I liked reading the chapter this week on creating a positive school and classroom environment. Although I definitely agree with the idea that behavior management should be positive and should set good examples, I’m not sure how I feel about the PBS system we have heard a lot about. Occasionally creating a school wide behavior system, as the article talked about, can be difficult because it can be inconsistent and difficult to reward properly (as I’ve heard from other schools). However, nonetheless I want to keep an open mind and fully embrace any behavior system that I am expected to uphold in the future years.
A lot of what I read in the chapter reminded me in what I have seen take place so far in my placement. We have had a couple disruptive behavior issues in my classroom. In some cases we ended up seeking the counselor for her input and assistance (which is always very good). Similarly, we defined the behavior, observed and recorded the behavior, had the child self-assess their own behavior, thought about relative socio-cultural factors, and perform behavior consequences/rewards. I also see this behavior sequence in my classroom all the time, where we target the behavior and discuss with students.
This chapter also reminded me so much of education412 and the book we read over the summer. I have occasionally expressed to Rhonda my behavior management issues and questions and she always tells us that you have to get the routines and procedures the first week. I really liked reading this chapter because sometimes I get so focused on my students and classroom that I need a reminder of all the important factors into managing behavior that we’ve learned over the years. Good stuff!
I totally agree with what you said about the consistency of the PBS system. I also think that positive reinforcement is the way to go, but a school-wide system like that can easily have the issue of inconsistent expectations. I noticed last fall at Carrboro that classroom teachers had much higher expectations than specials teachers, and there was even inconsistency among classroom teachers that made it unfair for some classroooms to legitimately compete in the coupon contests. I don’t know how to minimize something like that, but perhaps establishing a school-wide set of explicit expectations could help made things a little more consistent. Also, I think you and your CT seem to have a really great system for dealing with behavior problems!
Nice post! Yeah, I’m not sure if the school wide behavior is a perfect system because of the obvious inconsistencies. If a school does have a PBS in place, the teacher should also have their own kind of system in place as well. The good thing about a PBS is that the every student is familiar with the system year after year, and it can be strongly back up by administration.