it?

This is hard to really know.  Each of us come to any situation already in a state of expectations, this is natural.  However, for some students they can arrive with an already heightened level of emotions.  I would have confidence in that the real explosive events the students are highly charged and perceive a threat to their wellbeing.   This may or may not be observable but possible signs are the student may be emotional on arrival at school or after recess/lunch break. They can be restless or argumentative. Their body language indicates heightened levels of stress, tense muscles, tight fists etc.

What to do?

Early reassurance or distraction may prevent any escalation

  • Acknowledge their feelings and ask what’s wrong “I can see you’re angry, what’s up?”
  • Listen and let them get it off their chest
  • Discuss solutions where possible
  • Be supportive, calm and friendly
  • Respect their personal space
  • Encourage them saying you know they’ll do the right thing even though they’re upset.  “You were angry but I can see you’re working hard at calming yourself …. Good for you!”
  • Remind them of expected school rules
  • Direct them to an activity to engage their thoughts or discharge energy build-up.  For example get them to complete some school work you know they enjoy, carrying things for you, send them on a message to another teacher
  • Don’t react in the early stages to minor challenges such as dirty looks or a mumbled comment under the breath.

 

  1. Escalation

What is it?

They are preparing for the fight/flight/flee response and you can see evidence for this in their body language which reflects escalating stress:

  • Face – eyes narrow or wide, tight mouth, menacing look, red or paling skin, jaw or head thrust forward
  • Breathing becomes more rapid, shallower or deeper
  • Their behaviour changes, they become:
    • Body language becomes threatening – fists clenched, tapping feet or fingers, chest and shoulders puffing up, hands on hips
    • Louder, challenging, threatening, swearing, argumentative
    • Defiant, disobedient, use insulting comments (these can usually be about weight, age, parentage or sexuality of another student or the teacher)

What to do?

At this point avoid antagonising them:

  • Don’t stand too close or touch them
  • Model non-hostile body language, hands off hips, fists unclenched, no finger wagging
  • Remind them of previous success they have had in gaining self-control; acknowledge their strong emotions but show confidence
  • Consider physical activity e.g. a supervised run

 

  1. Crisis

What is it?

At this stage the child is incapable of rational thinking.  You will observe the following:

  • They may spit, push, kick, choke, head-butt, bite, pull hair, pinch, punch etc.
  • They may flee from room or grounds
  • They may use objects as weapons to smash, break or throw
  • The child has lost self-control and may harm self or others

What to do?

At this time there is not a lot you can do except keep everyone as safe as possible. 

  • In a firm, low voice, use their name and give a short clear instruction and repeat it several times if needed (broken record).  Keep tone and volume of voice consistent
  • At times you may need to stand back and let a tantrum run its course.  It may be necessary to remove other students/audience
  • Don’t attempt to intervene in a playground fight without back-up.  Say STOP and send for help
  • After outburst get child to time-out ASAP
  • Be aware of your own reactions, take some slow deep breaths.

 

  1. Recovery

What is it?

At this time everyone is calming down, returning to some states of equilibrium. This involves:

  • The student’s body chemistry is returning to normal
  • With the battle over the muscles become progressively more relaxed
  • Ritual behaviours become less frequent
  • It is important to note that the student is not yet at baseline and is vulnerable to re-escalation
  • Child should be in a quiet place with no audience

What to do?

Allow calming down time for the child and for yourself. It is a time when you can show concern and support.  You will be understandably upset but avoid anything that could be seen as being hostile don’t lecture, reprimand or even rescue the child.

 

  1. Post Crisis

What is it?

The level of exertion required during the crisis phase now exacts its toll.  The student may:

  • Go through a stage of emotional withdrawal, crying, exhaustion, fatigue, depression, muscles relax and they may slump forward
  • Be thirsty, hungry or need to urinate
  • Feel remorse/regret and worry about consequences

What to do?

This is the time to engage with the child using the following techniques:

  • Use open ended questions with a long wait time and LISTEN.  You don’t need to fill the silences
  • Discuss with the child what they could do differently next time.  Let the ideas come from the child … don’t give them the answers
  • Have the child be specific about what they will do next time, telling you how that will look and sound.  This helps them move towards change and growth and avoids “parrot responses”
  • Be sure you don’t reward the student for the outburst.  This is tempting by giving too much TLC, special activity, food afterwards but for some this is seen as positive feedback for the behaviour which is not appropriate!
  • Now is the time to talk about what happened but not why.  Stick with what you saw and heard and focus on how the child calmed down … what was helpful?

 

The advice given applies to the crisis as it unfolds but the point of Haddon’s Matrix is to plan for the possibility for that same or similar crisis to occur again.  In the first instance you should look after yourself:

  • Write a report stating who, when, where, what happened, injuries, follow-up ASAP.  This can be quite cathartic!  Date and sign it
  • Don’t take it personally.  The child has complex problems … it’s not about you
  • Look after yourself at home too … exercise, relaxation, music etc.
  • Revisit your crisis plan with a support person and make any necessary adjustments.

 

Then review what happened using a matrix to facilitate a plan for future events.  It is always good to devise your own way of making such accounts.  I would use something like the following:

 

 

 

What Happened

How I Responded

What to do Next Time

Trigger

 

 

 

 

Escalation

 

 

 

 

Crisis

 

 

 

 

Recovery

 

 

 

 

Post Crisis

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by: AT 07:41 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Tuesday, January 26 2021

Starting Off on the Right Foot

At the beginning of each year it is time to ‘start again’ with new or new combinations of students.  It is time to establish the qualities of your classroom and I advocate these are:

  1. Define your Pedagogy

From the outset let the student know what they will learn in your classroom.  Even for those in early education there are ways to tell them what school is about and for those in their final years outline the curriculum they need to take on board and how they will be assessed.

 

  1. Explain the Classroom Structure

As you should be aware I advocate a well-defined discipline and welfare plan however the use of formal rules (see Newsletter Creating Structure 8th - December 2019) occurs to address existing problems.  I won’t make a rule for something that is not a problem – I won’t make a fuss over students who come with appropriate behaviour, it should be expected however, especially for those kids we focus on, those with dysfunctional behaviours rules are just a teaching aid.  One part of the structure is the establishment of the rituals of the classroom (see Rituals – 12th November 2018) things like being on time for class, lining up outside the room, whatever you want!  This initial structure reflects the next quality, expectations!

 

  1. Spell Out Your Expectations

My basic rule for the classes I taught and the schools I supervised was to act appropriately!  For most students, appropriate behaviour is understood but for some this has to be spelled out.  The best way to do this is through modelling.  If you want your students to be on time for class make sure you’re the first there, greet them at the door!  At least reinforce those behaviours you expect and extinguish those you don’t.

 

  1. Relationships

The teacher/student relationship is the most important feature of a quality classroom and that relies on how the students feel about each other and you their teacher.  Of course, the opposite applies.  It is important that you present yourself to the class as a caring teacher.  You can’t fake this but there has always been a belief that if you start in hard with the students they will comply and when they do you can relax.  If ‘starting hard’ means staying aloof and delivering consequences with gusto then you are not ‘hard’ you are lazy.  I will accept the notion of ‘starting hard’ in that you have to be vigilant of all the things you have to establish simultaneously.  Later, when expectations are understood and applied the ‘hard’ work will have paid off and the focus can be on the pedagogy of the classroom while you maintain the other arms of the complete learning environment.

 

These are the characteristics of a complete learning environment (see illustration below).  At the beginning of the year you need to focus on all the features to get them established but as you succeed then the only one that requires continual attention is the pedagogy, the content of the lessons!  The others continue on as a maintenance requirement – you have to continually service the total environment!

 

 

Of course, you hold the leadership role in this so you must apply the qualities of the complete learning environment.  Make sure you:

  1. Know you Lesson Content

Sometimes you will be asked to introduce material you are unsure of and that requires you to research to be prepared just as you need to understand the best way to present that material.  This is well covered in so many places in the education literature and this has never been the focus of our work.  That is not to imply we don’t think it is important – it is.  Our work is to help teachers successfully manage the other qualities so the focus for every lesson is on content!

 

  1. Understand How to Produce Structure

Be aware of the process of making rules to address disruptive behaviours.  This is covered in depth in a previous Newsletter (see Creating Structure 12th August 2019).  It is preferable that you have the students design the rules but if they are too young or too disengaged you need to impose the rule on them so be prepared to do this.

 

  1. Establish Your Expectations

Some school leaders expect all teachers to have the same expectations of the level of behaviour required of the students.  This assumes all the teachers are the same, have the same personality types.  If we require everyone to be the same then no teacher will be true to their own set of values.  There was a time when attention to ‘personality types’ was in vogue, principals and teachers attended workshops and were sorted into groups based on the degree of their particular qualities.  You were assigned a ‘type’ and told how to deal with those ‘other types’ and those ‘other types’ are the children.  The thing is, no type is ‘best’ for the individual students.  What is important is that you are true to your personality.  If you try to be a type of teacher that you’re not then you may succeed while things are going along smoothly however, when things go wrong and you get stressed you will revert back to your true self; this will confuse the students.  Remember, consistency is the key to establishing trust and trust is at the heart of the last and final characteristic!

  1. Build Relationships

This is covered above however there is a distinction, you are the teacher!  You are the adult in the room, we should be able to assume you are fully functional.  You are qualified, you’re the only one with a Degree in teaching.  And, you are responsible to ensure all the above are in place.  The thing is your relationship with every child in your class is critical but yours is a professional relationship and I believe this is the essential quality that every teacher should possess.

 

So, get ready for the next chapter in your brilliant career!

Posted by: AT 06:39 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, November 30 2020

Communicating with Difficult Kids in Difficult Times

In a recent Newsletter Personal Action in the Time of Crisis (7th September 2020) I outlined actions that should be taken to navigate this difficult time.  In this Newsletter I want to focus more closely on the direct communication between the teacher and the student.  This is the personal point of connection and influences what happens next. 

In the first instance you need to check your own emotional state.  It takes a special talent to withstand the force of a child’s aggressive attack when they don’t get what they want.  You need to be aware you will be vulnerable so:

  • Check your own emotional condition.  You may already be stressed from the day to day demands of the classroom
  • Calm yourself down and check you have your boundaries in place

(see Newsletters Boundary Considerations - 22nd October 2018 and Respecting Other’s Boundaries - 26th November 2018 for detailed descriptions of boundaries)

You need to remember that you are the leader in the classroom, you are the only adult and you are qualified to do this work – everyone else is a child doing the best they can at this time.  You need to act professionally, that is you have to control the situation to ensure everyone is safe and you can get on with teaching. 

The child who is acting ‘out of control’ will not be waiting to hear what you have to say but you do need to be heard.  You need to get their attention in the appropriate manner, you need to portray authority.  In the first instance your posture will be important:

  • Hold yourself in an upright, confident position, hold your hands on a non-threatening but non-submissive manner. but contained in your space.  Don’t lean towards the student, that suggests aggression or away that indicates capitulation.
  • Hold a steady gaze on the student.   Don’t glare aggressively nor avoid eye contact which can be seen as a weakness) and be sensitive to cultural differences regarding eye contact.  Be guided by how they react.  When you are speaking you should maintain contact about 70% of the time.  This indicates that what you are saying is for them.  The same should happen if they do reply to your communication.  However, a good rule of thumb is about five seconds.

Once you have regained control (see Newsletters Dealing with the Exploding Kid – 7th September 2020 and The Crisis Response – 14th September 2020) you need inform the student:

  • Why their behaviour is an issue, this should relate to the needs of themselves and all others.
  • What are the consequences, on one scale the behaviour may violate the classroom rules and consequences should be clear however, the consequence might be more individualised, it may be that you need to explain how their behaviour impacts on other’s well-being.  This is a time to use:
    • ‘When you’ …  this is when you describe their behaviour
    • ‘I feel’ … tell them how their behaviour affects you and the other student
    • ‘Because’ … let them know why it has that affect

These steps are fitting if the student has regained some self-restraint.  If the situation is still unresolved and you have to get the message to the child then use:

  • ‘If you’ … describe the behaviour(s) that will get them into trouble
  • ‘I will’ … indicate the consequences that will definitely follow that behaviour

These are the steps that usually take place in the classroom and they should be taken with a 100% refusal to accept the inappropriate behaviour but most importantly a 100% acceptance of the value of the child.  However, you can be sure the child will find it difficult to make the same differentiation between what they did and how they think you feel about them and you don’t take their anger personally.  You need to take further steps to maintain the relationship.  It is a tactic to have them stay back at the end of the lesson.

It is essential you give them a chance to explain their behaviour.  You need to really listen to them, let them know you’re listening in a non-aggressive manner:

  • Let them tell their story without interruption.  Make sure you really understand the issue and that they know you do.  You can do this by making a summary of their main points and repeat this back to them.  If they disagree on your interpretation seek clarification of what them mean.  If possible, you need to reach an agreed understanding of the dispute.
  • Validate their emotions, you understand they are angry but explain that the anger may have triggered the behaviour it will not avert the consequence.
  • Take the complaint seriously.

You will get better at communicating at these difficult times if you follow these steps however, there are many mistakes you can avoid.  The following are some of the traps you can fall into:

  • Don’t interrupt them as they are explaining their behaviour, they will only start again
  • Don’t jump to conclusions, really listen to them.
  • Don’t make excuses for what you have done.  Your actions should deal exclusively with the behaviour.
  • Never use sarcasm or communicate from a position of ‘authority’, that is you are both equal in examining the situation but you do have different responsibilities.
  • Never fail to follow up if you have committed to do that.  If at the end of this conversation you agree about what will happen in the future make sure it does happen.  Your integrity is always being tested particularly in these cases.

 

Changes in behaviour for these kids takes time but it is these moments that combine to provide the pathway to a more successful way of behaving at school.

Posted by: AT 07:23 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, November 16 2020

Dealing with Touching and Restraint

Every teacher will one day be confronted with a student, or students whose behaviour is so uncontrolled it will pose a threat to themselves, others around them or the school equipment.  In some cases, physical intervention becomes the only response open to the teacher.  This professional obligation to keep everyone safe has always raised deep concerns for teachers.  These concerns are based on the fear of being accused of assaulting the child both physically and sexually.  The latter category, sexual assault is particularly problematic and is often cited as the reason for such a shortage of male teachers in the infant and primary aged schools.

 

Of course, this abuse does exist and is not to be tolerated on any level but the fear of a false or malicious allegation is difficult to defend and many teachers, especially males refuse to touch students for any reason.  This fear should not be taken lightly but there are times when it is appropriate to touch a student.  Remember it is not illegal to touch a pupil and there are occasions when physical contact, including reasonable force, with a pupil is proper and necessary.  Examples of where touching a pupil might be proper or necessary:

      • Holding the hand of the child at the front/back of the line when going to assembly or when walking together around the school;
      • When comforting a distressed pupil;
      • When a pupil is being congratulated or praised;
      • To demonstrate how to use a musical instrument;
      • To demonstrate exercises or techniques during PE lessons or sports coaching; and
      • To give first aid.

Physical Restraint
Physical restraint means the use of physical force to prevent, restrict or subdue movement of a student’s body or part of their body. Students are not free to move away when they are being physically restrained.  Physical restraint should only be used when it is immediately required to protect the safety of the student or any other person. In some limited circumstances, it may also be necessary to restrain a student from imminent dangerous behaviours by secluding them in an area where such action is immediately required to protect the safety of the student or any other person.

The use of restraint should only ever used as a ‘last resort’ intervention when all other techniques have failed or the situation is immediate and dangerous and is necessary to keep everyone safe.

Situations that may require physical intervention include:

  • students threatening other students or staff
  • students putting their own safety at risk
  • fights between students
  • students attempting to leave the school premises without authorisation and in circumstances that put their safety at risk
  • students attempting to leave the premises in a heightened state of anxiety, where they may be unable to recognise risks to their safety.

There needs to be a ‘age appropriate’ consideration to be applied.  Fights between late secondary age students may pose a very real danger for the teacher.  Every attempt should be made to defuse the altercation without direct physical intervention but the only course of action is to make sure other students are safe. 

Restraint should not be used as a routine behaviour management technique, to punish or discipline a student or to respond to:

  • a student’s refusal to comply with a direction, unless that refusal to comply creates an imminent risk to the safety of the student or another person
  • a student leaving the classroom/school without permission, unless that conduct causes an imminent risk to the safety of the student or another person
  • verbal threats of harm from a student, except where there is a reasonable belief that the threat will be immediately enacted
  • property destruction caused by the student unless that destruction is placing any person at immediate risk of harm

Types of physical restraint which must not be used include:

  • any restraint which covers the student's mouth or nose, and in any way restricts breathing
  • the application of pressure to a student's neck, chest, abdomen, joints or pressure points to cause pain or which involves the hyperextension of joints
  • holding a student's head forward, headlocks, choke holds
  • take-downs which allow students to free-fall to the ground whether or not in a prone or supine position or otherwise
  • wrestling holds (including 'full or half nelsons'), using a hog-tied position or straddling any part of a student's body
  • basket holds, bear hugs, 'therapeutic holding'

When applying physical restraint in the limited circumstances set out above, staff must:

  • use the minimum force required to avoid the dangerous behaviour or risk of harm
  • only restrain the student for the minimum duration required and stop restraining the student once the danger has passed
  • The decision about whether to use physical restraint or seclusion rests with the professional judgment of the staff member/s involved, who will need to take-into-account both their duty of care to their students, their right to protect themselves from harm and obligations under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006.  

Staff should ensure the type of restraint used is consistent with a student’s individual needs and circumstances, including:

  • the age/size of the student
  • gender of the student
  • any impairment of the student e.g. physical, intellectual, neurological, behavioural, sensory (visual or hearing), or communication
  • any mental or psychological conditions of the student, including any experience of trauma
  • any other medical conditions of the student
  • the likely response of the student
  • the environment in which the restraint is taking place

At all times the staff should monitor the student for any indicators or distress. Staff should talk to the student throughout the incident, making it clear to the student why the physical restraint is being applied.  Staff should also calmly explain that the physical restraint will stop once it is no longer necessary to protect the student and/or others. 

The staff member(s) involved in the incident must immediately notify the principal of the incident.

A written record of the incident should be kept and should include:

  • the name of the student/s and staff member/s involved
  • date, time and location of the incident
  • names of witnesses (staff and other students)
  • what exactly happened, for example, a brief factual account
  • any action taken to de-escalate the situation
  • why physical intervention was used (if applicable)
  • the nature of any physical intervention used
  • how long the physical intervention lasted
  • names of witnesses (staff and other students)
  •  the student’s response and the outcome of the incident
  • any injuries or damage to property
  • immediate post incident actions, such as first aid or contact with emergency services
  • details of contact with the student’s parent/carer
  • details of any post-incident support provided or organised.

Staff Training

  • Schools need to take their own decisions about staff training. The headteacher should consider whether members of staff require any additional training to enable them to carry out their responsibilities and should consider the needs of the pupils when doing so.
  • Some local authorities provide advice and guidance to help schools to develop an appropriate training program.

Much of the content of this Newsletter has been taken from school systems across the western world in order to provide a common-sense approach to physical touching particularly restraint.  However, it is important that that all schools know the formal policies of the Departments who employ them.  These guidelines define the limits of the intervention and the responsibilities all members of the organisation.

Posted by: AT 08:07 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, November 09 2020

 

Designing a Correction Plan

In the previous Newsletter (3rd November 2020) we discussed the need to teach in a calm environment.  There are four fundamental components in our model of a Learning Environment and these are pedagogy, structure, expectations and of course, relationships.  These have been discussed extensively in previous Newsletters and underpin all our work. 

 

The critical component for the child is the expectations presumed for the lesson and the assumed behaviour the teacher expects.  The expectation covers all aspects required including explicit demands of the child, the contents of the lesson, the equipment, time considerations and the like.  These are the ‘learning instructions’ if you like.  They also cover those implicit expectations, the social interactions in the classroom.  As pointed out last week, this is where teachers can spend their time managing rather than teaching.

 

There are two ways to address any situation that is not meeting the expectations of the lesson and these are acknowledging when the child is meeting the objectives set or correcting their behaviour when they are not. 

 

Imbalances

It is probably impossible to maintain a balance between expectations, acknowledging and correcting strategies all of the time; it is a moving point.  However, when there is a prolonged imbalance between expectations, acknowledgement and correction and one begins to dominate your management style you lose your effectiveness.  The following are three typical imbalances which increase the likelihood of teachers spending too much time managing and too little time teaching.

 

Unclear Expectations

This is when the teacher gives inadequate information about his or her expectations (as indicated by the broken line around the triangle). This is problematic because students will be unsure about the limits and boundaries of the classroom and what tasks they need to be doing.

 

 

 

Too Much Acknowledgement

This is problematic because students are not being corrected appropriately.  This is often the result of teachers trying to manage through friendliness.  They believe “If I am nice to the students they will like me and behave themselves”.  This imbalance may also arise when the teacher lacks assertiveness.

 

Too Much Correction

Students become resentful and continue to act inappropriately due to a lack of acknowledgement and encouragement. In this imbalance a teacher may not intend to be negative, but has developed the habit of only attending to inappropriate behaviour. In most cases where a whole class behaves inappropriately, this is the evident imbalance.

This imbalance creates problems because the teacher provides corrective feedback when students are disrupting, but fails to acknowledge students when they are on-task.  Overcorrection is typical in such cases.

This can trigger a “disruption, correction and resentment” cycle that has the potential to seriously damage working relationships between teacher and students.

This is arguably the most common and, therefore, the most problematic of the behaviour management imbalances.

In this model the amount of acknowledgement is critical.  Using praise is hazardous unless it is used appropriately, that is strategically (see Newsletter ‘The Danger of Praise’ 12th August 2018).  

 

On the other hand, the language of correction is not easy, students who have a history of abuse are hypersensitive to criticism and pointing out their faults reinforces their lack of self-worth.   This occurs when:

  • Correction is not given at the appropriate time – the closer you provide feedback for any behaviour the more effective it becomes  
  • Correction is given with emotional engagement – this personalises the feedback; it should always be just about the behaviour
  • Corrective responses are often unconsidered reflex reactions
  • Over correction is harsher than necessary – it personally confronts the child
  • It is delivered in a sarcastic manner

 

Final Tips

  1. Consider the following tactics when providing feedback to the students:
    Less is more – even if the class is really out of control don’t try to correct everything at once.  Pick out one or two problems that you need to or can correct quickly and when you have achieved this move on to the next problem.
  2. The certainty that you follow through has more impact than the severity of the corrective response.
  3. If possible, correct the child in private, that allows him/her to maintain their dignity.
  4. Displays of your adult power will only be effective in the short term.  Eventually they will challenge your authority and if your practice is not underpinned by an acknowledged management plan your will have nowhere to go.
  5. Taking the moral ‘high-ground’ might make you feel good but this is not a competition, you don’t need to be ‘better than’ a child who has a history of abuse or neglect.  Remember, you are their teacher and you need to create a professional relationship with the child.
  6. Some teachers get some self-satisfaction from correcting others, this is a covert form of the previous point.  The kids will soon get sick of this and disengage from the lesson resulting in disruptive behaviour.

 

Over time, effective classroom management that promotes cooperation will initially increase rate of acknowledgement with a corresponding decrease in the correction rate.  This reflects an imbalance but under these conditions there is no need to find little things to correct to regain balance.  In optimal conditions the students embrace their learning and the need to acknowledge is dissipated so balance is maintained with very little management.

Posted by: AT 11:24 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, November 02 2020

Creating a Calm Environment

Applying the Techniques of Classroom Management to Teaching

The philosophy of our work is underpinned by the understanding of the neurological processes that drive the brain’s activity and that is to maintain a condition of homeostatic equilibrium a sense of calmness where the physical, social and intellectual needs are being satisfied – they are calm.  Children will prioritise their need to be physically and socially contented first as failure to do so presents a threat to their survival.  This means that to access the child’s cognitive, intellectual thoughts requires the satiation of those lower-order needs leaving the non-life-threatening drive to solve the problem of what is puzzling them; classroom motivation.

 

In the classroom it is predominantly social threats that will distract the student and these will be in the form of some sort of attack on the child’s security, either a threat to their safety or their being excluded from the group.  Social distraction is manifested in the form of overt or covert dysfunctional behaviour. 

 

A central competence teachers must possess is the management of these social threats, that is managing the behaviour in the classroom.  If this is not achieved then the effectiveness of any lesson presentation is seriously compromised.  This emphasis on classroom management is of critical importance in delivering lessons but is not afforded the significance it demands in teacher training.

 

Appropriate Teaching Responses to Managing Behaviour in the Classroom:

  • Understand the importance of a predictable, stable learning environment
  • Understand the effects of emotions;
  • Understand dysfunctional behaviour and emotions learned in early childhood will emerge in stressful situations
  • Understand students need to operate in a state of calm to learn; and
  • Being able to identify and respond to dysfunctional behaviours and emotions

 

The contents of this Newsletter are applied to all students and provides a ‘democratic’ template for the whole class however, they are of most use for those students who have suffered abuse and/or neglect who provide the highest demand for this management.  The key components for any effective learning environment are:

  1. The curriculum and the pedagogy of the lesson – the content of the lesson and how it is delivered
  2. Structure – this is the rules of the classroom, the establishment between actions and consequences, that is if a student does ‘X’ they will get the same consequence for their action as everyone else
  3. Expectations – this is the definition of just what is expected, the detailed description of the action
  4. Relationships – this is the establishment of supportive, professional boundaries between the student and the teacher.  This is managed by the teacher for the benefit of the student.  This paper does not directly refer to the formation of relationships but the behaviours described underpin their effectiveness.

 

Teachers only have a finite time with their class and the time spent dealing with students’ behaviours takes away from that available for teaching.  This explains why two of the top inhibitors to effective learning (according to Hattie) is the absence of disruptive students and the classroom environment, that is there is a minimal amount of time distracted from learning!  This time budget is illustrated below (This is taken from the work of Christine Richmond).

 

In very difficult classrooms a teacher may have to spend most of their time managing behaviour, they are minding the class while on the right most of their conversation is about teaching the lesson.  It’s not difficult to see why disruptive behaviour is such a drain of student learning.

 

The key to developing a calm environment is illustrated in the diagram below:

It is a mistake to assume the student knows what you expect

It’s a mistake to assume students know what you expect from them either from their learning or their behaviour.  You have to clearly identify what you want to see before you can correct them.  The first step is to establish your expectation through direct instruction; they must know what you are after.

When you have done that you must check to see if they understand what you mean.  Look about for behaviours that confirm they have got the message, they are on-task.  If they have, provide feedback to them through verbal or non-verbal acknowledgement.  If they are off-task focus on these students reinforcing your expectation.  If they continue to fail to follow your instructions you should implement your behaviour management plan.  The sequence goes like this:

If you inherit a difficult class then your first task is to get them on-task.  This means as a professional teacher you must deal with the behaviour problems, this is sometimes very difficult but it must be done if you want to teach them.  Remember, their dysfunctional behaviour has been learned, it is not their fault.  Changing how they conduct themselves might be the best lesson they have ever received and you can be proud you made that difference.

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Monday, September 07 2020

Dealing with the 'Exploding Kid'

At the core of our work is the idea that stress is the determining feature of behaviour.  In previous essays we have explained that when our homeostatic equilibrium, our sense of calm and security is threatened we become stressed and then we act to deal with that stress; we choose our actions from the memories of what worked before.  However, there are situations that are so threatening the stress overwhelms the usual process and we lose control of our behaviour.

 

The following diagram illustrates the changes in which we use our brain to deal with increasing levels of stress.

 

This complex diagram outlines the process of the brain ‘gating down’ the rational thought process as stress levels rise.  When we are calm we can access the neo and sub cortex and we can make considered decisions, this is the part of the brain we want in our classrooms.  But, as we become more aroused our decisions are more ‘emotional’ and their rationality deteriorates until we just respond in a reflexive manner.

 

There is a gender difference that develops as the stress levels rise, although this difference is not exclusive; males externalise their distress and while females internalise their disturbance.  It would be easy to explain this difference citing the cultural environment in which children have traditionally been raised and I believe this is a contributing factor.  However, an alternate explanation has been offered.  In the early stages of human evolution, the time when humanoids organised into groups to increase their chances of survival and reproduction a primary threat to safety was a deadly clash with another tribe.

 

The result of such clashes was the killing of the adult males and the capture of females and children, this practise was still present in the war in Kosovo in 1998-99; at this time Serbia forces executed many Albanian men while seizing the woman and children.  In these circumstances the best chance of survival for men is to fight or flee, outward actions while for woman and children it is to comply.  Another characteristic that supports this reasoning is that, if you examine the suspension rates of children, an indicator of acting-out dysfunctional behaviour the rates that boys are suspended jumps dramatically when they pass into puberty, that is they adopt adult male behaviours.

 

To return to the theme of this essay, when you are confronting a child that is out of control you have to understand they are incapable of engaging in any rational thought so, it is pointless talking to them.  However, they are very able to hurt themselves or others so you have to intervene.

 

Most importantly you have to have a pre-arranged plan of what to do when this situation inevitably arises.  This plan’s foremost purpose is to protect the welfare and safety of all involved.  This is why structure is so important – there is no doubt that you will be unable to remain calm in such a threatening situation that is, you will lose a significant capacity for rational thought yourself and so, having a structured set of steps you have to follow, that have been prepared in calm conditions will make sure you take the right steps.

 

The use of boundaries will help handle the crisis.  Understand you will be threatened and make sure you keep your boundaries intact, this will help you stay in charge of the situations (see Boundary Considerations - 22nd October 2018 and Respecting Other’s Boundaries – 26th November 2018).  You can effectively harness the power of boundaries by moving close enough to the child in question so you get their attention but not close enough to threaten them.

 

Now you have their attention don’t attempt to reason with them, there is no point but, in a firm, low voice, give them a short, clear instruction.  When you have done this disengage from them don’t give them the opportunity to engage you.  The thing is in most cases the child will accept a direction that gives them a way out of their predicament.  At some level your authority will still have some influence.

 

This approach will not work in all cases, some children who have had a traumatic childhood will not be able to take advantage of your proposal.  When facing an ongoing crisis, it is the teacher’s responsibility to:

  1. Protect themselves – if something happens to them and they are unable to continue to function they are of no use.
  2. Protect all other students and staff - it is often a good move to take all others out of the classroom or near vicinity for their safety and to remove the perceived threat the student might experience by their presence.
  3. Protect the child as much as you can from being harmed, either physically or psychologically.
  4. Protect the property.

In extreme cases the police may need to be called.

 

When the crisis is over you will experience an amount of pent-up emotions.  It is natural to harbour aggressive, negative feelings towards the offending student and the unfairness of being placed in such a challenging situation.  You may experience resentment, anger and fear because you have been psychologically and perhaps physically assaulted.  This will pass; to facilitate your return to your equilibrium the following will help:

  • Be aware of your feelings
  • Don’t take it personally.  The child has complex problems - it’s not about you
  • Debrief – Discuss the event with an appropriate colleague
  • Write a report stating who, when, where, what happened, injuries, follow-up ASAP.  This can be quite cathartic!  Date and sign it
  • Revisit your crisis plan with a support person and make any necessary adjustments
  • Look after yourself at home too - exercise, relaxation, music etc.

 

Dealing with children is not easy and it takes a special teacher who can turn-up day after day to work in such a volatile environment.  It is important that you understand how to do this.  Following News Letters will expand your knowledge in dealing with these explosive students.

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Monday, August 03 2020

Routine - Support for Student Expectations

The most significant advantage humans have over other forms of life is our ability to predict what will happen given a certain set of circumstances.  So you can see predictability underpins expectations.  When we recognise a set of conditions that led to us having a great time we get excited anticipating another positive experience.  Conversely another set of conditions may provide us with a warning – we are not going to ‘enjoy’ what we expect next.

When a student enters a room they will be confronted with a set of features that they will interpret and then imagine what to expect.  This connection drives the emotional content of their minds and good teachers know how they feel about what you provide is directly related to how they will engage in your lesson.  If they expect to be bored they will be set up for boredom there will be no stress that calls for the child’s brain to attend – there is nothing worthwhile here.  If they are afraid they will be primed for protection against your lesson and the stress levels will be elevated to a level that excludes cognitive thinking – nothing can be learned effectively.

The successful teachers want what I call a ‘Goldilocks’ brain one that’s not too hot – over stressed and not too cold – under stressed but one stressed just right!  The way they will behave in a lesson is quite literally shaped by the way they feel.

Most significantly, both the student and the teacher’s expectation of a lesson depend on the experience of the previous lesson.  So it is important that the teacher understands that how they present their lessons sets the expectations of the students now and in the future.  We can’t expect the students to come into class just feeling good about your subject just because you like it but we can build up experiences of past ‘feel good’ moments that the kids will bring into the next lesson.  It’s like banking, the more you put into building an expectation account the more interest you will get and that’s compound interest. 

You have to remember that so much of their expectation is stored in the emotional area of the brain and this is why the relationship between teacher and student is the most significant factor in teachers being able to engage their students.  This is particularly true for those ‘difficult students who have a history of failure.  The successful teacher will develop a relationship with students and with the teacher’s support slowly change the student’s expectation about your lessons and their ability to learn.

Students with behavioural problems provide the greatest challenge to the teacher’s ability to engage them in learning.  It is important to understand these students will minimize or misinterpret any positive stimuli.  They either think they are not worthy or don’t trust the teacher’s motives. They are also hypersensitive to negative social cues and they are hyper-vigilant about potential threats. They also fail to understand or read non-verbal cues they don’t easily get what is presented to them and they are highly likely to be overwhelmed by the emotional content of any negative, incoming stimulus.  All this history of failure means that to create expectations for success in children who have only experienced failure requires patience and quiet determination.

So what do we need to do?  The following points will help:

  • Students decide how important the lesson is from how professional the teacher presents themselves. You need to look like a teacher – have your ‘teacher’s uniform on’, look like you love your work and most of all look like you are happy in their company.
  • Students register the importance of the lesson by the interest the teacher displays.  How could we expect the students to be enthusiastic about maths if the teacher is blasé about solving simultaneous equations?  Emotions are contagious and so is curiosity!
  • Messages about the effectiveness of the lesson come from the state of the room and the presentation of the lesson content. The recent discovery of Mirror Neurons (the subject of an essay on the Web Page) highlighted the importance of this point.  A neuroscientist Iacoboni had volunteers watch films of people reaching for various objects in a tea time setting (teapot, cup, jug, plate of pastries, napkins) in different contexts.  In every instance when the subjects saw the person in the scene reach for a cup, a basic set of ‘reaching’ neurons fired in the subjects.  But different additional sets of mirror neurons would fire depending on what expected action was suggested by the setting.  In one case the setting was neat and orderly as if the meal was about to be enjoyed.   The player was about to drink some tea and one form of additional neurons fired.  The other setting was cluttered as if the meal had been finished and the cup was ready to be cleaned up and there was a different set of neurons activated.  The brain knew what was coming next!  If the student comes into a room that is organised for learning their learning neurons will light up.  If the room is untidy and dirty another set will fire.

There is a popular view amongst some educators that we need to get emotions out of the way so we can teach the kids but good teachers know that emotions are not add-ons that interfere with cognition. They are a fundamental element of why thinking and learning happens and emotions fire expectations.  Through the child’s experience they learn to ‘know something’ that is about to happen so let’s make that quality learning!

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Monday, June 29 2020

Pedagogy

At the beginning of these last three essays I promised to discuss the significance of the way we conduct our classroom to ensure we could get the best learning outcomes.  We have discussed structure and expectation and now I will address what I described as ‘lesson content’ which I often refer to as the pedagogy of the lesson.  I have to make a clear distinction between what I mean as the pedagogy and what is generally accepted in the education community.

 

The common belief is that pedagogy is the study of how knowledge and skills are communicated between the teacher and the student.  This is a huge area of study and is well covered and understood in any teaching course and rightly so; it is extremely important.  The difference between what is understood and what I want to add to the discussion is that like most theoretical approaches the approach is top-down, that is it is up to the teacher to put the knowledge and skills ‘into the student’.  I will argue that it is the teacher’s role to present the topic to be studied so it is available to the student which would literally be exactly the same process but it is also the responsibility of the teacher to produce an environment where that student can focus on the lesson.

 

Learning, be it knowledge or skills is the acquisition of memories and the ability to manipulate those memories to address presenting challenges.  Learning is not a top-down process it is bottom-up under the ‘control’ of the student.  The key consideration is what does the student want to or need to learn rather than what we want them to learn!

 

In a previous Newsletter (see Motivation Students – What Drives Them’ – 03/14/2019) I discuss my model of human needs and the following are the major points:

  • The principle of homeostasis states that when we are in equilibrium we are satisfied.  When we are in homeostatic dis-equilibrium we will experiences stress and that stress will cause the brain to initiate behaviour that will return us back to balance.  Our behaviour is much like an air conditioner, when everything is at the right temperature nothing happens.  If it gets too hot, or too cold the thermostat is activated and the machine is turned on to either cool or heat the environment as required.  In our case, when we are comfortable there is no motivation to change but when we are ‘uncomfortable’ our behaviour is turned on in an attempt to return to a point of equilibrium.

 

  • The brain has evolved, from the bottom up to manage our physical status, the area of our:
    • Primary drives – predominantly controlled in the brain stem/mid brain to make sure we are physically comfortable.  If we are too cold we will seek to warm ourselves.
    • Secondary Drives - our need for emotional stability is controlled in the limbic system.  This is predominantly focused on our social acceptance.
    • Tertiary Drives – here our intellectual satisfaction is under the influence of the cortex, predominantly the frontal lobes.  This is where we satisfy our curiosity.

 

The point is the teaching goals are focused on the tertiary part of the child’s brain but access here is only achievable if the child’s social and physical needs are satisfied.  

 

Throughout these essays there is a theme that understands that children with severe behaviours are subjected to stress in the classroom because their expectations learned in a dysfunctional home clash with that of the school.  These issues have been well canvassed but there is more to consider for all kids when ensuring their primary and secondary drives are satisfied.  Kids are not little adults and they need to develop skills that will allow them to ‘survive’ in their community and eventually reproduce.  The following is an illustration from Andrew Fuller that explains the different developmental stages.

What is well known is, in the early years the brain sets itself up to learn new skills. It does this by providing an excess of the material myaline that consolidates memories by creating a sheath around newly formed neural pathways to consolidate that pathway (memory) and make it more efficient. 

 

This process of creating and consolidating memories continues throughout life.  What is particularly important for the teacher is the formation of peer relations and self-esteem critical for the development of the child’s sense of self.  For most kids this is a process that occurs consistently both at home and at school but for some, those raised in dysfunctional homes there is a conflict.  This is where the teacher is required to address this disparity. 

 

Successful teachers, particularly in primary schools, the age these skills are under construction almost reproduce a sense of family in their classrooms (see Newsletter - The Tribal Classroom’ – 08/10/2018) where social skills are part of the hidden pedagogy!  Professor Bill Mulforde of the University of Tasmania has shown that “some of those other outcomes of schooling, such as socialisation, are in fact better predictors of later life chances such as employment, salary and so on, than literacy, numeracy and exam results”. 

 

Recent studies have shown that about age eleven this same excess myelination is present in the prefrontal lobes.  This is the time our ‘teenage brain’ begins to mature.  This is the part of the brain that is required to succeed in academic pursuits.  Again, the teacher needs to deliver the content of each lesson understanding that there is a need to progressively make the coursework self-directed so they graduate as independent learners.

 

What I have not discussed and really what is never overtly recognised is the arrival of each child’s sexuality.  The PDHPE syllabus does address sexuality but apart from a period when some schools adopted the Safe Schools initiative that supported the diversity of sexual expression, those kids with more complex needs are ignored.  Like most, I have no advice about this problem other than to understand it exists and is significant for all children and be aware that solving simultaneous equations is hardly going be more interesting than a first infatuation!

 

This essay doesn’t really give ‘rules’ on what to do.  Somehow good teachers get these issues and we get through these stages of development however, for those kids who have been raised in difficult homes the teacher has to be doubly aware that their growth from learning the rules of being human, mastering communication skills and successful socialisation on to becoming a productive, reproductive adult is a difficult task!  This is why structure, expectation and of course strong relationships are indispensable.

 

 

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Monday, June 22 2020

Expectations

In the last Newsletter we discussed the importance of structure as part of this expanded examination of the characteristics of an effective classroom learning environment.  The underpinning concept that defines structure is that there is a realistic connection between actions and the consequences of that action.  This assumes there is a recognised framework in which this process operates.  This is where expectations are important; what we expect to happen depends on the customs of the environment in which the action is taken.

 

Perhaps the foundational assertion of our work in regards to children who are raised in abusive, neglectful environments is that the behaviours they learned to make the most of their opportunities to get their needs met or more likely to minimise the damage inflict upon them by their abuser.  They had learned what to expect in a given situation.  The importance of this work is to teach these children to predict what will happen in this new environment.   Of course, this is not the case for those children raised in chaotic, unpredictable families who come to our schools with no expectations at all.  For those kids who have been raised in an environment where they had no idea what would happen to them we need to provide the link between what they do and what happens next. 

 

Until the child experiences the new set of consequences their existence can only be a speculation; an imagined world if you like.  The following diagram illustrates this process.

This is the connection between what is the remembered experiences and what could be the imagined result of their actions.  In this process the emotional content is significant in any decision made and is expressed as a form of stress.  Having built up our behavioural repertoire through remembering the outcomes of previous experiences each ‘situation’ will generate a level of stress depending on how damaging was that incident.  If left unchecked when these children are faced with a situation that has the memory of a negative outcome the student descends on a negative emotional cycle that may start with frustration and if not resolved generate a level of fear about any future event with the same beliefs.  The power of these emotions excludes the child from even imagining a different outcome.  If this is attached in any way to the school, the work or interpersonal relationships they will eventually hate going to school; unable to imagine any other outcome but failure.

 

Unfortunately, we see too many of our kids, particularly when they are in upper primary of secondary completely disengaged from school.

 

The task for the teacher is to build-up an alternate bank of memories that will allow the child to choose an imagined experience as the result of their actions.  This process takes time, time older students with severely damaging behaviours do not have a lot of.  This underlines the importance of the need for predictable and consistent delivery of consequences discussed in the last Newsletter.  However, there are other ways to teach these kids the ‘rules’ of their contemporary environment.  One method which came into fashion was the teaching of social skills.  The leader in this field was Arnold Goldstein the professor of Psychology and Education at Syracuse University.  He introduced a method of social skills training in 1973 to deal with juveniles in detention.

 

He overtly taught the children in his charge how to act in a manner that would be acceptable within the cultural environment that is for us, the school. This was done through the following processes:

  • Modelling – the children are shown examples of how to behave in a given situation where previously they have failed to get what they want.  The model needs to be someone who the students respect.
  • Role-Playing – The students are given scenarios to investigate through acting out how they should behave.  This process can be threatening at first but will become a powerful tool in changing behaviour.  Remember, the brain, where memories are formed and stored after a while will form the memories from the role play as an alternative choice for the student.  The scenarios, at first are provided by the teacher, later can be from a random list or when engaged at the request of the participants.
  • Performance Feedback – This initially is provided by the facilitator but as the students engage they can all contribute.  Approval is the best type of reinforcement and as the skills become more accepted there will be an intrinsic reward that follows.  They will start to enjoy the process of rehearsal and the rewards that go with that.  The satisfaction comes when they take these new skills and use them successfully in their day to day experiences.

 

Finally, the way the teacher corrects the dysfunctional behaviour is significant.  When the student acts in an inappropriate way it is very important that the feedback is exclusively about the behaviour and nothing to do with the student.  We have all witness teachers who, through lack of training or sheer frustration make comments like:  

  • ‘What do you think you’re doing’?
  • ‘Is this your best you can do’?
  • ‘Why did you do that’?

 

These comments put the blame on the student.  Instead they should say things like:

  • How can we make this ‘…’?
  • ‘What can we do this ‘…’?
  • ‘What will it look like if ‘…’?

 By using language that projects into the future with an improved outcome the student is more likely to be able to imagine a better future.

 

Teachers who face-up every day to students with such challenging behaviours are also subjected to the challenges of expectations.  Over the many years I worked with these difficult kids I rarely, if ever was given the type of encouragement I would give to the students.  Children, the authorities identify as bad are generally placed in programs that attempt to make them invisible.  The teachers, who work with these kids experience this same insignificance.  This is not fair, I contend these teachers should get the most attention for the difficult work they do but, working with these kids any notion that life is fair is soon discarded.  Like the kids, you have to cling to the fact that these kids can take control of their actions and when they do they get the real intrinsic reward that drives their behaviour.  You also have to look for that same intrinsic behaviour when you see your students taking control of their life.  There can be no better reward!

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Monday, June 15 2020

Structure

In the last Newsletter (see ‘Nature vs Nurture’ – 8th June 2020) I made the point that to assist these children with severe behaviours we needed to create an environment that helped them develop a new set of memories that would drive an alternative way for them to deal with stressful situations.  Of the three major components, structure, expectations and lesson content, it is structure that is the most important to be delivered at the beginning of the change process.

For the sake of this essay, structure means the predictable coupling of actions and consequences, that is if I do this, that will happen!  Of course, this condition is not realistic, in the real-world if I do this there may be a lot of possible outcomes.  The example I use when discussing this with students is as follows.  Say I choose to drive home as fast as my car will go and on the other side of the road.  There are a lot of imaginable consequences.  I could:

  • Have a direct crash with an oncoming vehicle
  • Force all the approaching cars off the road
  • Be killed by losing control and hitting a tree
  • Be arrested
  • Really enjoy myself and get home early
  • Etc.

The thing is, as a mature adult I can imagine these possible outcomes and make a mature decision that is best for me – drive home safely on the right side of the road.  All the outcomes above could still happen but compared to the other decision I might make the chances of this are very low.   It is this ability to predict future outcomes that empower us to make smart decisions.

These Newsletters have as their focus assisting children who have been raised in an abusive and/or neglectful environment.  The form of abuse can vary.  In some cases, the assault on the child is always delivered the same way.  It might be dad bashing the child whenever they ‘make a mistake’.  The result is the abuse is predictable and the child learns a behaviour that best deals with dad’s abuse, this feeling of having some control is transferred to the classroom and these kids are not usually a major management difficulty.  This is not a ‘better’ form of abuse it just has different long-term outcomes for the child.  

The children that do cause the most trouble in the classroom are those raised in an abusive and unpredictable environment.  This range of possible outcomes is different than the example above.  In that case there was a sense of logic between the choice of action and what may happen.  For these kids there is no understandable connection between what they do and dad’s, or mum’s response.  The chaotic behaviour of the ‘parents’ is a result of parent addiction or mental illness.

Take the example of a young boy being in a fight with a peer and this is reported home.  One possible outcome is that dad belts the child for fighting.  The next time this happens dad praises the boy for ‘being a chip off the old block’; the next time he takes the child to make peace with his rival, etc.  What the father does depends on how the father feels and, although more sophisticated kids can take this into account they can’t in early childhood and so never develop a set of memories that would allow them to predict what might happen the next time they are faced with such a situation.

The use of structure, the close association with actions and consequences when dealing with these dysfunctional kids is to reconstruct the conditions the child should have experienced in early childhood.

New-born children have no capacity to make a choice and are dependent on others to get their needs met.  In a healthy environment this is what happens, at first completely and then the babies start on the road to control.  Initially, they may learn to cry when they are hungry, they cry and mum feeds them; crying works – the action gets the desired consequence.  As they get older this feels a little less structured but good parents and teachers of very young children still consistently control the outcomes which is the predictable environment.

As the children develop they should be encouraged to make decisions about how they should behave but never about an issue that the child does not understand the harmful outcomes of a wrong decision.  It is not ‘good parenting’ to ask the child what they would like for dinner and when they say a popular take-a-way which is repeatedly advertised, they do not understand the implications to their health now and in the long-term, so should not be making the decision of what to have for dinner.

The ‘out of control’ students that we are discussing have missed the early years of encountering predictability and so we have to create the conditions to deliver that experience.  Teachers sometimes are reluctant to introduce such a tight structure into their classroom because the majority of kids are well beyond this phase of development, they can deal with a degree of freedom to make decisions.  However, presenting such a predicable classroom will not hamper any of these advanced kids’ development; knowing what to expect makes everyone feel secure.

For those kids who are ‘out of control’ we need to reconstruct the conditions they should have experienced in early childhood.  The more we can couple the consequence to the action the quicker they develop a new set of memories and these can replace those that drive their dysfunctional behaviour.  This means in the classroom we need to develop a set of rules that describe the behaviour and what happens if you act that way.  These can be desired outcomes, positive reinforcement or just the opposite, negative consequences.  In a previous Newsletter (‘Creating Structure’ – 12th August 2019) I have described the process of constructing the type of desired environment.

 Choosing behaviour all gets back to applying memories of what happened in the past and imagining what will happen in the future.  The purpose of structure is to build a new set of memories that hopefully will eventually replace those feelings of hopelessness these children have because they never developed consistent conditions that allowed them to imagine a future.

A note to the teacher; if you are dealing with a fourteen-year-old child understand you are dealing with fourteen years of memories.  Don’t be discouraged if they don’t immediately change, this takes time and when they are really threatened they will have no choice but to revert to their dysfunctional behaviour.  But, if you hang in long enough they will eventually understand the link between what they do and what happens to them and if you do this for them you are setting them off to a life with some sense of empowerment.

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Monday, March 09 2020

Conversations

In the previous Newsletter (see ‘The Importance of Emotions’ 3rd March 2020) we discussed not only the importance of the emotional condition of the student in the lesson but also the difficulty the teacher has in determining that state.  To avoid misinterpreting how the child is feeling and the problems that can cause, we turned to conversation to clarify the real emotional situation.  However, like all things about educating those difficult, damaged students it in very likely these kids struggle to make meaningful conversations.

It was first acknowledged as early as 1995 that children from low socioeconomic areas were behind in their language skills.  Claudia Wallis in her article ‘Talking with—Not Just to—Kids Powers How They Learn Language’ (Scientific American Mind May/June 2019) points out that these kids are likely to hear 30 million less words than their peers from wealthier groups.  This figure is an average, of course there are wealthy families that don’t talk that much and the converse is true but it holds as an average.

I have no problem hypothesising that children from abusive and particularly neglectful families will have an even greater disparity.  The well documented effect abuse and neglect has on over all brain development will exacerbate this problem.

John Gabriel of the Massachusetts’s Institute of Technology has confirmed the early hypothesis but has realised that it is not just the number of words they hear, the quantity but the way in which they hear them, the context.  That is, it is hearing the words in conversation that is the factor and the better the quality of that conversation the better the development of the child’s conversational skills.  In fact, it has been calculated that every additional conversation increases the child’s verbal ability.

In a future Newsletter I will discuss the importance of self-talk in self-managing behaviour.  It is widely accepted that we think in word, that is we talk to ourselves about the situation we experience.  Of course, it is not that simple we experience emotions, especially things that frighten us without a dialogue.  One view is that the words follow the feelings another view is the two are linked and, as we will explore, self-talk can influence emotions.  Either way, kids with traumatic backgrounds are disadvantaged.  First, they will have a limited vocabulary which will restrict the breath of their thinking, therefore their behavioural options. Secondly, the emotions they mainly experience will be of anxiety and fear.  Therefore, we should do everything we can do to increase their conversational skills.  After all self-talk is a conversation with someone who should be your best friend – yourself and so the richer we can make this the better will be our relationship with ourselves, our sense of self!!

We need to be a bit more specific when describing conversation, it needs to be a real exchange, not the teacher ‘talking’ to the student but what is described as conversational twinning or duets.  This back-and-forward exchange means the student has to understand what the conversation is about, that is really comprehend what was said and then respond appropriately.  For abused kids this is definitely not likely to be an easy task.  They rarely participate in family conversations and are less likely to be expected to have an opinion.  So, how do we develop this critical skill, for these kids in a busy classroom?

There is a wealth of excellent information on teaching conversation available on the web and teachers, especially in primary school are well trained in this practice, so the following comments, although appropriate for all students are really aimed at our special kids.

If you work in a school that has some of these students, and that most likely means all of you reading this, it is important to create a planned part of your day that provides an opportunity to develop conversation.  This can be group discussions, circle activities where you create a continuous conversation one sentence per person around the circle or one on one conversations about topics you introduce.  You can design spaces, say in a library that encourage children to talk together or ask open ended questions that challenge children to go deeper as they express ideas.

Be aware of the character of your students, some will love to dominate any conversation, they love the sound of their own voice.  These kids can severely intimidate kids who lack the confidence to join in, they are afraid of being exposed.  Don’t force the issue, if you push them to participate their anxiety will increase and the conversation will be lost.  Of course, some kids are generally quiet and are happy to listen.

There are plenty of strategies, things like working in pairs, having circle discussion moving around with each child contributing to build a conversation, this encourages them to listen.  As pointed out above a conversation requires the participant to understand what was said before constructing a suitable reply.  Dominant members of the circle are prone to just wait for the other to stop talking so they can have their say.  Teachers should be aware of this, in the unequal authority between teacher and student it is easy for the teacher to ‘know what should be done’!  This is disastrous but I know I am often guilty of this very thing.  If you have to, teach listening skills!

The next thing is to decide on what topics to teach.  This is up to the imagination and creativity of the teacher, there is no real limit.  But, it is not always easy to get the right topic at the right time.  You can have the same amount of success if you have a ‘Topics Jar’ which is full of issues that will start conversations.  You can just pick one out and have that as the topic of the day!

However, with our focus on helping those students with severe behaviours it is advantageous to discuss topics that will help them come to terms with their circumstances and discover new ways to approach their schooling.  A couple of suggestions are:

  • Gratitude
    • What are some of the things you feel grateful for today?
    • What do you have but don’t need but are happy you have?
    • What are some things you have that are easy to complain about but are glad you have for rainy days?
    • What do you get to do that other children can’t do?
  • Empathy
    • Did you have a chance to be kind today?
    • How do you think other people feel when you are kind to them?
    • Who gets teased at school and why?
    • How do you think the kids doing the teasing feel about themselves?
    • Does anyone ever try to stop teasing?
    • If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
  • Mental Health
    • What feeling is the most uncomfortable – embarrassment – anger – fear – or something else?
    • What are some things you could tell yourself when your brain tells you things that are too negative to be true?
    • How will you face your fears?

Helping kids whose behaviour is driven from a history of abuse and/or neglect is a principled profession but it comes with an extremely challenging responsibility.  However, at the heart of all their behaviours is an emotion that drives their behaviour.  Helping them comprehend what is going on for them in the presenting environment requires them to think and they need the words to make that process meaningful.  By improving their ability to have a productive dialogue with others strengthens their ability to talk to themselves!

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Monday, November 25 2019

The Social Teacher

This is the third in this series of Newsletters on the needs and drives of students and how this relates to their learning.  By now you should be conscious of the destructive power of rejection which is particularly potent for developing children.  This is when they are forming their sense of self.

Your acceptance is also critical when it comes to learning new work.  We all find it stressful when we are confronted with problems for which we have no answer.  Kids find this as well, especially those who have no self-confidence.  When they will feel supported they are more likely to approach that new work.

 

The illustration above shows the connection.  If there is no relationship between the teacher and the student the student must face the lesson alone with only their existing memories to help them.  As this is a stressful situation the child is doubly disadvantaged because the increased emotional arousal makes cognitive thinking all the more difficult.  This is a dysfunctional situation.

However, if the teacher and the student have a supportive relationship then the student goes to the new work supported and importantly feeling protected and safe.  These are the conditions for future learning.

For children with a healthy sense of self, this connection is important especially in the early years.  If you have children, you probably got sick of hearing just how much Ms Smith knows more than you.  Infants need to have that strong bond.

 

As they mature and develop their own sense of self the relationship becomes progressively less important and by the time they reach their senior years and into tertiary studies the teacher’s ability to facilitate the information to be learnt is more important than the relationship. The graphic above illustrates this point.

In the primary school the relationship needs to be strong as indicated by the line between the teacher and student.  In secondary the relationship becomes a little less important and the need to connect socially with their peers becomes more important (see Newsletters Tribal Teacher, 29 July 2019 and Tribal Classroom, 1 August 2018).  The teacher needs to expand the feeling of connectedness beyond being more directly involved with the student.  By the time students reach their senior secondary years and into their post school learning even this relational situation becomes less important.  They are more focused on the establishment of intimate relationship and in most cases, if the go to university they may well be in a class on over 100 students and never talk to their teachers, in fact I believe most don’t even attend and watch an online versions of the lecture.

However, for those children who have been raised to develop a toxic sense of their ‘self’ the strength of the relationship remains essential throughout their schooling.

Almost without exception, when you ask any of your friends they will have had at least one teacher that they really connected with, that inspired them.  Conversely, if you think about your own schooling there will be teachers who made no connection and even made you loath their lessons.  For me, it was Smithy (real name) who inspired me and an un-mentionable maths teacher who is at the heart of my fear of mathematics!   

You have to understand that every day you can be either of those teachers depending on how you relate to them.  If you are reading this, I’m pretty sure I know what type you are but it is worth reminding ourselves that this is a profession and you are obliged to build a positive relationship with all your students particularly those whose behaviour towards you initiates a natural repugnance.  These are the children, and by now we know why they behave that way that need you to accept them.  Ironically, although they are hard to like, they remain suspicious of any attempt they perceive to be kindness, if you hang in with a genuine effort they are the ones who crave attention the most and the ones who thrive when someone believes in them.

You need to be that teacher who, to paraphrase Barack Obama has got the heart, the empathy, to recognise what it’s like to be a young teenage mum, have been traumatised in early childhood, to have seen parents fight, part or die.  You will have all these kids and more in your class and you have the most precious gift, you can be that teacher who allows them to move into a healthy life.  What a privilege.

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Monday, October 14 2019

 

These Newsletters concentrate on the lessons from neuroscience for describing student’s dysfunctional behaviour.  However, there is value in re-visiting some of the old models that pioneered analysis of behaviour.  This essay focuses on the work of Rudolf Dreikurs, the Austrian psychiatrist who worked in the United States.  He followed the models developed by Alfred Addler who believed that the development of personality was underpinned by of the feeling of inferiority in relation to others.  Dreikurs claimed that every child’s action was grounded in the idea that they were seeking their place in the group.  Success in belonging developed well-adjusted children however, the experience of rejection could cultivate faulty behaviours that could drive the ‘others’ further away.

When the application of this approach is focused on the classroom the key to dealing with these behaviours is to re-establish the connection with the students.  This is the work of the teacher who, in Dreikurs’ theory will be successful if they understand how each child acts to get the attention they desire. 

He describes four categories, attention seeking, power, revenge and inadequacy or withdrawal.  There have been some interpretations of this work that suggest the student goes from attention seeking through to power to demand attention and if all these fail they withdraw.  This may be the case, they may be discrete behaviours or, as I would contend all behaviour is unique and the model ‘chunks’ behaviours for convenience.  Whatever the situation the model does provide a fresh insight that will increase each teacher’s arsenals of techniques to deal with misbehaviour.

As stated above, the underpinning concept for the model is the drive is the need to get recognition from the teacher within the group.  Their behaviour is the response/reaction to the success of their actions; rejection produces an intensification of their actions.  This increase in the effort to get attention would explain the escalation from attention seeking to power.  

The Model

Attention Seeking – acting to draw attention to themselves

  • Behaviours – Behaving in an annoying manner to get attention.  Things like tapping their fingers, swinging on their chairs, late for class and a host of other creative behaviours.
  • Effect on Teacher – They will certainly ‘get your attention’ but for all the wrong reasons.  You will become irritated and annoyed and the intensity can challenge your confidence.  Your impulse will be to fulfil their wish and ‘give them attention’.  You can find yourself yelling, nagging. Pleading or even doing things for them. 
  • Child’s Response – They may stop the inappropriate behaviour for a while and go back to it when you think you have ‘won’ or they might find substitute behaviour to continue the attack.
  • Strategy – You may ignore the behaviour if it is not too intense but this rarely works for a real attention seeker.  You can use low level interventions like standing in close proximity, use non-verbal cues or a single direct instruction however, eventually use the structure you have initiated in the class (see Newsletter – Creating Structure 12th August 2019).  The secret is to give them attention for appropriate behaviour – catch them doing the ‘right thing’.

Power – They demand your attention by behaving in a manner that challenges you to ignore them. 

  • Behaviours – They become non-compliant, provocative and defiant.  They happily engage you in an argument or threaten you with their non-verbal communication.  They may throw things around the room or attack other students.
  • Effect on Teacher – You will feel threatened, challenged and be tempted to engage them in a power struggle, after all you are the teacher.  You will be thinking things like ‘you can’t get away with that’ or ‘I’ll make you comply’.  Inexperienced or unassertive teachers may feel inadequate in dealing with these kids and kick them out of class. 
  • Child’s Response – If you do challenge them they may intensify their behaviour they may enjoy the realisation they have got your attention.  Even if they do comply, this is more likely for younger students, they will remain defiant often using passive aggressive behaviours to continue the ‘struggle’. 
  • Strategy – Refuse to get trapped into any power struggle, acknowledge at least to yourself that you can’t make anyone do anything, you can just provide the consequences for the decision they will make.  So, have your structured consequences and deliver them in a calm manner.  However, you need to complement this approach with an effort to build a relationship.  After they have calmed down you can, privately ask them what they want from you.  Suggest a time and place to do this and give them the respect of listening carefully to what they have to say.  Work out a plan with the student and follow through with that plan.

Revenge – These kids have moved beyond expecting attention, their motivation is to punish those who ignore them.  Even though they want to ‘hurt’ others their actions are a really a sense of projecting their pain onto something else.  I suspect this is the cause of a lot of apparent senseless vandalism.

  • Behaviours – They are sullen, vicious towards others and will use violence.  They scratch cars and destroy the property of others without a sense of guilt.  The target is often the school occasionally resulting the fires.  They don’t care that no one knows who was responsible just that someone got hurt!
  • Effect on Teacher – They feel deeply hurt and outraged.  The revengeful actions leave the staff disgusted and, if they know who was responsible a deep dislike is developed; how could they do this to us?  The teachers naturally want to retaliate, get even!
  • Child’s Response – They will either escalate their behaviour or choose another ‘weapon’.  They continue damage property to hurt others.
  • Strategy – If you know who it is, the key is to hang in with them longer than they expect.  Somehow show them that they are worth your efforts.  Sometimes you don’t know who it is but this underlines the importance of having this tenacity for every child.  Never retaliate but deliver the consequences without showing your own feelings.  This is the time to remember all kids are worth the effort.  If appropriate acknowledge that they are hurting.

Inadequacy or Withdrawal – At this stage they have given-up trying to get attention.  However, they have not ‘given-up’ the need for attention.  They still want to be accepted so don’t give up on them.

  • Behaviours – They appear not to care about their work or what happens to them.  Punishment is never a productive response especially for these kids (see Newsletters ‘Consequences’ 36th March 2018 and ‘Consequences Neither Punishment nor Reward’ 4th April 2018).  Older students truant a lot even staying away from school completely.
  • Effect on Teacher – You feel inadequate because you can’t seem to reach them.  You may even start to agree with them almost confirming they are hopeless.  There is the temptation to ‘over-help’ them even doing the work for them.  Or, you come to expect they will do nothing and leave them to waste away. 
  • Child’s Response – Its hard to see any escalation in their behaviour.  They continue to withdraw or at best pretend to ‘have a go’.
  • Strategy – Never give up on these kids, don’t criticise, don’t pity them.  They are a real challenge but can be retrieved.  Try to find some interest, some strength they may have and exploit this as a way into their world.  Set tasks around this ‘interest’ and break the work down into manageable, errorless tasks and celebrate any milestone you can achieve.  Encourage, encourage, encourage!

Dreikurs’ model provides an alternate way to observe behaviour however, following these Newsletters and other resources we provide, you will conclude that every behaviour is unique, driven by distinctive needs and developmental histories.  The strategic advice given above, complies with all our advice and that can be expressed as:

  • Expected standards
  • Predictable and consistent structure

The key is to have effective, positive relations will all your students even those that challenge you every day.  They are worth it!

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Monday, August 12 2019

Creating Structure

There will be times in your teaching career where you will have to deal with an extremely disruptive class.  The students may have such a low sense of respect for the school, for you and unfortunately, for themselves they don’t worry about the impact their behaviour is having.  The question for the teacher is ‘where to start’?  There are so many inappropriate behaviours it appears to be overwhelming.  Too often we just start to ‘fix everything’ and that becomes impossible so this Newsletter will provide a structured approach to taming this class.

The illustration below shows a range of problems faced in the class.  Instead of trying to deal with all of them, choosing one concentrates the teacher’s efforts.   This doesn’t mean you accept the other behaviours, you do what you have been doing but by making a real, extra effort on one you can make a difference.

 

 Now you have chosen the issue you want to address take the following steps to solve this problem.  You do this by creating classroom rules.  Before we start just a reminder that it is most effective if you include the class in this process but if they are not willing to engage you can implement this by yourself or if you can with colleagues.  The process follows these steps:

1. Identify the Real Problem

Because you think ‘it’s annoying’ is not a reason you will get support  from the class.  You have to identify what really is the problem with talking and you need to acknowledge there are times you want your student to talk but at the right time for the right reason.  Remember this is ‘inappropriate talking’ that we are concerned with.  The class will soon identify, with your help plenty of reasons this is hurting their learning.  These include things like ‘no one else can hear the teacher’, ‘it’s rude to talk when others are trying to listen’, ‘it interrupts others who are trying to concentrate’ etc.  Eventually you will get to the real problem hopefully that the class agrees with or at least they are told why inappropriate talking hurts their learning. 

The final purpose might be as follows:

  • Talking when someone else is, stops that person being heard and stops learning. Talking too loud distracts others from learning both here and in other classes

Then write this down as the problem we are going to solve, put it on display - Inappropriate Talking Stops Learning.

2. Brainstorm Possible Solutions

Once you have identified the problem get the class, including yourself to brainstorm possible consequences.  Stick to brainstorming ‘rules’ that is don’t discuss them as they are suggested just get them down.  One exception to this is when they come up with ridiculous but funny ideas.  If such a proposal gets a laugh then you can bet more will follow.  Allow one, sometimes these are gems but stop it there.

A Typical List might be:

Sent from class – Yelled at – Given a warning – Given the cane

Write lines – Given homework – Cut out their tongue

Clean-up the playground – Kept in to make up time

Sent to principal – Made to stand in the corner – Shift seats

3. Yes/ No the Solutions

Now, for the first time you discuss each consequence using the following criteria:

  • Is it a consequence or is it a punishment?  The difference has been explained in a previous Newsletter but briefly, a consequence is understood to be a result of that action not just something the teacher made-up to upset the student!
  • Is the consequence appropriate for the level of the behaviour?  You might find that students are often too severe in their idea of what is required, Keep these realistic.
  • Can the consequence be realistically applied?  It’s no use putting in place a consequence that is against the rules of the school or department.  For instance you can’t keep students in after school without a lot of parental permission.
  • Do the students accept this as a fair outcome for that behaviour?  It must be seen to be fair for all concerned.

Then place a Y beside those that meet the criteria and N against those that fail to pass the fairness test.

The following could be the result of this process.

Sent from class Y – Yelled at N – Given a warning Y – Given the cane N

Write lines N – Given homework N – Cut out their tongue N

Clean-up the playground N – Kept in to make up time Y

Sent to principal Y – Made to stand in the corner N – Shift seats Y

When you have completed this process eliminate the N’s.

4. Rank the Consequences

Now you go through the consequences left and rank them from the most severe (1) to the least severe.  The final list might be:

Sent to principal                          (1)

Sent from class                            (2)

Shift seats                                     (3)

Keep in to make up time            (4)

Apologies to the class                 (5)

Given a warning                          (6)

5. Implementation

Here you must decide if you want to have one consequence or devise a cascade from the least severe on to the most.  If the mild level consequence does not stop the behaviour the next most punitive one is applied and so on until the student is sent to the principal!  When you have decided on the ‘rule’ then write it down and display it somewhere in the classroom so the students are reminded of the new set of conditions in the class.

6. Evaluate

After the rule has been in place for a reasonable amount of time it is wise to evaluate how effective it has been in dealing with the disruptive behaviour.  Wait a while to do this evaluation because quite often when you introduce a rule the students who are most likely to cause problems will test to see if you are serious.  This is where our ‘golden rule’ for behaviour management comes in.  Always be consistent and persistent, if you are not the students will not think you a sincere!  But if, after a time there is no change, and you have been vigilant then you can repeat the steps coming up with a new set of consequences.  If the class has not really been changed by the rule you put in maybe it is time for you to set the rule without them.  Just make sure they know what is going to happen.

If the behaviour has changed then slowly let it fade away, the class has accepted a new standard.  Then you can work on another of the problems you identified.

Remember there are some behaviours that are dangerous our just too severe to go through this process and are not up for negotiation!  These you must deal with.  But for most dysfunctional behaviour this approach will allow you to take ‘control’ or more realistically have the students take control of their actions.  A pay-off is that when you get on top of a few of the behaviours most classes come to understand that you can make things change and you are in charge of providing a safe learning environment for them.  When you gain such a reputation life becomes better in other classes so it is well worth the effort!

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Monday, August 05 2019

Levels

The use of ‘levels’ systems is a popular form of behaviour control and management in institutions that deal with children who struggle with their conduct. When used correctly, it can be an effective tool to improve children’s behaviour. When used incorrectly, levels systems can be in themselves a cruel form of abuse. It can be particularly hurtful for children who have no experience of appropriate behaviour.

Inappropriate Behaviour

The definition of inappropriate behaviour is difficult. The appropriateness of any action is related to the person or persons who are exposed to the behaviour. Therefore, any judgement of a student’s conduct depends on the group in which their behaviour is displayed.  Group members will experience the inappropriateness of behaviour when they feel it is offensive or threatening. In reality, they will know this because their physical and/or psychological boundaries will have been violated.

To be offended or not, presents as two discrete sets of behaviour; you are either offended or not offended; you cannot be partially offended. This is not to say the magnitude of the affecting behaviour is not on a gradient. Obviously, levels of offence can range from mild disapproval through to sheer terror. However, when working with dysfunctional children; trying to teach them about offensive behaviour by tolerating any such behaviour will confuse the child.

Children who habitually demonstrate dysfunctional behaviour need to learn appropriate conduct.  Learning can only be through trial and error, and if they are to assume a state in which their habit is to act appropriately, there will be a time when they have to think about how to behave. To pass through this phase of behaviour modification requires both the child, and the arbitrator, to be in a calm state. When stressed, they will revert to their existing habitual reactions to any situation. In a group setting, the arbitrator must be aware of his or her own activities as well as the actions of all other members of the group. This does not excuse inappropriate behaviour, but it provides a major complication in the process of changing behaviour.

The following issues arise for levels systems:

  • Others define what is offensive.
  • When more than one person is in control of behaviour arbitration, the definition of appropriate can vary.
  • Individual arbitrators’ boundaries are not constant; on one day they will tolerate behaviour (because they are in a good mood), and on the next day they will punish that same behaviour
  • Workers are tempted to tolerate mild misbehaviour either because they take the patronizing view that it is the best they can do or the worker fears any outburst from the child if they impose a sanction.
  • The environment must promote a feeling of calm acceptance of the child.

Levels systems can be a productive tool in the task of changing behaviour. However, to successfully implement a program requires a thorough understanding of:

  • the complexity of the program
  • the dangers of misuse
  • every child’s need to be accepted into a calm, supportive environment

There are various methods to create a ‘scoring’ method to track a child’s behaviour across any school day.  When you are working with severe disturbed children it is prudent to divide the period of time they achieve a positive ‘score’ into small chunks, say ten-minute blocks.  These can be accumulated across a day and then across an extended period of time.  This design will depend on the children.  However, the scores should always be on display and you should never take away any points the child has earned.  This is extremely unfair for those kids who struggle to initially achieve even the tiniest improvement and is no more than a form of punishment, something they have a lot of experience about and there is no more certain way to have these kids opt out of this process.

For a successful levels program to be put implemented the following conditions must be in place:

  • Feedback should indicate the level of success the child has achieved as a proportional number (a percentage).
  • Students must continually reach this mark to progress. They must be allowed to move up and down until they can unconsciously behave in an appropriate manner.
  • The goal should not be 100 per cent success, as human error is constant and should not be ignored.
  • The environment must be consistent and persistent.
  • Implementation should be done in calm, non-threatening manner (100 per cent acceptance of the child and 100 per cent rejection of inappropriate behaviour).

The over-riding principle of a level system is solely to provide feedback to the child in regards to how they are behaving within the functional definitions of the classroom.  One of the great failings occurs when teachers and schools use their ‘Levels System’ as a form of punishment or reward.  This is extremely counter-productive as any resulting changes that are driven by that external motivation will not become integrated in the child’s habitual behaviour.  In a future Newsletter I will discuss the failings of the use of rewards and/or punishment as a motivation of behavioural change.

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Monday, July 29 2019

The Tribal Teacher

The focus of our work is with those children who have been subjected to abuse and/ or neglect at an early age and develop a toxic sense of their worth and learn a range of dysfunctional behaviours.  These have been learned through either abuse of their sense of self, exclusion or neglect from the only ‘tribe’ they have ever experienced - their family.  Louis Cozolino, the American psychologist has been at the forefront of this approach in assisting children with a history of abuse.  He has provided a detailed review of what he calls the tribal classroom in his book ‘Attachment-Based Teaching - Creating a Tribal Classroom’ (see Newsletter of 1st August 2018 – The Tribal Classroom). 

Unfortunately, or some would declare ‘fortunately’ this approach has morphed into a formal program that has provided a step by step approach to develop creating a ‘tribal classroom’.  We have seen this ‘trademarking’ of many a ‘good idea’ repeated over and over again in behaviour modification programs; take the positive psychology movement that has spawned ‘Positive Behaviour Interventions and Support’ (PBIS), the once valued ‘Reality Therapy/Choice Theory’, ‘Assertive Discipline’; the list goes on.  These are all underpinned by a deal of common sense but as soon as you ‘formalise’ it you lose the ability to cater for the diversity of our children.  

However, the point is, we can help these kids by providing group activities that promote the opportunities for all students to develop secure attachments to the group and from that within the classroom.  The students we focus on will find this difficult at first but by providing a few group-rules their anxiety can be reduced and they can develop what Cololino describes as a social synapse.  The formal program outlines these as:

  • Attentive Listening
  • Showing appreciation of everyone’s contribution
  • Each student having the right to participate, or not
  • There is a sense of mutual respect

In this Newsletter I want to focus on the teacher’s role in this approach.  I am not going to indulge into restating all the great information that is available including the ‘quality teaching’ model – another systematization of common sense but as the ‘parent’ of the tribal class.

At the top of every good parenting inventory is the importance of being a good role model.  Children are so busy watching what you do they can’t hear what you are saying.  They will become the person you are so it is important to ‘be the person’ you want them to be. 

It goes beyond just modelling, as ‘parent’ you are the leader of the group and what the students want more than anything else is a consistent, predictable environment where they can learn, through trial and correction how to successfully navigate through life with a sense of self-control.

There is an age ‘gradient’ in this approach.  When they are very young they are unable to really make meaningful choices, they don’t have enough knowledge and so you have to present them with situational scenarios where they learn the fundamental skills.  This necessitates a more ‘authoritarian’ approach but this must be balanced with complete fairness in a nurturing environment. 

Someone has to be in-charge and that person is you!  As they get older, this authoritarian approach by the teacher changes to become one of a ‘constructionist’ where the responsibility for student behaviour is placed firmly on their shoulders.  In my experience this is a rare achievement, most school leavers still have a fair bit of ‘improving’ to do but by the time they are about to exit school we would hope they are all at least predominantly responsible.

They need to experience the negative consequences when they choose the ‘wrong’ behaviour in an effort to get their needs met but these should be delivered with the emphasis on the behaviour not the child.  In your dealings with the students, at any age the following is a good guide to achieving this:

  • Encouragement should outweigh praise.  The latter can become destructive in their teens.
  • Consequences should always replace punishments.  Punishment never works in the long run (see Newsletter 2nd April 2018 – Consequences – Neither Punishment not Reward) punishment teaches the kids what not to do.  Their attention is focused on not being caught misbehaving.  The result is the students will behave when the teacher is present, but when they are away, the kids will revert to their habitual behaviours.  They will not have embraced the desired behaviour.
  • Co-operation should always dominate obedience, this is age sensitive. For instance, more and more we see young children defying their parents when it comes to them ‘getting their way’.  I watch my grandchildren using a whole range of behaviour to change their parent’s decisions after they have said ‘no’!  There are times when ‘because I said so’ is probably the right thing to do; these children are not able to understand the long-term consequences of eating the junk food they crave!

However, eventually we want our children to be independent, communal obedience is a feature of political dictatorships and social cooperation is the mark of a healthy society. 

Finally, here are some ‘parent tips’ to help you engage with your class:

  • Be involved with their life – find out about their interests, where they have lived, understand their history at an appropriate level.  We don’t have the right to understand the details of their ‘intimate’ life but when the student knows you are interested they are more likely to form the relationship that will help them engage in your lessons.

How often have I helped a relationship with a ‘troubled’ student just by finding out which sporting team or ‘rock star’ he/she follows.  When I know this, I take every opportunity to ‘bump into them’ in the playground an engage in some good-fun banter.

  • Always get to the classroom before the students and as they arrive greet them with their name and, if appropriate give them a ‘high five’, ‘fist pump’ or just shake hands; do this with a smile.  This is one of the most powerful things you can do, it sends the message that you want to be there.  Contrast this with the effect teachers, who arrive late and then criticise the students for not ‘waiting quietly in line’!  What message is that behaviour sending to the class?
  • Tell them things about your life.  Some teachers balk at this; I suspect they feel their life is none of the student’s business.  On an intimate scale they are right, your personal life is your business but if you accept the importance of a relationship you have to participate.  Telling them stories about your childhood, as lame as these may feel to you is very powerful.  It humanises you.
  • Finish the lesson with a story – in primary schools this can be a serial, despite the benefits of engaging them in literacy the ‘right’ story teaches them about life and at least you send them home looking forward to the next day!  It is hypothesised that this is a primitive need, a throw-back to the times when tribes finished their days sitting around a campfire exchanging stories.

This Newsletter has focused on a teacher’s approach to the tribal classroom and is not to be considered part of the extensive literature being bombarded into schools and an ever-increasing rate.  I believe that relationships are at the core of all successful educational experiences.  Further, they exist in the lower areas of our brain, the limbic system and as such are much more difficult to access and to change. 

This modern approach to teacher training focuses on cognitive contributions which are quick and easy to implement for educated adults (teachers) but:

  • They are not appropriate for the young developing mind which requires ‘lessons’ for their emotional and social education
  • These cognitive lessons ‘disappear’ when the students’ stress levels are raised and they start behaving based on their emotional and social beliefs.

When all is said and done the teacher/student relationship is the most important feature of quality education and that boils down to how each participant feel about each other.

Posted by: AT 11:12 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, July 22 2019

Debriefing

Teaching very difficult students is extremely stressful.  Although there will be incidents that are exceedingly traumatic, it is the day to day grind of working with these kids and that build-up of stress that will destroy your health.  At these times you will build-up an excess of physical and emotional energy.  Unless you do discharge this energy, it remains ‘locked’ in your physiology.  Debriefing is the process of discharging that energy, especially the emotional element.

Much of the literature on debriefing refers to the process of providing a service for those who have been exposed to a traumatic event.  This Newsletter is more about you having the means to deal with your own emotional load within a school or other specialist setting.  For ‘extreme’ traumatic events you need specialist support to deal with the victims.

On an individual level, the self-delivered debriefing process is very much following the steps outlined above in the recovery section.  These are the physical, emotional and behavioural activities itemised in this section.  This ‘self-help’ is predominantly the use of physical practices such as going to a gym, jogging, swimming anything that gets you to use up that energy that had been activated at the time you were stressed. 

One technique I have used that is effective to immediately release the physical excess present after a very stressful incident is to go to a private place in the school, with a towel and out of the sight of others, twist the towel as hard as I could, I would talk to it, get all my frustrations out on that piece of material.  The feeling of release was significant. 

I have seen others use the action of punching a special bag or other inert object to achieve this result.  There are mixed opinions about using this approach.  There is some evidence it doesn’t relieve the emotional component caused by the aggravation, the participants remain angry towards the object of their frustration. 

There is also the idea that punching, as a solution for a problem could be generalised.  Punching another may have a short-term pay-off but there is a chance that the practice of punching an inert bag could unconsciously evolve into punching the object that caused the stress!  Some would argue that it is the repetitive movement of the punching that reproduces a type of soothing, this repetition has seen in the rhythmic technique in swimming also seen as a productive approach to elevated stress levels.

The self-help approach may not be as effective in dealing with the psychological load as would working with others.  It may well be that you can get support from a colleague when you are under elevated stress levels.  This could be a friend or co-worker who you trust.  It is best, but not vital if this support person works in the same field.  They will understand the problems you face and their validation carries a lot of weight.  You both know what is really going on.

The use of your own intimate partner, wife, parent or even one of your children is not so clear cut.  To provide an effective environment for a victim the support person must remain partially detached from the concerns raised in this issue.  It is hard for your intimate other not to feel an emotional connection, it is the nature of the relationship!  However, they will be your greatest support and not sharing is shutting them out, this is not advisable for a meaningful relationship. 

This is a real difficult issue; the best debriefing really is from someone who can remain detached from your emotions but compassionate about how you would feel because they really understand what it is like to be in that situation.

Therefore, try to develop a network of supporters who you can use and who will use you when they are needed.  Personal contact is preferable but the use of technology such as Skype is a good substitute.  Avoid social media, the things you say at this time will be sensitive and not for public consumption or for your record!

The last thing I will mention is debriefing for those establishments that deal with difficult kids as a group.  These are vital in maintaining a healthy team culture, they allow the psychological wounds that occur throughout each day but these sessions are not for those occasional times when the level of personal damage is significant, either for the students or a staff member.  This is the cool down time, the time for the physical body to recover is complete.

In the work place there will be times when the outburst has created issues that challenge the practices of the organisation.  These may involve the potential of future discipline action or legal concerns.  This does not imply there is no need for debriefing but at these times the management should provide professional, independent counselling.  However, for the day to day situations a less formal, but no less important debriefing practice there is a benefit of having the ‘team’ debrief itself!

There are some rules to be followed if you are setting-up a formal debriefing session at the end of each working shift.  These are fairly obvious:

  • Begin Simply – Even if you know there has been a fairly difficult situation the staff has dealt with don’t go straight into discussing that.  By generally discussing the day that issue will emerge when the ‘time is right’.  This relies on a level of trust that must exist!  In fact, without trust debriefing can become an additional stressor!
  • Equal Rights – Although we don’t have equal rights in our places of work we do have equity at a personal level.  No one individual’s needs are more important than any others.   Debriefing is not about allocating blame or setting future agendas it is solely about dealing with the emotional discomfort of the day.
  • There are no ‘power plays’ – We will never repair everyone’s emotional state if there is an obvious difference in how each member of the team is valued; any imbalance of power will not allow long term issues to be addressed effectively.
  • No Secrets – Too often people fail to tell exactly how they feel.  On the one hand it may be because they don’t trust everyone at the meeting or they may feel that others can’t handle their feelings.  Often the stress is because there has been a conflict between staff members.  It is these that must be addressed; if not they can destroy the whole program.  There are no records of these meetings and any comments are to stay within the group.  If, as a result of the discussion the group agree that some things need to change then everyone is involved in the decision and those outside of the team should not be privy to the discussions that led to that policy change.
  • The Environment – Conduct the debriefing in a pleasant environment.  Make sure everyone is comfortable and there are no distractions.  Avoid everyone having a cup of coffee or tea as enjoyable as that may seem, debriefing is a formal part of the day.
  • Punctuality – always start and finish at a set time.  On most days you will feel the atmosphere lighten and, in my experience, when the debriefing is accomplished the groups will soon be laughing about the day.  Be aware that in all stressful occupations the humour has a very dark quality; this should be expected and although may sometime appear to be disrespectful, you have to remember these are the people who front up every day and do there best for the kids.  Their actions define the respect they have for the students! 

If, on the other hand the mood within debriefing remains tense still finish at the designated time.  The issue will still need to be addressed but by waiting for the next opportunity allows time for all to reflect on the situation.  The main thing is not to carry on discussions with colleagues about the issue outside the confines of the debriefing process.  To do so would be very destructive.

Debriefing is an important practice to maintain the health of any organisation that deals with highly demanding work.  In a perfect world this would be a formal part of every working day however, in today’s busy world there seems to be no time for taking care of others.  This is a travesty, taking time to debrief is the best long-term investment any organisation can make!

Posted by: AT 07:57 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, March 18 2019

Converting Teachers' Lessons to Intrinsic Motivation

How often do we hear the comment ‘anyone can teach’ and I have to agree.  I see ex- footballers, netballers, etc. most afternoons ‘teaching’ youngsters how to play their sports.  The thing is anyone, who has the knowledge can teach someone who wants to learn that topic.  What defines a professional teacher is one who can teach a child something they:

  • Don’t want to learn
  • Don’t think they can learn
  • Have no reason to learn

Yet every day we go into our class armed with a syllabus full of topics that children, not only have the above attitudes, they often have no idea what the teacher is talking about.  But, every day successful teachers meet this challenge and they do this by motivating their students.

In a previous Newsletter, I discuss human motivations and how they are related to our physical and emotional wellbeing.  When we are dealing with the curriculum we are dealing with the child’s intellectual ‘wellbeing’!  The challenge is to create a level of stress that will motivate the child to learn.  We want our students to ‘want to know’ about the topic we are presenting; we want them to be motivated to learn.

In 1985, Edward l. Deci and Richard M. Ryan published ‘Intrinsic Motivation and Self- Determination in Human Behaviour’ and this underpinned what was to become Self-Determination Theory.  This theory explained how motivation supports the journey to independence, to make one’s own choices and control one’s life.  Of course, I can’t argue with this as a goal although I would add a few things like being ethical, responsible and contributing to make your community a ‘better place’.

Deci and Ryan discuss motivation that is underpinned by three drives:

  • Relatedness – A sense of belonging, interacting with others.  Caring for them and having that support returned
  • Autonomy – To be the causal agent in your life.  Your behaviour is self-endorsed and you are the master of your own destiny
  • Competence – You control the outcomes of your behaviour, you have the knowledge and skills to be successful in your community

These drives are very specific and can be part of any model of human needs but they have in common being involved with the cognitive processing of behaviours.  From the previous Newsletter this type of motivation is only possible as an active drive if our physical and emotional needs are generally satisfied.  The following discussion will describe this model but keep in mind that a successful fulfilment is limited to children who have a secure sense of self.

There are two further facets to be considered and these are:

  • Extrinsic Motivation – A drive that comes from an external force or demand to achieve nonessential goals.  In the extreme this motivation will be to get a pleasant reward or to avoid a disagreeable punishment.
  • Intrinsic Rewards – These come from the individual’s core values and a desire to seek new challenges and experiences.  The behaviour is at the heart of curiosity and enhances their expression of their ‘best self’.

The Model describes motivation being on a continuum based on the amount of external/internal motivation.  The continuum runs from an ‘amotive’ position, a point of no motivation, no prospective outcomes and no drive to behave through to a situation where all behaviour is driven by the internal drives outlined above.  The relevant behaviour is driven by self-interest and will satisfy the person’s desires; this is the point of authentic, intrinsic motivation.  Because the outcome they are working towards is so ‘rewarding’ the students will be fully focused on the task.

The point of interest for the teacher is how do we get the students to this point when we present them with another lesson on ‘simultaneous equations’?  This is particularly challenging when dealing with disengaged students.  In a previous Newsletter (Consequences Neither Punishment or Reward – 2nd April 2018) I discussed the problem of using rewards as a form of motivation however, when you are faced with a student with no interest you may find offering a reward is the only option.  This should only be the point of entry into the student’s world on motivation.

The task is to somehow link the pursuit of a ‘reward’ with a student’s sense of control.  That is, they have some power in the transaction that drives participation.  If you can then link this with an attachment to their values system, that is, if they can understand simultaneous equations it will enhance their drive for:

  • Relatedness - they are accepted by their peers and admired by the teacher
  • Competence – they have mastered a difficult skill
  • Autonomy – They have become independent in dealing with this mathematical problem

The teacher can support this change by teaching their students about goal setting.  Explain that to learn to solve simultaneous equations can have long term benefits; depending on the maturity of these students this could range from next week’s test for very young or disengaged students to university entry for those rare, mature, students.  Then teach them about breaking this task down to short term achievable goals that give them, and you a chance to reflect and celebrate.

The result is the student will become more engaged in the lesson.  As success breeds success the more you can develop this intrinsic motivation the most successful your students will be.  Sounds easy but it is not however, it can be achieved with patience and persistence.

Posted by: AT 10:39 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, February 11 2019

100 Ways to Say "Well Done"!

 

We all enjoy praise and it is recognised as an effective method to motivate students.  However, in the times of Skinnerian psychology, the reward/punishment approach to behaviour modification, there was an emphasis on positive reinforcement as a method to sculpt children’s behaviour.  Of course, it’s hard not to feel this way, who doesn’t like to be praised?

The emphasis on praise has led to the ‘every one’s a winner’ approach to motivating children, whether that be in school or in sport.  This tactic has back fired on a lot of fronts least of all in fostering enthusiasm – ‘why try if I get a trophy anyway’ and, what’s more the trophy means nothing!

Studies in business conducted by Emily Heaphy and Marcial Losada in 2013 looked at the effectiveness of praise and criticism.  They found that the optimal ratio was 5.6:1, that is almost six occasions where the staff were prise for every piece of critical feedback.  The low end had a ratio of 0.36:1 a very negative environment.

You do need to provide ‘negative’ feedback to correct behaviour, how will they learn without it but it must be a criticism of their actions, what they do.  Never about what you think they are, for the students with histories of abuse and neglect and the resulting toxic shame, any negative description of what ‘they are’ only reinforces their poor sense of self.

There are times when it is impossible to provide any positive feedback.  When I first started to work with these disabled kids the idea was you had to provide at least four positive comments before you could make a negative one.  Teachers being assessed had to maintain this 4:1 ratio.  I have seen teachers, placed in front of an ‘out of control’ class desperately trying to find something positive to say let alone keep up the prescribed ratio!  Children will see any praise at this time as disingenuous and the teacher will lose their credibility!  Sometimes you have to get them quiet enough they will provide a genuine reason to praise them.

It becomes obvious that praise has some value but research has shown that the value is what you praise and what you criticise.  When you praise the child for ‘what they are’ saying things like, you’re very clever, you are a natural, you find this work very easy, etc.; there is plenty of evidence that this has a negative effect.  Children praised for ‘what they are’ will lack motivation and lose interest in the tasks and have their grades actually fall.  Most dangerous is to tell them they are very clever.

The praise should be directed at their effort and their attempts to complete tasks.  Things like ‘I can see you have made a good effort in doing those maths problems’ or ‘that work is really good, I can see how much you have improved your maths ability’.  If they think they are getting better they will keep on trying!

A more detailed description of this work is covered in a previous Newsletter on Praise found in the blog for September 12 2018.

Finally, there are a very powerful group of students who have been so rejected they view any type of praise as suspicious, they see it as an attempt to manipulate them.  For these kids just consistently praise them for the right thing without expecting any positive feedback and they will eventually change their attitude as long as you hang in.  Remember it has taken years of negative reinforcement to get them to the toxic sense of self they present, it will take a significant amount of persistence to change that position.

So, it is important to choose your words carefully.  The following are some sentence starters that might help:

  • You’ve got it made.
  • That’s right!
  • You’re on the right track now!
  • That’s good!
  • You are very good at that.
  • That’s coming along nicely.
  • That’s very much better!
  • Good work!
  • I’m happy to see you working like that.
  • You’re really working hard today.
  • You’re doing a great job.
  • You’ve just about got it.
  • That’s the best you’ve ever done.
  • That’s it!
  • Congratulations.
  • I knew you could do it.
  • That’s quite an improvement.
  • Now you have figured it out.
  • You are doing much better today.
  • Now you have it.
  • Not bad!
  • Great!
  • You’re learning fast.
  • Keep working on it. You’re getting better.
  • Good for you.
  • Couldn’t have done better myself.
  • You make it look easy.
  • You really make my job fun.
  • That’s the right way to do it!
  • One more time and you will have it.
  • You’re getting better every day.
  • You did it that time.
  • That’s not half bad.
  • Wow!
  • That’s the way!
  • Nice going.
  • Now you’ve figured it out.
  • Sensational!
  • You haven’t missed a thing.
  • That’s the way to do it.
  • Keep up the good work.
  • That’s better.
  • Nothing can stop you now!
  • That’s first-class work.
  • Excellent!
  • Perfect!
  • That’s the best ever.
  • You’re really going to town!
  • Fine! Terrific! You’ve just about mastered that!
  • That’s better than ever.
  • Nice effort.
  • Outstanding!
  • Now that’s what I call a fine job!
  • You did very well.
  • You must have been practicing!
  • Fantastic!
  • You’re doing beautifully.
  • You’re really improving.
  • Right on!
  • Good remembering.
  • Keep it up!
  • You did a lot of work today.
  • Tremendous!
  • You’re doing fine.
  • Good thinking.
  • You are really learning a lot.
  • Keep on trying.
  • You outdid yourself today.
  • I’ve never seen anyone do any better.
  • Good on you!
  • Good going!
  • I like that.
  • Marvellous!
  • I’m very proud of you.
  • I think you’ve got it now.
  • You figured that out fast!
  • You remembered!
  • That’s really nice.
  • It’s a pleasure to teach when you work like that.
  • You’re right.
  • That makes me feel good.
  • That’s great!
  • That’s it!
  • Way to go!
  • Well, look at you go!
  • Now you have the hang of it.
  • Much better! Wonderful
  • Super!
Posted by: AT 11:30 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, February 04 2019

The Impact of Language on the Behaviour Of Students with Behaviour or Emotional Disabilities.

The ability to effectively communicate with students is the hallmark of a great teacher.   Personal communication, because of its emotional content is at the heart of building good relationships.  The feeling of the message is just as important as the content.

It is believed that in any face to face interaction, 7% of the emotional meaning of a message is expressed with the words; 38% of the emotional component is communicated via the tone of the voice while more than half, 55%, is conveyed through facial expressions and body language

Children who have severe behaviour, or emotional, disabilities have, as a major characteristic, an extreme disability to understand, or read non-verbal cues.  This incapacity is known as dysemia.  In particular they have a hypersensitivity to negative social cues and are almost oblivious to positive messages.  Teachers, who deal with these students, need to understand that what they may consider to be a small correction will be interpreted as a major rejection; legitimate negative feedback becomes a perceived attack. 

On top of this difficulty in providing correction when students act in an inappropriate way, is that these students will also minimize, or misinterpret any positive stimulus provided by the teacher’s attempt to build a positive self-image for that student.  The value of positive reinforcement as an aid to learning is also diminished. 

The truth is, these students do not easily comprehend the intended objective of any message.  This disability creates problems at the very source of relationships and that is our communication.  What the teacher believes she is ‘saying’ and what the student ‘hears’ is very likely to be confused.

Students with this disability have a compounding feature, a propensity to be overwhelmed by the emotional content of any incoming stimulus.  If they perceive the situation they are faced with as being fearful the initiation of their protective behaviour reduces their capacity to make sound, rational decisions about their behaviour.

From the figures cited above it can be seen that our body language and facial expressions provides the bulk of the emotional content of our communication.  On the surface, this may appear to be an easy area to rectify; the teacher just needs to present herself in a warm, friendly manner.  However, these students, with their developed hypersensitivity to emotional stimulus are not ‘easily fooled’.  Teachers cannot fake their approach to these students.  Not only will they misread the emotional content, they will also identify magnify the negative component in the message.

So how do we communicate with students with emotional and behaviour disabilities?  First, we need to re-evaluate our attitude to these children.  They are hard to like; their disability is usually expressed in ways that others find offensive.  When their behaviour ‘hurts us’ that pain will be reflected in the very non-verbal cues, those we need to regulate.  

Teachers need to use very strong boundaries, understanding they are not really the cause of the dysfunctional behaviour it is a reflection of their history and finally they need to confirm a genuine affection for these children.

How the teacher moves around the classroom should also be considered.  These children are easily ‘spooked’ and it is a good technique to marginally slow down their movements and make that movement predictable, they know where we are going.  This relaxed movement allows the students to mirror this stress-free posture.

Proximity, that is moving close to a student who is misbehaving is often cited as an effective behaviour management strategy.  By standing close to the troubling student the teacher is effectively entering that child’s boundary and they will become aware there is a potential threat and they will change their behaviour. 

For students with severe behaviour problems boundaries are a troubled area.  For some, the definition of ‘proximity’ is marginal but they are hypersensitive to any perceived threat. It is important to never move that close to the student that you really are invading their personal space.

As over a third of the emotional meaning of any message is conveyed in the teacher’s tone of voice, like body language, the teacher cannot fake a caring and friendly quality in their speech; they must be genuine.  In a sense, the adjustment made in the movement is mirrored in how the teacher talks. It is important for the teacher’s voice to be no more than moderately paced and almost monotonic.  Any quick fired talk, or a voice that fluctuates across the vocal range, will emotionally confuse these students.

Experienced teachers often use the technique of deliberately lowering their voice to calm a noisy class down.  Others make quiet, shhhh sound to evoke a sense of calm in the classroom.  This latter practice may arouse childhood memories of a mother’s nurturing.  We understand that this is not as likely for the abused child but when the rest of the class settles, so does the emotional excitement for the damaged child.

As stated, the words in the message makes up only 7% of the emotional content.  However, even if we get the body language, the facial expressions and the tone in our voice right the substance of the words are important.  The words will communicate the lesson content but they also direct the student’s attention, critical for students with severe behaviours.   The manner instructions are delivered is an effective method of behaviour management. 

The thinking process of students who are struggling to control their behaviour is at best confused.  Giving clear, concise and short instructions direct the student’s attention and conveys what they are expected to do.

An effective instruction includes the following features:

  • Start with a verb, it is direct instruction – ‘Go to page three’!
  • Keep sentences short; less than five words to avoid confusion.
  • Limit instructions to short pauses while you continue to scan the class.
  • Give direct instruction only when you are starting ‘have to’ tasks.  If you are offering optional tasks you give the students choice.
  • Questions are excellent for engaging attention or starting a discussion but when you want them to start a class use direct instruction.
  • Use thanks rather than please at the end on an instruction.  Saying ‘thanks’ conveys the sense you assume they will complete the task. 
  • Use the word ‘now’ if the class is becoming distracted, this is like the starter’s pistol at the beginning of a race.
  • Give instructions in a firm, calm and measured manner. 
  • Wait ten seconds after the instruction is complete.  Resist the temptation to fill the gap of silence.

Just as you go to work in your ‘teacher’s uniform’, dressed as a professional, clean and well-groomed, at work you bring your teacher’s voice!  For example, I may use ‘colorful’ language when I’m out with my close friends but I will not swear in some social settings; I refrain from telling jokes at a funeral.  What you say must be what the students expect from a teacher.

If I see a student is upset I mirror their expression in an attempt to support them.  This mirroring, matching their body language and tone conveys a message that I am in tune with their feelings.  Unconsciously, they get the message that I respect how they feel and I am there to support them.  Once they become more settled, I would continue to reflect their improved emotional state.

When I am discussing an issue with students I often say ‘you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion’.  Of course, I want them to listen to what I’m saying.  You must give the student that same respect.  You don’t have to agree with them but by acknowledging you have listened, you can understand their point of view and a mutually acceptable outcome is more likely to be achieved.

To demonstrate your respect for what they say, start your replies to their statements with phrases like:

  • I appreciate
  • I recognize
  • I acknowledge
  • I understand
  • I respect

Finally, whenever you are in a dispute with a student avoid the word BUT; such as ‘your ideas are good BUT they would not achieve anything’; using ‘but’ indicates you completely disregard the ‘ideas’.  Of course, they might be wrong, however when you ignore their point of view you reject them.  We know that rejection is significant stressor for any person.  Always remember, if you want the students to get control of their behaviour you have to get their arousal down to manageable levels.  On top of this the student may have information that will help resolve the situation.

Students with behaviour, or emotional disabilities are at the mercy of their emotions.  If teachers can develop their communication skills to a level that minimizes the risk of driving these students into emotional overload, they will go a long way towards the effective management of their classroom.

Posted by: AT 07:02 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, January 28 2019

Tips for Emotional Encounters

Much has been written about how to deal with difficult situations.  In the ‘Resources’ section of our Web Page, I have included a program I designed to deal with difficult interviews, ‘Ready – Steady – Go’ which provides you with practical tips relating to the preparation of a difficult interview and the advantageous way to conduct that interview. The following is a quick summary of the ‘Ready’ section of that program.

Quite often, at school you will be faced with an inescapable meeting with a very difficult parent, colleague or student.  The advice is to give yourself a short amount of time to:

  • Check your emotional condition (you may already be stressed from the day to day activities)
  • Calm yourself down
  • Make sure your boundaries are on; protect yourself physically and mentally

Those who have followed these Newsletters or been exposed to the philosophy behind the work we do at our consulting practice know the importance of stress in the management of behaviour.  Stress is a signal from our brain that we are uncomfortable and we will act to return to a state of homeostatic equilibrium, that is regain our sense of comfort.  When you are facing another person, who is attacking your sense of well-being the part of the brain that will be accessed is that part that controls our socio/emotional state; the limbic system.

So, as stress increases our access to the cognitive, thinking processes to control our behaviour decreases.  To take advantage of the tips outlined in our ‘Ready – Steady – Go’ program and those available all over the internet, you need to access the executive, frontal lobes, top of the brain where rational thought takes place.  The following is advice to help you manage your emotions during those difficult encounters. 

We have all heard that old adage ‘fake it until you make it’ and there is some truth to this.  Simone Schnall and James Laird, of Clark University have investigated what they call Self-Perception Theory which declares that when you act as though you are experiencing a certain emotional sense your body language will mirror that sense of ‘being’.  The all-important key to this is that your body provides a feedback message ‘confirming’ our self-chicanery. 

So, when you embark on a stressful interview act as though you are quite comfortable and confident, then not only will the other person perceive you as having such self-assurance you will feel that you have it!  It goes without saying confidence is not arrogance so state your case in a quiet, unassuming manner.

Then there is the contagious capacity of how you present yourself.  If, as I suggest you present as calm and assured this will encourage your partner in the dispute to mirror that behaviour. 

When I taught students about the effect their emotions have on their decision making I often talked about working from the very low levels of the brain.  I referred to this as being in the reptilian brain and informed my students of this information!  So, when I interviewed two students who had been in a verbal slanging match I would ask, was ‘Max’ acting like a lizard?  This was followed by ‘How many lizards where there’?  The language was a short cut to remind them that there is no use trying to convince someone of logic when they are agitated.  Wait until they return to their ‘thinking status’!

The next bit of advice is about a significant aspect that influences the ‘connection’ between you and the other person and that is eye contact.  So much has been written about the eyes.  Our folklore, our literature is littered with references to the power of the ‘eye’!  They are ‘the window to our soul’, ‘the doorway to our heart’, ‘our eyes met across a crowded room’, ‘life passed before her eyes’ and when you can’t make your point, you demand the other person to – ‘open their eyes’!  There is something powerful about eye contact.  If you are in a discussion with another person and they look anywhere other than in your eyes, the only conclusion you can reach is that they are not interested.

However, just to make things a bit more confusing, the appropriateness between cultures needs to be considered.  In some traditions, it is a sign of aggression if you look directly into another’s eyes.  So, when students, who may be in trouble don’t look you in the eye it may well be a sign of respect.  Of course, we all have experienced that defiant student who unwaveringly glares at you when you are discussing some dispute, hardly respect more likely some veiled threat!   

I understand this but I suspect that when individuals get beyond a notion of power difference, eye contact between people is more universal.  That is, when we get to the stage that we are building a relationship eye contact is crucial.

Jodie Schulz, of Michigan State University discusses the 50% - 70% Rule.  This recommends you make eye contact 50% of the time you are speaking and 70% when they are talking.  This sends the message that you are more interested, or at least as interested in what they have to say compared to what you say.

On top of this the transition away from that focus should be gradual.  Abrupt changes to your attention indicate that you have been ‘uncomfortable’ looking in their eyes inferring a sense of insincerity.  Or, if you look away at something quickly the message is that the thing you set your gaze on is ‘more interesting’ than listening to what they have to say.

As the relationship develops, the level and ease of eye contact increases.

As I indicated at the start of this Newsletter, the resource we have up-loaded to our webpage provides a formal procedure in dealing with difficult people.  This article provides some clues to help you create the supportive emotional setting to facilitate a successful outcome in those difficult meetings.

Posted by: AT 10:53 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, December 10 2018

Testing Tough Kids

A diagnosis frequently made for students who cause behavioural problems is Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD).  ODD is characterized by constant disobedience and hostility towards authority.  This diagnosis is a fair description of those kids who continually oppose and defy teacher instructions.  In a previous Newsletter I discussed the importance of trust and the lack of trust is at the heart of ODD.  This condition is the gold star expression of loss of trust. Most information about this condition discusses its causes and manifestations; but the question rarely asked is why do they choose to act in a way that almost guarantees a negative consequence.  What is it about that drive to defy when the cost can be so punishing?

I have taught many such children and have felt helpless in the face of this self-destructive behaviour.  Even if you give them the choice to change their behaviour; they understand the consequences of continuing that behaviours and you know they really don't want those results; they will still ‘choose' to act in that defiant manner.  My understanding is that the behaviour is an inability of trust.  The fact is they believe that if they follow your direction, they are conceding to you power over them and in their history trusting someone exposes them to abuse and/or neglect.

This refusal to ‘do’ as required has huge ramifications for teachers who have one or two such characters in their class.  Statistics from the US estimate that about 10% of all children develop ODD but these statistics may well be exaggerated however, there is general agreement that at least 2% of children will reach the threshold of ODD diagnosis. 

Another point to be considered is the ‘severity’ of the expression of defiance; this can range from mild, general reluctance to extreme levels of defiance.  There is another factor that reflects the correlation between socioeconomic dimensions of a community and the frequency of the expression of ODD. 

So as a teacher you had better prepare yourself for such students.  Even in the day-to-day evaluation of students, learning relies on students ‘being told' how to respond to situations presented to them; such a regimented approach to ‘success' for assessing the ODD student makes this way impossible.  Because of their defiant attitude they almost always are obliged to refuse to comply.

This refusal is because:

  1. For the ODD student, the very presence of an authoritive direction means the student is driven to say no!  Compliance means giving up their ‘safety.’

 

  1. To really try to do the test to the best of their ability exposes them to the risk of failure.  These children will avoid taking chances because of their innate vulnerability.  These kids will inevitably come from a position of toxic shame (see Newsletter 19) and the drive to defy is enhanced by the belief that to be good you need to be perfect.  These kids are already refusing to complete lesson tasks so they know they will fail.

As I pointed out at the beginning of this Newsletter, these ODD children will refuse to follow a direction even if they understand any negative consequence of their disobedience and the loss of something they may like if they conformed.  This dilemma, of being dammed if they did and dammed if they didn't, was exemplified in a test given to a young delinquent in a detention centre.  He refused to answer any question on the exam paper.  When it was returned, he had received an ‘E’; he genuinely thought the ‘E' stood for excellent and you could see the delight he was experiencing.  It was easy to find this amusing but it was so heart-breaking when you understood what this meant. 

In the first instance, this boy was so intellectually delayed he had no idea that consequences were related to his actions.  But why would he think he was responsible for a result that was linked to his efforts?  Life was done to him and right now life had given him an ‘E'!  The second distressing message was the delight he showed when he thought he had passed.  His reaction confirmed was that he really would like to be such a success.

Helping these children is the core of our Consultancy.  Providing this 'help' is a challenging undertaking but one worthwhile.  There is no proven way of dealing with these kids or for that matter all those kids who are going to ‘fail' in a punitive system that wants to sort the good from the bad.  All I know is that if you can build enough trust in these kids, so they do want to participate in school you will have past the teacher's test – with a great big ‘E'!

Posted by: AT 09:36 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, November 26 2018

Respecting Others' Boundaries

As mentioned in previous Newsletters your boundary is that place where you intersect with the outside world and in most discussions, we focus on how you can protect yourself from assaults.  Although boundaries include physical threats, in this context we are really talking about social attacks.  However, in this work we will include a discussion on our responsibility to not violate another’s boundaries.

This work is specifically for teachers and school executives dealing with children but the principles apply to anyone who supervises others.

One of the determining factors regarding relationships and how negotiations take place is the relative position of power.  Where students are concerned the teacher enjoys a definite power advantage.  They are the official representative of the school, the education department and government when it comes to dealing with kids.  If they make a request the students can assume that request is backed by all those who support the teacher.

Schools are a place of learning and teachers rightly challenge kids to acquire an understanding of that academic material.  At that time, the teacher has studied that material at a tertiary level while for the child it is their first exposure.  It is easy to dismiss their attempts if you are more interested in inflating your ego then supporting that child’s emerging understanding of the work you present.

From the perspective of the students that position of authority allows you to be part of the ruling faction in the school.  The fact that you are part of the ruling elite gives you a type of status that infers more power and authority.

All children are dependent.  The journey from early childhood on to graduation from the schooling system is marked by a steady decline in that dependence.  Therefore, the younger the student the hungrier they are for validation and affection.  Affection reinforces their needs to belong in the group and validation confirms their value to that group.  These are necessary building blocks for a strong and robust sense of self for the adult you.

The core of our work has always had as its main focus helping and dealing with difficult students.  Like all children, students who have been subjected to abuse and neglect hunger for affection and validation.  For these children, the age they are is not as important as the position they find themselves on the development of a strong sense of an authentic self.  I have seen children in their mid-teens who crave for affection and validation, a time when for normal development this need would be diminishing. 

This desire for approval make these children easy to disappoint and the failure to provide appropriate affection and confirmation of their worth is a covert form of abuse.

How do you check that you are not violating the student’s boundaries?  The following questions of self-examination will help you decide:

1. What needs are being met by your action?

When you are concerned about what you are doing, the best thing to do is examine the drives you are satisfying by that behaviour.  Just as you experience levels of stress when others are coming up against your boundary you will, or should get the same feeling sensation if all is not going well at the frontier of yourself.  That’s the time to examine just what is going on.

2. What are your responsibilities?

In your role as teacher it is incumbent on you to deliver consequences for behaviours.  This is at the heart of your professional role and so your interventions regarding the behaviour of others should only be within the domain of your responsibilities.

3. What are others’ responsibilities?

Just as you have a defined area of responsibility so do others, including the students.  It would be wrong if a child misbehaved and you did not deliver the appropriate consequences, perhaps you thought someone higher up the school hierarchy should do that work or you didn’t think it was your job to correct the child.  The fact that the child did not get a consequence does a great deal of harm to the development of strong boundaries in that child.

4. How would you like others to judge your behaviour?

The final question is really, would you behave that way if it was in full view of others.  The disapproval of our peers is a most powerful motivator.  Rejection, in a world sense is life threatening and so when under the public spotlight the drive to act in acceptable ways is extremely powerful.  When you are in a position of power and away from the public view it is easy to forget your responsibilities, and take short-cuts to get kids to confirm.  The real question is ‘am I doing the right thing?’

A good way to protect yourself is to refer to the following ‘check list’:

  • Act as if everything you do is under complete scrutiny           
  • Act with complete fairness – have no favourites
  • Keep everything available for review – keep records of your behavioural interventions
  • Do not use personal emails with students, beware of social media – this is an extremely dangerous area for a teacher.  Remember when you push that ‘send’ button, your message is potentially all over the world, for all time and you can’t get it back
  • Get consent for one on one meetings and hold them in school and in business hours – never take the chance of interviewing students in areas or times that others can misconstrued or the student can make allegations you can’t defend.

Treating others’ boundaries with respect is a difficult thing to get right all the time and despite these suggestions above there is no real, set in concrete rules.  For example, should you ever touch a student?  Of course, there are times when it is really appropriate and professionally proper to support them when they are hurting but that touch must be appropriate.  Eventually it comes down to your professional judgement and if you have the best intentions you will learn to be that real ‘significant other’ students rely on as they make a safe transition into becoming their adult, authentic self!

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Monday, October 29 2018

Dissociation

The dominance of male students who appear in suspension data or are attending special settings for ‘out of control’ behaviour, is a feature of all school systems.  If you agree with us that most dysfunctional behaviour is formed in abusive early childhood environments, this reality is counter-intuitive as young girls are at least as likely to be subjected to abuse as boys.  In fact, there is a strong case for inferring that girls are more likely to be abused when you consider that sexual assaults by adult males are most likely to be directed to females. 

The simple answer to this quandary is that these behaviours are cultural and historically females have learned to stay quiet about how they feel and suffer in silence.  There is some truth to this but I offered an explanation about these disproportionate numbers.  This belief based on the work of the anthropologist Louis Leakey who hypothesizes that boys have evolved to externalize their actions.  Once humans became the apex species the main threat to survival was attacks from another tribe.  In the event of such battles males had a greater chance of survival if they act-out, fought the invaders or ran to safety; that is they took action.  Such a response was not as effective for females and children.  They were more likely to survive if they surrendered or dissociated.  They would be taken as trophies.

Reasons that lead me to support this conclusion are that even in modern ‘tribal wars’ like those during the break-up on Yugoslavia in the 1990’s, the Balkans and Kosovo saw acts of murderous brutality against the male populations.  The resulting mass graves were primarily filled with the bodies of potential opponent soldiers. 

I believe this underlies an examination of the suspension data in our schools.  Up to about age ten or eleven the suspension rate of boys is marginally higher than girls.  When we look at the data for puberty and beyond the figure for boys explodes.  I suggest this is when their adult disposition is initiated.

If you look at the most common diagnosis of dysfunctional behaviour that results from early childhood abuse the most common are Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiance Disorder and Dissociation Identity Disorder.  The first two disorders are largely populated with boys; in the latter girls dominate the numbers.

In broad terms dissociation from the immediate environment is on a continuum ranging from mild detachment to a more severe isolation.  It is a detachment from the reality rather than a loss of reality that occurs if the child is suffering a psychotic episode. The clinical description of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a single person who experiences himself/herself as having separate parts of the mind that function with some autonomy.  It manifests as a lack of connection in a person’s thoughts, memories, feelings and actions. 

As stated above almost exclusively these people have documented histories of repeated, overwhelming and often life threatening trauma during sensitive developmental stages of childhood.  At the time of the abuse when the child is faced with this overwhelming trauma and there is no physical escape, they go away ‘in their head’.  This is a highly creative method of survival allowing them to endure in apparent hopeless situations.  If the trauma is repeated eventually this develops as an automatic response to situations which have similar environmental characteristics, despite not being life threatening.  That is if the stimulus presented has strong ‘reminder’ qualities of the original traumatic event(s) the child will dissociate.

How does this disability appear in the classroom?  It does and is a real interference to the potential learning outcomes for these students.  The problem for teachers is that these, mostly girls are quiet and compliant and pose no obvious challenge.  The student’s ‘invisibility’ is intensified in classrooms where there is a core of students with acting out, dysfunctional behaviours.  Teachers are so occupied controlling the obvious problems these girls are left to suffer in silence.

However, schools have a duty to support these students so they will learn.  The following approach will at least create the conditions that allow the students to operate in an environment that will improve the student’s personal control.  These include:

  • Creating a structured environment where the students learn to predict the consequences of their behaviour thus allowing them to regain a sense of control in their life
  • Developing a place that is safe and secure for the students
  • Developing strong boundaries for the students so that they can protect themselves against stimuli that has the same characteristics as the early abuse but not the same ‘real threat’
  • Presenting a program where the students get their needs met
  • Developing a cognitive framework for the students so that they can sort out how they think and feel, undoing damaging ‘self concepts’ and learning about what is ‘normal’
  • Hold the students responsible for their behaviour

The dissociated student presents a real challenge but along with the steps outlined above it is powerful to point out to the student that they have the right to participate and to get their needs met.

Posted by: AT 10:23 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, September 24 2018

Getting to the Truth

One of the time-consuming things teachers face is trying to get to the truth of student disputes.  Despite the protests of many parents who insist ‘their child would not lie’ it is a fact of life that kids will lie on occasion especially if they are trying to avoid trouble!  This is an unpleasant job but it is an inevitability for those running a classroom or school.

I came across an article in Scientific American by Roni Jacobson ‘How to Extract a Confession … Ethically’ and it referenced the process used by President Obama’s High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG).  In the wake of the unethical interrogation techniques used in the Abu Ghraib prison during the second Gulf War, there was a demand for guidelines that authorities could use when interviewing ‘suspects.’  The process described in the HIG report meets the ethical standards of the American Psychological Association. 

There are times when you will need to get to the truth to:

·         Teach the student that has made a mistake that there will be consequences eventually

·         Protect the student (or teacher) who is the victim of the lie

·         Demonstrate fairness in the school setting

Also, remember there are some students who will immediately ‘spill their guts' and they are not the problem.  This technique is for students who are practiced in avoiding facing the consequences of their inappropriate behavior.

The following are the steps developed to get to the truth of the matter in a practical and still ethical way:

1.     Build Rapport

Think about the ‘good cop – bad cop’ scenario and then eliminate the bad cop.  Develop an empathetic approach to the student you are questioning.  You want to build an atmosphere of cooperating as you approach the problem. Forming such a relationship is the critical step, not only to get to the truth but because you are genuinely concerned for the student, relationships can survive even after you get a confession.  The action and the child are separated.

2.     Fill in the Blank

Don’t just ask direct questions straight from the start but begin by telling what you know about the situation in a manner that suggests you already know what happened.  As you go on the guilty student will start to add details or correct part of your story without realizing they are doing so.  Don’t go ‘in for the kill’ when this starts to happen – you are building a case, be patient.  Research conducted in 2014 indicated that people who are interrogated using this method tended to underestimate how much they were telling the interrogator.

3.     Surprise Them

The students who know they are under suspicion often practice their answers ahead of time.  In the age of mobile phones, I have seen texts between students where stories are ‘coordinated.'  Under the pressure of the interview they try to keep the story intact while they struggle to remain calm and relaxed.  If you ask them something unexpected, something out of the blue about the incident they often slip-up while they try to fit the new facts into their fabricated story.

4.     Ask Them to Tell the Story Backwards

It might appear counter-intuitive, but students who are telling the truth will add more details as the retell their story.  Those students who lie will stick rigidly to their tale being careful not to make changes.  Inconsistency is part of how memory works.  This technique exploits the difficulty liars have reconstructing their story from the back to the front.  Again the HIG investigation found that liars produced twice as many details when telling their story in reverse order often contradicting their original story.

5.     Withhold Evidence Until the Crucial Moment

A study showed that when people were confronted with evidence of their wrongdoing early in the interviewing process, they either clammed up or became hostile.  After a period of time, when you have established the ‘right’ conditions, that is they think they are safe the release of evidence will often be accepted because they give up trying to sustain the lie.

Finally, this is just a technique to get to the truth; it is not a set of tools to BEAT the student.  When it works beware, you might be tempted to take pride in how ‘clever’ you are.  It is never a competition, finding the truth is just to help all the students!

 

Posted by: AT 10:40 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, September 17 2018

Areas of Indifference

Teachers are often faced with a class that is ‘out of control’ and we previously have discussed (Taming that Difficult Class April 2018) the advantage of taking an inventory of all the ‘things that are wrong’ and dividing them up into manageable chunks.  The crafty understanding behind this approach is the handling of the students’ stress levels, their level of arousal that any change to existing behaviour involves.

The graph below illustrates the process involved.  When the teacher changes the behavioural environment in such a way that the student’s behaviour attracts a negative consequence that student will be thrown into a state of disequilibrium and experience the stress that comes from that disorder.  However, if the consequences are not overwhelming and delivered in a way that respects the child and focuses on the behaviour, that stress will soon subside and the student will return to a state of calm even though they have accepted a ‘new environment’ as being normal.

So if the teacher has followed the advice of examining all the problems and choosing one to attack it is important that the targeted behaviour is not extremely threatening.  From this it is obvious that the taming of a dysfunctional classroom is a process over time that involves a change in the structured environment that occurs during that period of time.  You never ask for big changes and you move the behaviour in a non-threatening manner.  The harder you push the more stressed they will be and the more they will resist.

This model exploits the process used by negotiators who work to resolve conflict between two parties.  In any dispute there are some areas that both can agree are not that important and are willing to sacrifice to facilitate a settlement.  These are referred as areas of indifference.  Once they give them up they no longer become in dispute.  By slowly moving both parties through these areas they eventually identify the core problems and the energy can be focused on a possible solution.

As teacher we are not negotiating the right for all students to be taught in a calm, supportive environment and so we focus on moving the students to our desired position through a series of their points of indifference.  Each stage refers to a ‘rule’ you have negotiated using the process discussed.  This is important because you can refer to that rule when delivering the consequence while pointing out the student’s ownership of that consequence.  This allows the relationship to remain in place over the long term.

This diagram illustrates the step process in making change in the classroom.

Finally be aware that your behaviour towards the students as they move through this process is important.  When they inevitably complain about the new situation you should pay them the courtesy of actively listening to them making sure your non-verbal communication, body language, facial expression and tone of voice is not confrontational. 

If you do follow this process of structured management there will come a time when the students will accept that you do have control and that is for their benefit.  You have created a new environment and they have learned a new set of behaviours to achieve a state of equilibrium.

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Wednesday, September 12 2018

The Dangers Of Praise

‘Good girl/boy’ or ‘you are such a clever little boy/girl’ etc. are everyday comments I hear when around teachers and parents when they are talking to their kids.  It wasn’t always like that.  I hate to put on my ‘in my day’ hat but before the 1960’s the custom was children are seen and not heard, children developed their position in the community by their actions and by watching adults.  So what happened?

The reason given for this change is that at the beginning of the space race the United States felt humiliated by the success of the USSR.  This failure created a lot of retrospection and review amongst a range of their systems including their education practices.  Coincidentally a book “Psychology of Self Esteem’ by Nathaniel Branden, the founder of the self-esteem movement came out and this caused a ‘positive praise’ movement that is alive and well to this very day.

No longer were children just a part of the family unit, ‘good parenting’ made them the focal centre of the family.  Educators were taught that praise was a valued tool to raise the educational outcomes.  I remember in my early years in ‘special education’ my American peers were expected to provide four positive comments to the class, morsels of praise for each negative statement.  I must say that in my classes for students with severe behaviours, even the most ‘inventive’ teacher would have trouble adhering to this requirement without resorting to ridiculous incidents.

Granted the development of a strong sense of an authentic self is critical for all children but the term self-esteem is confusing and clouds that concept.  An authentic sense of self is a truthful understanding of your character and abilities.  This allows for self-criticism and improvement.  The term self-esteem suggests that what is important is to value what you are.  The difference is subtle but important.  The latter view, the importance of the self is defensive, the popular book ‘I'm OK – You're OK’ by Thomas Harris (1969) is based on the idea that whatever you do you are ‘alright’. 

The former is more like taking the view that ‘I’m imperfect and that is not OK; I have work to do’.  This approach allows you to understand that you are not perfect, you make mistakes but because you are a good person you will work to improve.  This is a better approach to achieving authenticity.

Enough of this philosophy the question is what is wrong with praising our students?  Well it depends on how, when and for what you praise them.  Lets start with the two lesser issues around praise; the when and how to commend. 

Young children below the age of about seven will take what an adult says on face value.  If you say to them ‘great job’ or ‘what a clever girl’ they take that on face value, they believe you.  Soon they mature and become more critical of others’ judgments; teenagers are very suspicious of praise.  They understand the truth; that praise is a form of manipulation and for it to have any validity it must be earned.  There is an inverse relationship between age and the effectiveness of praise. 

For the older kids an effective approach is the ‘second hand’ method.  You can do this by saying to a student or a class that Ms. Smith told me you did some great work in her art class.  I would of course follow that with some friendly humour like ‘she must have got her class mixed up’ to avoid their potential embarrassment.  This second-handedness allows the kids to be a step away and the fact Ms. Smith told someone else about you indicates she really must have been impressed.  Another way to provide this second hand praise is to tell another staff member about how much you value the class in a situation where they can overhear you.

Finally, in the ‘how’ category, when you praise a student leave out the ‘I’ in your message; don’t say I am proud of you.  For some kids, especially those who have attachment issues linking the value of their work to your acceptance can be threatening.  You're their teacher, personal acceptance is a given.  Instead link the praise to their work.  “You did a great job’ or ‘Just look how good you set out your title page’.  The praise should reflect what they did and this will lead to intrinsic motivation.

The real issue around praise is the ‘what’.  There are two types of praise personal and process.

Personal Praise

This is when you praise the child for what they are.  Things like, you’re very clever, you are a natural, you find this work very easy, etc.  There is plenty of evidence that this has a negative affect.  Children praised for ‘what they are’ will lack motivation and lose interest in the tasks and have their grades actually fall.  Most dangerous is to tell them they are very clever. 

Psychologist Carol Dweck gave a group of students a relatively easy ‘IQ Test.’ The test was done individually, that is, only the examiner and the student were present. For half the group, the examiner commented, ‘You must be clever.’ The other half was told, ‘You must have really worked hard.’

After a period of time the students were re-gathered for a second test. They were offered a choice of tests. One test was similar to the first test. The other was described as more difficult, but they were told they would learn a lot. Ninety percent of the students who were given the message about making an effort chose to do the more difficult test. The majority of the ‘clever’ kids took the easy option.

What this tells us is that if you praise kids for their intelligence, the following occurs:

  • They don’t make any effort; they expect things to come easily to them.
  • They are afraid to take risks, feeling it is better to be safe and look good.
  • If and when they fail it is final; their failure is evidence that they are not as smart as you told them. More importantly, there is a faulty belief that there is nothing they can do about intelligence. The quantity is given; they can’t get more, and there is nothing they can do to control this failure. They have no useful response to failure.

Process Praise

This is to praise them for their effort.  Be specific about what you are praising them for; describe the detail of what was good about what they did.  Dweck’s work is at the frontier of the ‘effort’ movement that now dominates the current theory of student motivation.  We are to praise them for their effort!  There are problems with the ‘effort’ movement for instance some start to believe that ‘failure’ is only because you didn’t make enough effort but more of that in another Newsletter.

The students who have been praised for their effort are more likely to see failure as a result of not making enough effort. This gives them something to work on to change the result. This approach allows the students to take control, and they are more likely to maximize their learning in areas that capture their interest.

I can’t imagine teaching without praising the students.  We become teachers because we love kids and the joy of seeing them grow into successful, independent young adults.  This is our job!

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Tuesday, August 14 2018

Transference

One of the dangers of working with very needy students is the danger of them projecting their feelings about important relationships on to the teacher.  This projection of a ‘quality’ on to another is a crude definition of ‘transference’.  The student projects their existing, or desired beliefs and feelings relative to a previous relationship on to the teacher. 

Some students who have generally been starved of the healthy, supportive childhood will see the teacher as a support and an object of attraction.  This substitution can be a positive thing in the short term.  It allows a relationship to develop.  However, if the teacher ‘reminds’ the child of an abusive past they will project this negativity on to the teacher and the teacher is seen as ‘the enemy’ and an object of rejection. 

We all know how important relationships are and the phenomena of transference makes clear how the quality of that relationship impacts on the children.

Another danger is that some teachers project their own, unresolved issues on to the students.  A teacher who suffered neglect in their own childhood is vulnerable to look at a similar student through their own emotional attitudes.  This is known as counter transference.

Transference is a difficult issue for teachers.  For the struggling child the fact that they project such qualities on a functional adult may well support that child at the beginning of their recovery.  However, the teacher must be really awake to the dangers of blurring the boundaries with these children.  They must maintain a professional ‘distance’ from the child. 

The following outlines the way counter transference can arise:

  • Either consciously or unconsciously the teacher will be affected if the student projects attraction or rejection on to the teacher.  It will cloud their judgment.
  • The teacher’s personal history will blur their understanding of the student’s behaviour.  The student may represent an unresolved issue such as an inability to deal with aggression and the emotional memory of their personal hurt will affect their reasoning.
  • They will have a predisposition towards a range of students based on whether they are attracted to them or repelled by their presence.  This will result in an inability to maintain a sense of objectivity both positively or negatively.  Furthermore, they will be deterred from engaging with those students whose traits expose their own histories.

The following situations are a strong signal that the teacher is transferring their own unresolved issues onto their students.  These indicators are:

  • Having a need for the student to be dependent on them, they fulfill the teacher’s needs.
  • They need to be liked by the students.  This threatens their ability to deliver inappropriate consequences for misbehavior.
  • Wanting to feel like the expert in front of the students.  They can devalue their colleagues and the students.
  • They need to exert inappropriate control over the student.  This will hamper the student’s independence development.
  • Show too much interest in the student’s personal life.  This is crossing professional boundaries.
  • Being aggressive and confrontational with students or reacting negatively to students who are assertive or aggressive.
  • Being uncomfortable with certain types of emotions such as anger or tenderness.  They suppress these if students display them.
  • Over-identifying with students who have problems that reflect their own.  They ‘know how they feel’ and become too close.
  • Support some student’s defiance against authority.  This is particularly a problem for younger teachers.
  • Idealizing students and investing their own perhaps unfulfilled goals in the student.

Patterns to Watch Out For

  • Dreading or eagerly anticipating a certain class
  • Favoring one class over the other, better preparation, quicker marking of papers, etc.
  • Thinking excessively about students outside work hours.  These can involve sexual attraction.
  • Not being consistent dealing with students in behaviour management.
  • Being too bored to put in an effort in teaching a student or class or being angry for no specific reason.
  • Overly impressed with students or classes.  This may reflect unfulfilled ambitions.  Things like a frustrated musician being unduly impressed by a student with musical talent.
  • Being hurt by student’s criticism.  This brings up past issues of being subjected to anger.
  • Rescuing students by doing their work for them or ignoring their lack of compliance in assessment tasks.

Healthy teachers understand their own flaws and adjust their understanding about the management of situations they face.  Their actions/reactions are appropriate to the immediate problem they face and not just a product of the history of their internalized world.  

The key to dealing with the potential of transference affecting your work is to have very clear professional boundaries and clarify these boundaries with the students.

Posted by: AT 05:32 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, July 23 2018

Passive Aggressive Personality Disorder

Continuing on with the sequence of dysfunctional behaviours faced by teachers in the classroom we come to perhaps the most frustrating, the students with a Passive Aggressive Personality Disorder (PAPD).  PAPD is the condition where the student on the surface seems to comply with your directions but actually resists them.  This apparent compliance hides the real drive that is to express anger at the situation.  The drive is to be accepted rather than to protect but instead of attention seeking and the consequential behaviours described in the last Newsletter this is a case where the student wants to display their anger but has been taught that this would be too dangerous.  Instead through their behaviour they evoke anger in the other person.

This way of behaving is learned in the early years in families where it is unsafe to express their anger and in many cases never being allowed to express any emotions. These children have aggressive parents who severely punish the child if he/she displays anger.  The anger that they are forced to swallow must be expressed and so is projected on to others. 

A more subtle way PAPD is developed in an environment where the parents

place excessive guilt or shame on their children when they fail to present as sociable and acceptable in the parents’ social circles.  For example when a child appropriately attempts to get their needs met by asserting their rights over other children their parents reject the behaviour as well as the child for the sake of appearing sociably ‘nice’ in the eyes of others.   The child is rejected, devalued and never taught effective behaviours for the sake of the parent’s image.

Another cause of PAPD behaviour can occur if the child is falsely overvalued.  In this scenario the child, typically male, bright is raised in a passive aggressive family.  They have an aggressive father and a mother who is submissive.  In the family the mother is unable to confront the father, get her needs met and so enmeshes the son.  As this occurs when the child is so dependent on the mother he will learn to carry her anger without learning how to express that anger.

Remembering the motivation of these children is to make you angry but without you being able to ‘blame them’.  They do things like ‘accidentally’ spilling ink onto another person’s project, walking to the door very slowly, give one word answers to your questions, they slam doors ‘too hard’ and when you confront them they insist they are ‘doing the right thing’ or it was a genuine mistake.  They take away what they think is any real evidence.

The student is passively resisting the fulfillment of work set for them putting the work off with no consideration of deadlines.  They are reluctantly joins in ‘group work’ but if forced to, they make sure the other students know he doesn’t want to be there. 

When you confront them they protest about the unreasonable demands placed on them, and resent any suggestions of help from the teacher or classmates.

There has been a long dispute as to whether or not PAPD is a developmental disability.  It has been dropped from the DSMV but whether or not it is a classified illness these kids are certainly present in many of our classrooms.

These students can be amongst the most challenging a teacher will face.  The whole motivation behind their behaviour is for you to become angry and these students soon develop a sense of which of your buttons they need to press to achieve this.  They are particularly effective in identifying areas where the teacher has a heavy personal investment.  If they take pride in the presentation of their room the PADD kid will ‘accidentally’ make a significant mess.  Or if you struggle with your weight these kids will be full of suggestions for you to deal with your ‘obvious problem’ after all they are just trying to help.   It is in these areas the PAPD student thrives. 

However there are techniques that will allow the teacher to confront the PAPD student.  These are outlined below:

  • Calmly address the behaviour without rejecting the individual.
  • Get the students to explain why they choose to act the way they have.  Ask them what they wanted to have happen.
  • Establish, for them, that you understand what is going on, what they are doing.
  • Give them a choice in what they need to do next but explain the consequences that will follow will be attached to each action.  It is fine to let them know what you would prefer but they need to know the choice is theirs and the following consequence is their responsibility.
  • Explain to them that anger is a natural process and that people must learn to deal with it.  It may be that the whole class can address the issue of anger and its appropriate management.

When dealing with these kids never impose consequences that have a negative effect on the rest of the class.  You may feel these ‘whole class’ consequences may evoke peer pressure on this student; the risk of rejection should force them to comply.  However, as the aim of the PAPD student’s behaviour, is to annoy others, by punishing the class, they all get angry so you are in fact rewarding the behaviour. 

Remember PAPD is a behaviour the student uses not to avoid the responsibility of dealing with their own anger but because they don’t have the skills to do so.  By approaching them with the belief that they can be taught to take responsibility for themselves, own their anger and express it appropriately they can become productive members of the class.  The teacher needs to be aware of the tactics these students implement and used a systematic approach to deal with them.

Posted by: AT 01:47 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, July 09 2018

Attention Seeking

In our previous Newsletter we spoke about addictive dysfunctional behaviours that children and adults use to protect themselves from attacks on their sense of self.  If you have followed these Newsletters you understand that stress is the result of finding our self in a state of homeostatic disequilibrium, that is we feel uncomfortable.  Of course this occurs when we are threatened from outside forces but it also occurs when we are denied access to our immediate community.  The sense of personal rejection is the motivation for so much of our behaviour and the following describe just how this rejection can be manifested in our classrooms.  For children from abused backgrounds they are likely to find themselves excluded and their dysfunctional reaction will have unwanted long term consequences.

The Austrian psychiatrist Rudolf Dreikurs presented a model of how children react to a feeling of not belonging in a classroom.  Dreikurs suggested that when a child feels ostracised they would act in four different ways to rectify this.  Although not stated these styles of behaviour escalate from attention seeking to a challenge of power, then on to seeking revenge and finally withdrawal or avoidance.

Attention Seekers

When children feel left out they behave in such a way as to draw attention to themselves.  This is not a problem if the behaviour is functional but for children who lack the training in ‘level-headed’ behaviour their techniques range from showing-off, the class clown, being forgetful, tapping pencils, the list well known to all teachers goes on and on.  These children do attract your attention but for the wrong reasons and you become annoyed and irritated.

With these kids never acknowledge low-level inappropriate behaviour by referring to it, don’t validate it, don’t nag or appeal to them because this conveys the message you did notice and that is their goal. Attempt to redirect the child by refocusing on the task at hand.  Eventually you may have to deliver consequences for this behaviour.

But remember the purpose is to seek your attention and whenever it is appropriate give them lots of praise and attention.  Attention seeking is a low level attempt by the student to gain attention and is relatively easy to recognise and provide.

Power Seekers

These children react to their rejection by challenging your own boundaries.  They will argue, sulk, refuse to comply and sneer at others.  When pushed they will throw tantrums anything to challenge you to place them ‘at a disadvantage’.

These children react to their rejection by challenging you.

The effect on you is to feel threatened, angry and powerless.  You get a sense of inadequacy and can become defeated.

If you understand the strategy being used by these children you can deal with them by refusing to get trapped in their power struggle.  Just remain calm and deliver the consequences for their behaviour avoiding making comments about their personality.  Remember these kids still crave recognition so catch their good behaviours and praise their positive qualities.  Acknowledge their worth.

Revenge Seekers

These children will try to hurt you as a payback for their perceived rejection of them.  They appear sullen, vicious, and violent, they destroy property, trash or scratch cars or other public buildings.  They will insult you personally, etc. but do this without the need for you to know that it was they who did it.  They have almost given up on being accepted and now want to tear down the community that has rejected them.

You will feel under threat and their behaviour will evoke feelings of outrage or wounded and it is easy to develop a dislike for these children.  In a perverse sense they have your attention.

Remain calm and don’t react in a way that lets them know they have hurt you.  Explain the consequences of their behaviour and deliver them without emotion.  Although challenging, try to hang in with these students, try to convince them of their worth.  This is not so hard to do when you understand the motivation of this behaviour.

Withdrawn Student

These children appear not to care.  They will deliberately fail or make no effort to finish work despite your encouragement.  They are often absent from school and when they do attend they do not bring their equipment.  They appear withdrawn, ‘dead’, making no effort.  They answer the teacher’s encouragement with ‘don’t know’, ‘don’t care’ their behaviour frustrates the teacher leaving them with feelings of inadequacy, hopelessness and a failure.  This can lead to making you feel like giving up on these students.

When you challenge them they will not take responsibility for their actions.

These are the most difficult kids to salvage but can still be reached.  When confronted with these behaviours ignore their failures.  Set easy or errorless learning tasks.  Don’t judge or criticise them and hang in with them longer then they or anyone else expects you to. 

When confronted with these kids remember they are using dysfunctional behaviours to meet valid needs.  Act to provide that sense of belonging through praising any appropriate efforts and never forget the power of inclusion in ‘group work’ with other students.

These kids will provide you with a significant challenge but knowing how to deal with them is what distinguishes professional teachers from others.

Posted by: AT 07:00 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, July 02 2018

Dysfunctional Behaviour to Deal with Stress

In a previous Newsletter (Different Expressions from an Abused History 25th June 2018) we discussed how children who are abused in a predictable way develop some form of control over their behaviour.  In disputes between individuals, times of undesired border intrusion we all need to develop behaviours that protect us from this aggression while maintaining our sense of security.  The following describes three methods that are often developed that may protect us from the abuse but they prevent learning new, effective behaviours that will easily deal with comparable attacks in the future.  They may protect us but they will only work in the short term.

The following describes how students make such attempts to protect themselves from the painful feelings that are aroused when their boundaries are threatened.  The primary goal of this behaviour is to make the pain go away.  This ‘acting to protect,’ is to eliminate the pain that is at the seat of all addictions.

Any time addiction is discussed the most common interpretation is about the addiction to some type of substance, things like alcohol, marijuana etc.  The use of a chemical or substance is used to make the pain ‘go away’; you can’t feel it. But this only lasts until the effect of the substance wears off.       

There is a second form of addiction where people eliminate the pain by immersing themselves into some activity.  By concentrating on the activity you can ignore the problem.  Again the relief only endures while distraction lasts.  Typical of these addicts are the gamblers addict, or the work-a-holics.

There is a lot more that can be said about these problems but this Newsletter focuses on what I call people addiction.  This describes behaviours the students, and teachers use to deal with the source of the stress; that is the person or people who are causing the discomfort.  Unlike numbing the stress with substances or distracting attention from the stressor with an activity, this form of addiction attempts to control the source of the stress.  This takes three forms, overt control, covert control and resistance.

The first of these is to take the challenge head on.  That is if you stress me I will stress you back much more aggressively so that you will stop causing me problems.  The techniques to do this take the form of actual physical or psychological attack, threat to attack or use of any form of aggression against the boundary of the other person.  So for example, if the teacher wants the student to change seats, that child will adopt a behaviour like making fun of, abusing, discounting the worth of,  or any other technique that makes the teacher feel uncomfortable.  The student is overtly expressing their feelings, needs and ideas at the expense of others including the teacher and ignoring their rights. 

If this works and the teacher backs down to avoid the conflict then the student has protected them self but only until a similar situation reappears.  This use of abuse will only work if the other person backs off.  If they don’t then you have no-where to go to protect yourself.

The thing is, by being aggressive towards others they distance themselves from others and the resulting isolation will leave them frustrated and bitter.  As well they have not learned to deal with this type of attack in an effective way and so will rely on this behaviour every time they are threatened.  These are the ‘in your face’ type of kids that can intimidate all but the must skillful teacher.

The other method of control is through being ‘so nice’ to the other person they have no reason to attack you.  These sort of people will comply with what the other person wants, always trying to predict potential threats and position themselves to avoid such confrontation.  A classic statement these people might make is ‘I don’t care, what do you want to do’?  They suppress their own needs to avoid challenging others. 

This is a covert approach that, like the overt aggressive pattern may work but will leave you addicted to this form of behaviour and you will not develop the healthy boundaries needed to really get your life under control in a long term, healthy manner.

Students who use of this ‘passive’ approach to handle attacks deny their access to the things they need to develop.  They may avoid unpleasant situations but they will be prone to develop anger and a low self-worth. 

These students are hard to recognize particularly in a class with a number of difficult, acting out behaviour problems.  They remain quiet and cooperative as some sort of insurance against being picked on.  Teachers like these kids and its hard to distinguish the tactic of avoiding any conflict with those other nice kids who are well equipped to get their needs met so they are ignored by all but the most astute teacher.  But this is dysfunctional behaviour and should be treated that way.

Individuals will have a tendency to adopt one style, depending on their history of abuse but the overt or covert techniques can be used by the same person depending on their relative social power in the particular conflict to gain control.  That is, in one situation they will attack the source of their stress and the other they will placate that person.  This will in a general sense depend on things like that’s person’s gender, the position in the family and other issues like their social class, the influence of their relatives and the school attended.  However, in all social groups there is an understood pecking order and members have a sense of their position in that group.

Another technique to deal with the stress generated in relationships is to deliberately ignore the source.  These people refuse to engage in any situation that causes them stress.  It is common for teachers to have some students who just refuse to get involved in the lesson.  There could be a range of reasons for this disengagement but one that is not easily recognized is that the lesson is threatening the child’s sense of self and they are choosing to ignore the lesson and therefore ignore the stress.  It may not be the content of the lesson; it may be the fear of being called for an answer or being placed in a certain seating plan.

These people appear to not respect social ‘rules’; withdraw from interactions with others and by doing this they try to communicate that ‘they are not responsible’ for any potential conflict.  If they are ‘not there’ they are not involved and so they avoid the stress that indicates that they are not in homeostatic equilibrium and will remain off-balance in their life.

Take the time and learn to recognize these types of behaviour and while you are at it analyse the behaviour of your colleagues.  You will find those who use an overt approach are those authoritarian teachers who are demanding and inflexible.  Those who are submissive, using covert techniques never hold the kids responsible for their actions, will let them hand work in late without penalty.  Their students are never shown how to be responsible for their actions. 

The final type of teacher, the resistive one will ‘fail’ to impose school rules, never participate in staff meetings and generally criticize all efforts to improve the school’s performance.  They cut themselves off but in doing so lose the opportunity to enjoy the benefit that participation brings.

Understanding these dysfunctional behaviours will allow you to recognize the motive behind the behaviour and treat it appropriately by providing the structure and inclusion these kids need.

Posted by: AT 12:40 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, May 28 2018

Planning for a Disaster

Answer this:

If a bat and a ball cost $1.10 and the ball costs ten cents more how much does the bat cost?

Ask any group and the number of incorrect answers never ceases to amaze.  This is an example used by Daniel Kahneman to illustrate our propensity to make quick decisions.  Kahneman, a psychologist was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics through his appreciation of our propensity to make quick decisions.  In his influential book ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ he explains the reasons we make quick decisions and discusses the problems that can occur.  Although fast decisions are made in an emotional setting and can be considered a gut reaction Gladwell also bases them on instinct, a process described in his book Blink.

Slow thinking may not always be needed to yield the best answer it will be the most considered and most likely to provide that best answer.  Slow decisions are more accurate and considered.

However, when you examine the work done by institutions that manage natural or man-made ‘disasters’ you soon find that they do not have the luxury of making slow decisions.  At the time they have to act immediately to minimize the losses that will occur unless early support is available.  It is the same for a teacher at the time when ‘that student’ behaves in a disastrous manner.  The teacher does not have the time for ‘slow’ consideration; they must act immediately.  This is why a planned, structured behaviour management plan is so important.

In a previous Newsletter I presented the illustration below to describe, albeit a simplistic interpretation of decision-making.


 

When we apply this to our ‘disaster model’ we can demonstrate how the process works for both cases.  The most important planning is done away from the scene of the destruction, preferably before but at least after experiencing such an event.

Kahneman presents the concept of ‘what you see is all there is’ (WYSIATI) that underpins decisions.  At the time a decision needs to be made WYSIATI will determine the decision made.  This is because all we rely on is what we know we know; our known/known condition.  This is how quick thinking operates.  But it is obvious that when we are faced with a decision that requires a decision we understand that the following conditions are present:

  • Known/Known – as described above
  • Known/Unknown
  • Unknown/Unknown

If we are dealing with a child we ‘know’ what we have observed the child do.  It is unlikely we know what has historically happened to the child either during their childhood or at home that morning or even in the playground before class.  We do not have access to his/her emotional memories nor their beliefs but we should comprehend that these plus other complex factors will weaken the precision of the consequence we deliver.  This is why it is important to find out as much as you can about every child in your class.  The more you decrease the unknown the more effective your intervention will be.

Then there are the ‘unknown/unknowns’ the questions we don’t even know to ask.  But they will be there and they are the reason behaviour management is at best an imprecise practice.

So this is where the teacher’s slow thinking takes place, the development of classroom rules and structure, the acquisition of ‘historical’ information about each child’s behaviour history and the accumulated information about behaviour and the management of it’s dysfunctional expression.  Now when the inevitable classroom disaster occurs the teacher is best equipped to make an effective ‘fast decision’.

There is a bonus pay-off for this approach.  These effective fast decisions are also described as fluent decisions. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, professor of psychology and management at Claremont Graduate University in California, has termed this fluency as the feeling of ‘flow’ and are associated with feelings of confidence, control, being in the zone.  He described that for highly practised tasks, fluency and accuracy go hand in hand.  For example a musician might report feelings of flow when performing a piece that has been internalised after years of practice.  Sports men and women will often described as being ‘in the zone’ during competition.

On a personal level a teacher who achieves this level of expertise in behaviour management will feel more confident, more in control.  In addition to this, people who display fluency command respect and are seen as competent.  Their behaviour in the midst of the situation appears authentic and informed even when the inevitable mistake is made.

Posted by: AT 11:25 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, April 02 2018

Consequences neither Punishment nor Reward

The formal awareness about behaviour modification came from Pavlov’s experiment on the digestive process of dogs.  Inadvertently he established the connection between delivering a targeted stimulus and the following response in an extended environment.  Eventually, just the presence of the environment without the targeted stimulus generated the response.  In his classic experiment, he measured the level of saliva when presented with food, the targeted stimulus along with a ringing bell, the environment.  Eventually, the dog would salivate at the sound of the bell even though there was no food. This connection was referred as operative conditioning.

Operant conditioning was linked to learning, and later Skinner with his famous experiments on rats and pigeons extended this work.  In simplistic terms, he demonstrated that learning behaviour occurs to either gain a reward or avoid a punishment.  Skinner’s work was at the vanguard of a drive to have psychology accepted as a science.  In support of this Skinner and his peers claimed that the only thing that was significant about psychology was that which is able to measured.  This belief excluded the impact of a person’s internal world - their memories.  Of course, there is the direct connection between pressing a lever and getting a food pellet or an electric shock, and this will be ‘learned,' but this simplistic view excluded the complexity of human behaviour.

Skinnerian psychology soon had a significant influence on education theory.  At the time the dominating technique for teachers to get their students to behave was to either punish them for inappropriate behaviour or reward them when they conformed to the teacher’s demands.  As a young teacher, I remember students being hit, canned when they misbehaved and given early marks, certificates, etc. when they did the ‘right thing.'  This idea did meet Skinner's requirements but limited moulding the behaviour of students.  Of course, most students will act to get a reward or avoid punishment, but the driving force of a student's internal motivation can over ride this.  If we want to change this internal motivation, it will require the child to take responsibility.  The only real discipline is self-discipline.  

Punishment

Punishment is an imposition of power over ‘another' person, the teacher over the student.  This intervention is an expression of authority by the teacher who assumes the responsibility for behaviour in the classroom.  This power over limits the options for the student when modifying their behaviour. The student is disempowered, and for those students with severe behaviour disabilities, this reinforces their feelings of inadequacy. For those students who are struggling, the use of punishment is associated with blame and only reinforces their weak sense of self.

In my experience punishment is often used because the behaviour of the student has threatened the teacher.  Students’ behaviour can be very offensive and can threaten those around them.  Often the punishment dealt out is a form of revenge resulting from the teacher’s open or concealed anger.

What punishment does do is teach the kids what not to do.  Their attention is focused on not being caught misbehaving.  The result is the students will behave when the teacher is present, but when they are away, the kids will revert to their habitual behaviours.  They will not have embraced the desired behaviour.

Another problem with punishment is that teachers model behaviour and if the student ‘learns’ that if you want them to do something you do this by punishing them, then the kids will learn to become punitive themselves to get what they want.

Finally, if the teacher controls the class through punishment students will only learn what they can and can’t do. For the child, it is just too risky to behave outside the known set rules. This approach eliminates initiative, risk-taking and the development of creativity.

Rewards

Criticizing teachers for using rewards to motivate students is not a straight forward proposition.  In the past, when I challenged teachers for using rewards, I was invariably met with enthusiastic protests.  Giving kids something they like for doing something you want them to do seems to be a win/win situation, and I agree that in the short term it probably is.  But I challenge this practice to have a long-term benefit for the children. 

Using reward as the goal of the lesson significantly changes the focus of the lesson.  The real objective of any lesson, including learning how to behave appropriately is the value of what is learned not what you get if you ‘behave.'  Reward focus management, in reality, is no better than the use of punishment.

The elemental message is that the subject of the lesson has no intrinsic value.  The kids do the work for the reward not to learn the content.  Instead of becoming inquisitive they become reward driven.  This approach eliminates risk-taking, stifles creativity and like punishment the teacher is the focus of the behaviour, not the student.  Students will not become self-directed learners in the future.

Having said that I am fully aware that working with students who are disengaged from learning the use of rewards, certainly not punishment can be used to ‘capture' a student’s interest.  Rewards at least can make the student feel good for a short time, and this gives us a window of opportunity to begin to engage them in education.

For extremely damaged students the most simple of rewards can be enough to begin this process.  In the illustration below there is a hierarchy of rewards that start with ‘payments’ that satisfy their primary needs.  This type of reward would not be of any use but for the most extreme cases.

The use of tokens, certificates are the most popular reward systems and are used extensively even in the Senior Years of schooling, and this method of motivation is used in the very highest levels of the academic world.  Every year we see the awarding of Certificates of Achievement most of which remain in the filing cabinet only to be accessed when constructing a Resume.

Ask any successful self-directed student how important these are you will most likely get a ‘not very’ response.  All too often the Certificates’ are for the parents and grand parents.

The next level, activities or privilege moves from a token-style reward to a reward that provides a benefit for the student.  This type of reward is still toxic but is consumed within the immediate time and not kept as a reminder.

Above this, we move into the relationship zone where any reward depends on the connection between the teacher and student.  On the surface, this is not a ‘bad' thing, but there is a real danger that in this one the teacher's approval can become the prize.  There is a temptation that the teacher will exploit this.

But as I said at the start of these reflections, I am for anything that will engage the disconnected student, and the final type of praise in the hierarchy is intrinsic reward the real goal of motivation and the one that is self-administered.  Here the lesson becomes the personal ambition of the student.  For behaviour this means the students behave appropriately because of the value they find in that behaviour.

Consequence

Consequences are not rewards or punishments they are what will happen when you act in a certain way.  As mentioned in the previous Newsletter consequences can be natural, logical or chosen but the qualities they do need are to be delivered in a manner that does not directly attack the person but is wholly related to the behaviour.  This depersonalization allows this to be expressed in a friendly way that doesn't threaten the relationship between the teacher and the student.  The responsibility for the consequence is with the student, and this can be a result that they want.  If they behave in a way that brings them an unwanted outcome they can choose another option that they can try if the situation reoccurs. 

Consequences are not rewards or punishments but they are the results of behaviour and when you can have the student understand that the only power they have to get the consequences they want is to control their behaviour!

Posted by: AT 11:10 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, March 26 2018

Consequences

In the previous Newsletters we have discussed changing the behaviour of those kids who, through their dysfunctional behaviour disrupt their learning and the learning of others.  What we are focusing on is our attempts to change this situation, and that, of course, leads to the need to modify their behaviour.  If you have been following these Newsletters and the books you will understand that all behaviour, including that of these kids, is an attempt to achieve a state of personal equilibrium in the presenting conditions.  We act because we become uncomfortable, we become stressed known as a state of disequilibrium, and our actions are an attempt to change that situation.  If the response moves us back into equilibrium; that is we feel better then the resulting feedback will reinforce that connection between the situation, the action, and the consequence, if not we will continue to seek an action that will.  This simple definition requires an enormous amount of understanding of a person's sense of ‘equilibrium.'  

The illustration crudely explains this process

This model attempts to capture just one ‘behaviour cycle'.  Of course, this is extremely simplified but helps in our understanding.  If we apply this to the following scenario:

1. Antecedent Condition

Little John comes to school after being scolded by his father for being a waste of time.  John’s father is an alcoholic who regularly beats his wife.  Yesterday he was sent from his math’s class for being disrespectful.

2. Situation

The teacher asks John to sit down the front after a couple of other boys were making noise while the teacher was writing instructions on the board.

3.Decision

At this point John decides what to do.  This decision will be arrived at through his memories both cognitive memories, techniques he has been taught by the counselor and emotional memories, what he has learned when dealing with his father as a young child.

4. Action

John refuses to move because he didn’t make the noise.  He is yelling at the teacher telling him he is unfair.

5. Consequence?

Most likely he will again be removed.

How can we change this process?  John is a child, and even before he entered the classroom, he was destined to fail.  He came to school already expecting to fail, and at the first opportunity, he made sure he fulfilled this likelihood.  But the professional adult in the room is the teacher.  What could he do?

The process that changes this cycle is the feedback from the consequences.  That is if our actions make things better this information is stored in our memory.  The more a particular consequence is linked to the action the stronger the synaptic pathway becomes.  This process is especially crucial for the emotional memories.  In a sense, it becomes a bit of a competition between the existing synoptic schema evolved in earlier times and the newly created pathway.  The consequences are critical, and in the model, the consequences are not in the control of the student but are provided externally.  For classroom management, it is the teacher, or it should be who chooses and delivers the consequence.

So how would we deal with John in this situation?  It is the teacher who ‘decides' on the consequence.  In this instance, there is not much in the short term, but it is through the delivery of consequences that change can be achieved.

The molding of behaviour from being dysfunctional involves the application of consequences. These consequences can be in the various forms:

  • Natural - The result of the action always follows. That is, you play in the rain, you get wet. This type of consequence is not usually available because the lessons learned here have already been taught.
  • Logical - This means an understood connection between behaviour and consequence. It includes things like if you waste time in class, you are kept back after the bell. The time is made up. Using a logical consequence may not always be ethically appropriate. For example, if one student hits another, logically, they should be hit back. For so many reasons this is inappropriate, so another consequence should be sought.
  • Chosen - Although there is no natural or logical connection between the action and consequence, there is an agreement that the connection is an acceptable practice. Most class rules are chosen ones.

The consequences must have the goal as one of the following:

  • Rehabilitation - The long-term goal of the behaviour intervention is that the inappropriate behaviour the child had used to get their needs met is replaced by one that addresses the need in a socially acceptable way.
  •  Quarantine - The rule should be such that the other students are protected, physically and socially, from the actions of the perpetrator. This need to provide a safe environment is why timeout is often the appropriate consequence.  

The selection of consequences determines the effectiveness of the intervention, and this is a crucial decision that should be made by the teacher.  But on top of this, the application of these consequences should be consistent, persistent, fair and targeted at the behaviour, not the person.

 This topic is discussed in more detail in a following Newsletter.

Posted by: AT 12:13 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, February 05 2018

Boredom Mark 2

This article is a follow-up to Newsletter 11th of December

Most parents greet their kids at the end of the school day with the proverbial question ‘how was school today,' and the notorious answer is ‘boring.'  Of course, we know that is not the truth, the school day is full of formal and informal learning activities.  However, because each day is much like the last, there is an appearance of sameness that leads to a sense of monotony.  This lack of excitement or novelty leads to the child’s explanation of boredom!  Parents and insecure teachers who worry about the child being bored fail to understand the need for boredom in developing a self-contained and independent sense of self in the child.

The word boredom first appeared in Charles Dickens’ ‘Bleak House’ and since that time has come to describe the human condition of feeling we have nothing to do in an uninteresting environment.  That is, we lack external stimulation.  In our classrooms, teachers are experts in the manipulation of their student's external environment to make the subject of the lesson something they desire.  This manipulation of the learning environment is at the core of their practice.

It is not too much of a claim to declare today’s kids, or for that matter kids across the developed world, are the most bored citizens in our history.  Since automation has reduced our need to work hard for the resources to satisfy our fundamental physical needs such as food and shelter, we have had a lot of ‘spare time.'  In fact, since prehistoric humans began to cook, the efficiency of eating is the reason our cognitive development progressed at a rate faster than other species.  The result was we had time to think, we still do but now instead of introspective thinking our time has been exploited by the supply of easily accessible entertainment with its pervasive advertisements that use our natural insecurity and expertly construct a desire for the consumption of prescribed external stimulation.  Watch any ad-break on commercial television, and you will soon be told of all the things you need to have to be happy, successful and desirable.  Of course, most of us can't have all these characteristics but with every passing twelve minutes we a given a new set of promises.

If we do gain some wealth, we will have the money to seek pleasure through new experiences or visiting new places that promise excitement and thrilling adventures.  We can pursue a hedonistic lifestyle but continually toiling on this treadmill eventually the dulling effect of ‘too much’ of a good thing produces a state of boredom.

It is the reliance on the external world to meet our needs that causes this inevitable boredom; so the solution is to develop our internal world.  We only find peace and contentment, the reverse of boredom, from inside ourselves. Exposing children to boredom can force a child to access their inner world, and this plays a most crucial role in the development of their inner strength and resilience.  Kids should be bored on occasion.

I watch my grandchildren with their addiction to their iPads, continual viewing the latest offerings from one of the many streaming services available.  Their elder siblings are continually on their smartphone texting, posting on one of the many social networks.  Their parents may have developed a corresponding addiction to their email account or Twitter, along with the malignant FaceBook. Like all addiction, these electronic channels are accessed continuously to avoid being bored.

Walk through the streets of any modern city, and you will see people ignoring the wonders, not to mention the dangers of their natural environment transfixed to a small rectangle that radiates exciting messages.  Today one of the significant modern causes of road accidents is that drivers are choosing to watch their smartphone over concentrating on the dangerous world speeding past.  Our addiction has become a real traffic hazard.

This devotion to the electronic environment has to be managed better, and one of the most important things a parent can do is not to use the convenience of the television, the iPad; the computer games to entertain their children when they complain they have nothing to do.  Let them be bored.  It is these early years they will learn to go into their internal world, to develop imaginary friends, create ‘games' to entertain themselves.  Later they can avoid being bored by using their imagination to make-up games with their friends.  The need for structure in all sports will involve the formation of rules that teach the skills of negotiation and fairness.  This use of their imagination leads them to acquire the people skills that are so important for their participation in their communities.

Kids who are exposed to periods of boredom become inventive, self-contained, understand that a full life requires some personal investment of their energy.  This development of a strong sense of independence is a slow process that requires patience on our parts, but the long-term outcomes are well worth it.

So don't worry too much if your children are bored.  Leaving them to solve this problem through their own devices builds their inner strength that develops their resilience.  Another benefit is that life does regularly provide unusual and unexpected situations and when these inevitable, exciting occasions do arrive, they will be truly enjoyed.

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Monday, September 18 2017

Vacuous Shame

In a recent Newsletter (3rd July 2017) I addressed the issue of toxic shame.  I pointed out a sense of shame is underpinned by the pain that is associated with social rejection.  In healthy individuals rejection is always linked to their behaviour.  That is when they act in a way that goes against their ethical status they will feel they have betrayed themselves but any repercussions from their community is linked to their behaviour not their sense of themselves.  Hence this ‘rejection’ is referred to as healthy shame, shame about what we did.

To summarize the previous work, toxic shame is the belief that children and adults have about their sense of self and how that impacts on their lives.  They don’t make mistakes they are mistakes.  When they do something wrong its because they are wrong.  This is in opposition to healthy shame where you are ashamed of the mistake but retain your positive sense of self.

I have always felt this model failed to describe a final type of shame or in fact the lack of any sense of shame.  This sense of or lack of shame is closely associated with the over-indulged and narcissistic child I discussed in a previous newsletter (23rd May 2017).  However, I believe there is a slight difference in this lack of shame, which I have called vacuous shame and narcissism.  In the latter case the child has a feeling of entitlement or superiority over others in their community while vacuous shame is a case where the child has not been taught to socially share with others.

Another quality of vacuous shame is that it is not a sense experienced by the person in regards to their behaviour but it is others who project shame onto their behaviour.  The impact of the inappropriate behaviour that is experienced by others is closely tied to manners.

‘Manners’ is behaving in a way we expect is appropriate for a given social situation and this expectation is governed by social norms.  For example if we are going into a room and I get to the door first I expect that I will hold the door open for you.  However, if I just opened the door and walked straight in and worse let it slam in your face I would predict you to consider my behaviour the height of bad manners and that I was quite shameless.  How we go through a door has a cultural expectancy and when we fail to abide by that we offend our culture.

I have chosen the term vacuous adopting the definition of that word as showing lack of thought or content because people have to know the expectations of our culture before they really can be considered offensive.  I believe in today’s world children are taught a different set of norms and expectations than has been the case for their parents.  In modern, western society we have adopted a model for our community that is based on competition.  We see this in the work place, in schools and particularly in our popular media. 

The way to succeed is to win, to get there first.  To not win makes you feel like a failure or a point of ridicule.  Look at the type of humour that drives the modern ‘sit coms’ on TV.  The classic scenario is that the child is smarter than the mother, the mother is smarter than the father and the dog is smarter than everyone.  We are expected to laugh at the mistakes made by the very people who should be teaching us manners.

Before the ‘60’s manners were taught in schools as were their close partner proverbs.  The proverbs gave reason for social behaviour and underpinned the behaviour that enriched life for everyone, good manners.  Proverbs were even used in IQ tests.  Undoubtedly, the principal proverb, one that supports all successful societies and religions is ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ – the golden rule. 

This is in opposition to the maxim for the competitive world ‘do unto others before they do it to you’.  Manners, and proverbs are of little value to the competitive world in themselves but they are so important in social cohesion, a quality that is lacking in our modern society.

So let’s finish with that term vacuous shame.  When I see a young person push in on an elderly citizen I see that as being shameful but does that young person understand the impact of their behaviour?  They can’t know this; they can’t experience shame unless they have been taught it.  And it is obvious for too many of our students the lessons of manners is not being taught in the home, in the media nor other social institutions so the real shame of their behaviour must lie with those who have failed to teach them. 

‘Manners’ is no part of modern school curriculum, after all we are competitive but unless we do teach manners we are the ones who should feel the shame.

Finally two quotes that should be considered:

Quote 1:         

‘Children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in the place of exercise.  Children are now tyrants, not servants of their households.  They no longer rise when elders enter the room.  They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up the dainties at the table, cross their legs and tyrannize their teachers’.                  Socrates

 Quote 2:      

 ‘I am not a cranky old man’             Frew

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Monday, September 04 2017

Dealing with Difficult Students

Kids will muck-up, it’s what they do.  Children are works in progress and the part of their brain that is most required to modulate their behaviour is not fully developed until the mid twenties and it will come as no surprise boys mature later than girls (I will ignore the inevitable smart comments LADIES!).  So dealing with misbehaviour is at the core of our professional practices.  This Newsletter gives you some clues on how to deal with these ‘difficult kids’.

When you find yourself in a confrontation it is important to maintain your integrity.  This is where the structure you create in the classroom is vital.  If the child is violating the expectation of behaviour your actions are seen as imposing that expectation not your expectation.  The difference is subtle but essential in the maintenance of a good relationship.

You need to develop strong personal boundaries.  This self-control will allow you to present your case in an assertive but non-threatening manner:

  • Continue to act as if their behaviour has no effect on you
  • Maintain a steady, positive gaze
  • Speak clearly
  • Maintain appropriate eye contact
  • Stand up straight
  • Address the behaviour without threatening the individual
  • Never apologise for not getting emotionally involved with them
  • Remain silent after you deliver your message
    • Allow them time to digest the message
    • Give them time to make a decision.

When you have done this it is important that you reassure their acceptance as a member of the class.  Remember it is the behaviour we don’t want, not the child.  Address the student is the following manner:

  • Be concerned about them “I know your really angry now.  You need time to settle down”
  • Go on with another activity without antagonising them
  • Get them to explain the purpose of their inappropriate behaviour
  • Let them know that you understand why they are behaving that way
  • When they are acting appropriately really listen to them
  • Give them a choice of actions but not the choice of consequences that accompany each action

There will be times when you will be required to be critical of the students.  The delivery of criticism is never easy but when it is necessary criticise the behaviour not the person.  Take the following steps:

  • Be specific
  • Acknowledge the positives
  • Empathise
  • Keep calm
  • Keep to the point
  • Focus on the behaviour
  • Don’t stereo-type or use labels

Finally, procrastination is death when it comes to classroom management.  There is a reason you always hear in regards to discipline – be consistent and persistent – this provides the environment where we can all get on with our learning.

 

Note:  I have attached another essay that examines the problems schools encounter when they have to deal with students with extremely dysfunctional behaviours.

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Wednesday, August 23 2017

Independent Behaviour Programs

Contracting for Behaviour Gains

It is clear to teaching practitioners that optimal learning for all students takes place in a calm and secure environment. This environment depends on the predictability of consequences for behaviour which is the result of a highly structured process of managing student behaviour.  In the most part good classroom management will result in classes that are a pleasure to participate in for both the teacher and their students.

Of course there are those students who have to test the structure; that is they will just see if you will carry through on your plans to provide good discipline in the class.  These student will ‘break the rule’ to test the environment and that is why the catch cry for all good programs is to be consistent and persistent in the application of your ‘rules’.  I have to confess that, if I see a sign that says ‘wet paint’ I have an overwhelming urge to just touch the paint to see if it is.  There are a lot of students like me but we usually cause no long-term problem if the teacher is indeed persistent and consistent!

Unfortunately, or unsurprisingly there will occasionally be one or more students whose behaviour challenges the structure you have in place well beyond what is reasonable.  These students have severe, dysfunctional behaviours that are a result of their developmental history.  They will continue to challenge the teacher and shatter the security of the classroom unless you take action. 

Throughout the resources of this webpage, and in the various publications there is ample discussion of the origins of this type of behaviour and understanding this allows the teacher to have a deal of compassion for these students.  Nevertheless, it is a teacher’s professional duty to deal with these students regardless of how much resentment it can produce. 

The use of a structured program that is especially designed to deal with these behaviours can assist with managing the behaviour in the short term and moulding permanent functional behaviours in the long term.  This structure takes the form of independent behaviour program (IBP) that the teacher can construct preferably with the child, his/her parents and the teachers supervisor.  However, if the child and/or their parents do not want to participate it is important that they know the process and the consequences for behaviour.

The following steps will help you design an independent program.

Define the behaviours you want to target:

  • Be specific about exactly what the child is doing and the impact that behaviour is having.  There are ample examples of how to observe and record incidents of mis-behaviour and this provides a starting point for discussion.
  • Limit the behaviours you want to deal with - do not take on too much.  If you can eliminate one or two quickly then you can move onto other behaviours.  Eventually the child will think you really are in-charge of the classroom.
  • Spell out the consequences – these must include positive and negative.  It is not enough to extinguish behaviours knowing that they do serve a purpose.  You have to replace that behaviour with a new one that will serve the same need.
  • Keep a record of the behaviour – this allows both you and the student to track change.  This will provide an intrinsic reward for both of you.  Just a warning often students will increase the level of their inappropriate behaviour at the beginning of the process just to see if you are serious.
  • Evaluate – after a period of time check to see if the situation has changed.  If not you can revisit the process and try another strategy.  In some cases the student’s behaviour is so far beyond the resources of a school they must be excluded.  The process and your records will be invaluable as evidence for the expulsion.

There are a significant number of students whose behaviour is so dysfunctional they need special consideration.  These students are the victims of their developmental environment and deserve our best efforts, that’s why teachers do make a difference in so many children’s lives but be aware there are another large group of kids in your class and they deserve the same compassionate care.

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Monday, July 17 2017

Time Out

The delivery of a negative consequence for students whose actions are unacceptable is a difficult thing with the social and ethical restrictions that eliminate older, ‘traditional’ penalties.  In fact it is hard to think of any form of ‘punishment’ that teachers can impose that is not a form of ‘time out’ (TO) or exclusion.  This should not distract from the effectiveness of this practice as effective time out is a form of rejection and that is a very powerful motivator for the vast majority of children.

Time out achieves two outcomes in the short term, first it is the removal of the student who is disrupting the class and secondly the lesson can continue for the remaining students.

There are another benefits including the offending student can learn there is a consequence for their inappropriate behaviour and the exclusion can give them a quiet place to regain the emotional equilibrium.

The use of TO should never be a surprise; the class needs to have it known that this is the consequence for poor behaviour.  Whether or not there are specific warnings given to students who are ‘heading for TO’ depends on the students’ expectations.  There doesn’t seem to be any evidence one way or the other but the implementation must be consistent.

TYPES OF WITHDRAWAL

Stage 1  - The teacher makes the decision to remove positive stimulation from the student while they remain in class.

Stage 2  - The student is physically removed to another location in the classroom and instructed to watch but not participate in the lesson.

Stage 3  - The student is removed from the instructional activity and is not allowed to watch the lesson. 

Stage 4  - The student is removed from the room and is sent to a designated area for a brief duration of time. It requires the school to designate a specific space or location and to organise a level of supervision for the students. 

Stage 5  - If all forms of time outs in the school have failed then it may be that the student is removed from the school all together.  This is school suspension.

Length of Time Out

It is a fair rule of thumb that time out should be no more than five to ten minutes for young primary students up to fifteen to twenty minutes for older students.  However, the range of time can be from seconds, say Stage 1 to days, Stage 5.

Returning From Time Out

There should be a predetermined length that the students expect but the students should also understand that return should not happen unless there is a significant demonstration of appropriate behaviour. 

Legal and Ethical Guidelines

Before TO is used the following guidelines should be followed:

  • There must be conformity to the local education’s authority guidelines on time out, suspension, exclusion and expulsions
  • There should be the provision of written procedures so that parents, students and relevant school community members understand the process.  The legitimate educational function of time out is identified (i.e. reduction in dangerous or disruptive behaviour, protection of educational environment, etc.)
  •  Records should be kept of significant TO’s
  • For the higher stages of time outs supervisors, and parent/guardians, should be notified.

A final word of warning, the use of TO will only be effective if the student wants to be in your classroom.  If this is not the case then it may well be a positive result and the behaviour you thought was dysfunctional was indeed functional for that student.  Further to this, where the child goes to do their TO, it should not be to a more attractive place than being in classroom.  For example, if you have a group of students who are friends and they are misbehaving they may well plan to get ‘kicked out’ just to be together with no work to do!

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Monday, June 19 2017

The Intricacy of Stress 

Back in 1967, when I was just thinking about becoming a teacher a best seller by Peter Hanson swept the world.  This book, ‘The Joy of Stress’ made a case against the emerging understanding of the dangers of stress.  Early work into trauma described the response high levels of stress had on the body’s physiology in response to a physical threat.   Further work on the systems of the brain revealed the same response: the initiation of a whole range of chemical reactions, an endogenous, stress response of neuro-hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, the list goes on, can be triggered by our mind.  The expert advice was to avoid stress; Hanson’s book told us to embrace it.  So who is right?  Well both are.

Much of the work our Consultancy Group is involved with is intimately tied to the impact of stress on students and teachers.  As teachers we understand we need to engage our students but in schools there is often too much pressure: student behaviour, Department demands, irate parents.  It is obvious we need stress but not too much!

In the most general, clinical terms stress is the state of our emotional anxiety that is the result of threat to our survival.  When everything is going well and there is no anxiety we are in a position called homeostatic equilibrium.  We have a sort of point, or more realistically a series of optimal security positions for our body and our mind.  Things like blood pressure, temperature, secure relationships, etc. all have a position that is optimal for safety and security.  When we are under threat we move into a state of disequilibrium and that chemical reaction described above washes across the brain and activates a series of physiological changes.

There are three critical parts of the brain that best illustrate how this happens.  These are the hippocampus - critical to memory formations, the frontal lobes – where the brain collects, integrates and makes decision, the executive ‘controlling’ area of our behaviour and the amygdala the seat of feelings and arbitrator of threat.  All are required for learning and all ‘powered’ by stress.  There is a complexity in the effect this reaction will have on these three parts.

Too much stress will create an over reaction in the amygdala reinforcing the level of fear that will remain with the child, they become more easily frightened, more ‘efficient’ at recognizing threatening situations.  To compound this deterioration in resilience the child learns to be less able to identify when they feel safe.

The plasticity of the frontal lobes and the hippocampus is the ability to create new pathways, to learn.  The increase in the levels of chemicals particularly cortisol hamper this development significantly reducing the brain’s ability to make memories and access the frontal lobes so future planning can take place.

So in a sense the amygdala becomes more able to detect a good survival outcome but the cost is the changes in the more cognitive parts of the mind.

So how do we manage stress in the classroom?  Obviously, with stress levels we are referring to student engagement.  When I looked this term up in the Glossary of Education Reform, I found that “student engagement” refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education’.  What an example of ‘educational speak’, a committee based statement that covers every possible measure.  But, within this wordy platitude is a crucial fact – it is stress that - ‘extends the level of motivation’ however the question is how much stress?

Sports coaches have long understood the importance of arousal in getting their athletes to perform at their optimal ability.  The ‘Inverted U’ graph below illustrates the point in regards to outgoing performance, no arousal no performance – over arousal no performance but the right amount of arousal we get optimal performance.  This model holds for learning but because the level of stress for learning has to be the ‘goldilocks level’ not to hot - not too cold – just right.

If the level of engagement is too low there will be very little neural stimulation and so very little neuronal excitation. The hippocampus and frontal lobes will suffer a loss in their plasticity and if continuous will have a reduction in size.  The contemporaneous lesson will not be learned and the potential for future learning will be reduced. If the stress levels are too high the amygdala will be highly agitated not supporting the hippocampus or frontal lobes and it will become more sensitive to future experiences, easier to trigger the stress response.

There is a further complication and that is the ‘Inverted U’ curve is individualized, that is in a class of thirty there will be thirty different levels of arousal for the teacher’s attempts to engage the class.  What is an optimal level for one student will fail to arouse one student yet overwhelm another.  The art for the teacher is to individualise this ‘level of arousal’.

Good teachers are mobile in the classroom they get about and this is the time to personalise engagement.  To support each kid’s engagement you need to get to know all you can about the student’s personality and environment.  Taking a real interest in the student not only builds that crucial relationship it provides you with information that allows you to create the right amount of challenge for each student.

As I said earlier, our Group is very involved in dealing with stress particularly those students who have a history of child abuse and resultant trauma.  Acquiring the skill of applying just the right amount of challenge will allow you to bring out the best in all your students.

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Saturday, June 03 2017

Routine – Support for Student Expectations

30 May 2017

The most significant advantage humans have over other forms of life is our ability to predict what will happen given a certain set of circumstances.  So you can see predictability underpins expectations.  When we recognise a set of conditions that led to us having a great time we get excited anticipating another positive experience.  Conversely another set of conditions may provide us with a warning – we are not going to ‘enjoy’ what we expect next.

When a student enters a room they will be confronted with a set of features that they will interpret and then imagine what to expect.  This connection drives the emotional content of their minds and good teachers know how they feel about what you provide is directly related to how they will engage in your lesson.  If they expect to be bored they will be set up for boredom there will be no stress that calls for the child’s brain to attend – there is nothing worthwhile here.  If they are afraid they will be primed for protection against your lesson and the stress levels will be elevated to a level that excludes cognitive thinking – nothing can be learned effectively.

The successful teachers want what I call a ‘Goldilocks’ brain one that’s not too hot – over stressed and not too cold – under stressed but one stressed just right!  The way they will behave in a lesson is quite literally shaped by the way they feel.

Most significantly, both the student and the teacher’s expectation of a lesson depend on the experience of the previous lesson.  So it is important that the teacher understands that how they present their lessons sets the expectations of the students now and in the future.  We can’t expect the students to come into class just feeling good about your subject just because you like it but we can build up experiences of past ‘feel good’ moments that the kids will bring into the next lesson.  It’s like banking, the more you put into building an expectation account the more interest you will get and that’s compound interest. 

You have to remember that so much of their expectation is stored in the emotional area of the brain and this is why the relationship between teacher and student is the most significant factor in teachers being able to engage their students.  This is particularly true for those ‘difficult students who have a history of failure.  The successful teacher will develop a relationship with students and with the teacher’s support slowly change the student’s expectation about your lessons and their ability to learn.

Students with behavioural problems provide the greatest challenge to the teacher’s ability to engage them in learning.  It is important to understand these students will minimize or misinterpret any positive stimuli.  They either think they are not worthy or don’t trust the teacher’s motives. They are also hypersensitive to negative social cues and they are hyper-vigilant about potential threats. They also fail to understand or read non-verbal cues they don’t easily get what is presented to them and they are highly likely to be overwhelmed by the emotional content of any negative, incoming stimulus.  All this history of failure means that to create expectations for success in children who have only experienced failure requires patience and quiet determination.

So what do we need to do?  The following points will help:

  • Students decide how important the lesson is from how professional the teacher presents themselves. You need to look like a teacher – have your ‘teacher’s uniform on’, look like you love your work and most of all look like you are happy in their company.
  • Students register the importance of the lesson by the interest the teacher displays.  How could we expect the students to be enthusiastic about maths if the teacher is blasé about solving simultaneous equations?  Emotions are contagious and so is curiosity!
  • Messages about the effectiveness of the lesson come from the state of the room and the presentation of the lesson content. The recent discovery of Mirror Neurons (the subject of an essay on the Web Page) highlighted the importance of this point.  A neuroscientist Iacoboni had volunteers watch films of people reaching for various objects in a tea time setting (teapot, cup, jug, plate of pastries, napkins) in different contexts.  In every instance when the subjects saw the person in the scene reach for a cup, a basic set of ‘reaching’ neurons fired in the subjects.  But different additional sets of mirror neurons would fire depending on what expected action was suggested by the setting.  In one case the setting was neat and orderly as if the meal was about to be enjoyed.   The player was about to drink some tea and one form of additional neurons fired.  The other setting was cluttered as if the meal had been finished and the cup was ready to be cleaned up and there was a different set of neurons activated.  The brain knew what was coming next!  If the student comes into a room that is organised for learning their learning neurons will light up.  If the room is untidy and dirty another set will fire.

There is a popular view amongst some educators that we need to get emotions out of the way so we can teach the kids but good teachers know that emotions are not add-ons that interfere with cognition. They are a fundamental element of why thinking and learning happens and emotions fire expectations.  Through the child’s experience they learn to ‘know something’ that is about to happen so let’s make that quality learning!
 

Posted by: AT 10:23 pm   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  Email
Monday, May 15 2017

 

True Grit

16  May 2017

At the core of school’s work is student learning, it’s what schools are there for and because teachers are who they are, they are always looking to improve on this.  Teachers are committed to get each student to maximise their learning outcomes.

Earlier education practices worked on the premise that students came with certain abilities and we should stream them in homogenous classes so they would learn best.  Initially this ‘sorting’ was based on intelligence.   Of course some students are born with a natural gift for schoolwork but this talent is only the potential for success.  

Recent research has established that the major indicator that will determine a child’s success is not their ‘intelligence’ but their character.  So it stands to reason that we should focus on developing character!  The question is what sort of character?

What our students need to achieve sustained excellence in anything they do, is the traits of hard work and ability to stick at a task and see it through.  Paul Tough in his book How Children Succeed identified seven characteristics of a successful student, the first being ‘grit’. 

Grit describes a passion for success and requires perseverance, hardness and resilience, sticking to a problem until it is solved.

A simple but telling example of how grit works comes from the different results nationalities get in the PISA Scores for mathematics.  Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, describes how some students would take 22 minutes to work out a complicated math question.   Unfortunately the average student gives up after only THREE minutes, preferring to ask for help than work through the problem. Those students who persisted for that extended period of time got the solution.  Their grit ensured success and they would continue to keep in trying as the work becomes harder in the senior years.

Encouraging kids to step out of their comfort zones and take learning and social risks is one of the great challenges for teachers and parents.  It’s critical that we challenge children and young people to attempt activities where failure is a real option. Overcoming setbacks and pushing through difficulties is how character is formed.  Too often we try to protect our kids from the consequences of their mistakes but it is through mistakes and the taking of the responsibility of those mistakes character is built.

A word, or two of warning; grit has become extremely popular in modern times.  Angela Lee Duckworth on a TED Talk that has had over 10 million views talks about her experiences.  It’s hard to argue with TED, but I often do however there is a problem with this adoption of grit to the extent that supporters will accept that it is acceptable that kids do not have a balanced approach to life.  They argue that great achievements come from individuals that are extremely single-minded.  I would argue that, for a child we do require balance.

A second problem is that the total belief in grit promises success.  It is like the myth of meritocracy and the mantra of neoliberalism ‘by hard work to the top’.  The hidden message given to a child by ‘grit’ is that if you fail it is because you didn’t try hard enough! 

So what to do?  I agree that grit; perseverance, delayed gratification and the like are qualities we should teach to all our kids.  And I agree that character is a better indicator of success for a student but this is only on a personal level.  Kids are unique - all have different abilities but while ever we measure success in relation to a population some kids despite all the resilience and perseverance will never top the class, will never win an Olympic Gold Medal.  They need to know they are not failures but the best of people.

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PRINCIPALS

John R Frew
Marcia J Vallance


ABN 64 372 518 772

ABOUT

The principals of the company have had long careers in education with a combined total of eighty-one years service.  After starting as mainstream teachers they both moved into careers in providing support for students with severe behaviours.

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