Interesting...Students' behavior instruction covers bullying

Not how to. How NOT to. In any event, what an odd little story:

By JENNIFER GINSBERG
The Associated Press
8/17/2003, 11:53 p.m. CT

OXFORD, Ala. (AP) -- Children at Oxford Elementary School no longer will receive candy, pizza or ice cream parties as rewards for good behavior. This year, the school expects students to behave because it's the responsible thing to do.

Kindergarten teacher Kelley Williams said she's excited about the new policy. It's important, she says, to start early teaching children how to manage themselves, to think about how their actions affect others, and to realize they have a choice when deciding how to behave.

So far, so good...

Under the Oxford school's new plan, teachers will discuss four levels of social behavior with their students: democracy, cooperation, bullying and anarchy. The students will learn that the only two acceptable levels at school are democracy, which is having total self-discipline [What th'?], and cooperation, which is following directions [Again, WTF?].

Since when did democracy become the equivalent of having total self-discipline? When did cooperation start meaning "you do what I say"? Laudable goals to try to get the little imps to behave, but I believe I see an attempt by someone to cover the unpleasant necessity of maintaining a sane classroom environment (i.e.--NOT a democracy, and NOT a give and take between two equal partners) with some feel-good words designed to make parents feel warm and fuzzy.

If students behave on the bullying or anarchy levels, the teacher will ask them reflective questions to help them understand their behavior.

For example, the teacher could ask the misbehaving student, "What level of behavior is that?" or "Would it be right for everyone to operate at that level?"

How sweet. Little Alex will quit his ultraviolence double fast!

Then the teacher will ask the rest of the class how the misbehaving student can move from this level to one of the two acceptable levels.

But aren't we afraid of stigmatizing the poor dear by holding him forth as a negative example? Will his self-esteem be damaged by being castigated for exploring his ambient nature?

Under the previous policy, the teacher took the student aside and explained why the action was wrong. Now the child will have to explain what they did, why it is wrong, and what would have been a better choice.

Not a bad way of doing it, but for heaven's sake, just say you want teachers to be in charge of the class!

"If the teacher is asking, the students will be thinking. If the teachers tell, the teachers think," said Principal Charlotte Hubbard.

Oh heaven forbid we have any of the teachers thinking! As for how this will work, there are always going to be some hard core munchkins who are going to just not say anything at all. You know, cooperating democratically. So the teacher will spend good classroom time trying to get poor Jim Bob to confess to his crimes. Yeah--that happens all the time.

Most of the time, when children are being punished they don't realize what they are being punished for because the punishment, not the action, captures their attention, said Ali Iran-Nejad, a professor of educational psychology in the University of Alabama's College of Education.

The reflective questions help the child understand their actions, Iran-Nejad said.

"Understanding of the rules and other people's feelings, changing their thinking and redirecting the situation into something that increases their self-worth should be good," Iran-Nejad said regarding Oxford's new policy.

Yep, should be. Anyway, if it's so all-fired great, let's just call it what it is. Whatever that might be. Other than democracy.

At the core of this plan is to have the teacher and other students help the misbehaving student see what his or her options are.

You know, like an intervention.

The plan also involves a "stop, think and go" component in which teachers will instruct students to "stop" and take a deep breath, "think" about their options and "go" with their best choice.

And as long as their "best choice" is the one proscribed by the manual, everything is great. You know, it's that democratic cooperation thing.

"As the students explore other choices, they are better prepared to determine more effective ways to handle potential problem situations as they develop their abilities to understand cause and effect," said Vicki Braden Sharp, the director of guidance at George Washington Community School in Indianapolis.

Fine, as long as you quit trying to say that limiting the choices to the things you have predetermined is equivalent to being democratic. Is it THAT hard to just say you want to be in charge?

As a result of thinking about their actions in response to the reflective questions, Sharp says, the Oxford students will become more responsible by "owning" their behavior, and will be less likely to blame others.

"Hopefully, as students take ownership, they also make better choices," she said.

Well, whatever. Seems like an awfully long walk to get to the woodshed, though. Why not just post rules, and tell the children if they disobey them, they will receive punishment?

Hubbard said she and her faculty felt they needed to have a more positive behavioral-support policy instead of the traditional punishment/reward policy.

"We were rewarding extrinsically," she said of past procedures. "We want them to be responsible for their actions whether we're looking or not."

Oh. Well, that explains it, now doesn't it.

Although she stresses that her main goal is to establish behaviors that will carry the children through life, Hubbard hopes the plan also will cut down office referrals. Last year, she estimates, she spent one to two hours of each day dealing with students sent to the office for discipline.

Ahhhh. Now, I believe now we have finally gotten to the reason. Jim Bob's taking up too much of the PRINCIPAL'S time. Back in the olden days, there was a reason kids feared being sent to the principal's office. One tends to think, rightly or wrongly, if today's principal would take the stand that 1) This ain't no democracy, and 2) No backtalk, that she might have a few more hours in the day for some quiet time. Yes, I know, I'm being even more of a dinosaur than Barney.

Julie Dikeman, the mother of a first grader at the elementary school, said she likes the new plan.

"I think that a child really needs to be responsible for their behavior," she said. "I think it's good to make them accountable for their actions at an early age; maybe this will do it."

Maybe. Or not.

Dikeman and another mother, who requested to remain anonymous, said they are a bit concerned that the reflective questioning could take away from instruction time; especially when disciplining children who frequently misbehave.

Hubbard has a plan for repeat offenders. If the negative behavior continues after the reflective questioning, the student will be placed in time out. If that doesn't solve the problem, the child will be sent to another classroom. If the behavior continues, an administrator will remove the child from the classroom.

Oooh. Time out. Sent to another classroom. Sent...well, somewhere out of the classroom. But HEAVENS to BETSY, don't send the little tyke to the PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE! She's busy, you know.

Hubbard plans parent-training sessions to teach parents how to use reflective questioning at home to help their children learn to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do, and not for a reward.

Although Dikeman said she doesn't always use reflective questioning at home, she thinks it's a goal for every parent.

"It makes the child stop and think (and become) accountable for their actions," she said.

Uh huh. Start that questioning, and *poof* the scales fall from their eyes.

I realize that there's probably more to this story than what's reported in the paper, but still, it reeks of misdirection and psychopablum.

No, kids shouldn't be rewarded for NOT MISbehaving (Can I have a cookie? I didn't kill anyone!). It's not good for them to expect a reward simply for doing the right thing (Give me a cookie--I did my homework). They should expect to get in trouble if they misbehave, and (believe it or not) it won't hurt for them to be rewarded for exceptionally good behavior. They should come to an understanding that their actions have consequences, and that it is in their power to make those decisions, and that they can't blame anyone else when they make the wrong choices.

BUT, it does them no good to insist they have a choice when it comes to the rules. Oh, it might take away the scary image of mindless little child drones sitting in ranks in front of a mean old battle axe, and now the principal gets to be seen as the Friendly Helpful Buddy Pal Flower Friend, but let's cut the pretense that this is some sort of shiny package of goodness and enlightenment. If you really want democracy and cooperation, send 'em to a Montessori school.
posted by Terry at 3:05:00 PM