OK, so I posted all those fabulous ponderable quotes last week. Did you all talk amongst yourselves? Don't you just love, love, love Alfie Kohn?
What I really like about Punished By Rewards is how Kohn thoroughly examines, explains and analyzes behaviorist theory, research and practice. And that brings me to yet another bee in my bonnet. (Yes, my bonnet is quite a-buzz with so many annoyances!)
Why have we become so absolutely dependent on research based practice to the exclusion of good sense, following our gut, doing what we know to be right for certain kids? Don't get me wrong. I love all the research being done now. All the new brain stuff is fascinating and has certainly opened some of the kinks in Superman's hose, however, if we had not even bothered to consider other approaches, Superman would still be lining up his toys.
What we have to be more diligent about is the analyzing of the data, really thinking about the research, how it was conducted, when, where and on what population? There are many, many variables in any research about learning, kids, the brain. We have to be careful not to overgeneralize and especially not to throw out what we know works because we cannot find any research about it.
Back to Kohn. He points out that behaviorist research was done on pigeons and rats... and then generalized to human behavior... and then we all bought it! We all started applying this stuff to humans in all sorts of environments and stuck to it (even when it was obvious it was not working) all because it was 'research based'. And then when newer research is done calling into question the effectiveness of the earlier theories and findings we ignore it all.
We humans can really be dumb. And lazy in our thinking.
So back to Superman. When I started my obsessive search for treatments and therapies for him right after he was diagnosed ( well, not really right after... I went into a three month period of denial where the 'A' word could not be used in my presence...) I kept bumping into the ABA (Lovaas) approach as it was 'research based' Note here that ABA methods are all based in behaviorist theory. No thank you. I don't want my kid looking me in the eye or saying hello because there is an M&M in it for him. I wanted him to discover relationships. So I dug deeper and once I sifted through it all I found some really good stuff that made sense. That felt right. That treated kids with Autism as people, not trainable animals.
We completely abandoned ABA methods. We joined Superman in his preferred activities. We wholly embraced and accepted him as he was and respected that he was doing certain things as a way to cope with the world because his sensory and perceptive wiring was all tangled up.
And oh my, did we get questioned. A certain ABA group in our fair state pressured me (no, harassed me) with menacing phone calls trying to guilt me into doing what was right for my kid. After all, research showed their approach worked, netted great results. Right? My gut said not. We had difficulty getting any funding for the therapies we felt best for Superman. It was a real struggle. And we aren't talking about all those strange fringe therapies that include pulling metals out of our kid and other such biomedical approaches. We are talking about Greenspan's Floor Time and The Autism Treatment Center's Son Rise approach.
What about the results, the very real results those approaches were getting? Oh I forgot, no 'real' research has been done on those approaches. You want to know why? Because you can't set that research up in such a way that allows for traditional data collection. Well, why not? Because we are dealing with HUMAN BEINGS here! Because we are counting on, relying on, human connection. Because it is the respectful relationship that makes progress possible, probable.
Sometimes we just don't have time for research to be done. Sometimes we need to act. Sometimes we need to rely more on what we know to be good and true and effective. Sometimes we really do know what we are doing...
So, I am very nervous about how much we are following, following, following. We do less and less higher level thinking and reflecting on what we have done and what we should do next. We rely less and less on relationships to show us the way. We just keep doing what doesn't work without wondering why, We blame the kids for not changing when it is the methods we are using that need to change. We come down harder and harder on the kids. The hammer just gets bigger and harder when we should be trying a different tool altogether.
And all that behaviorist research has a place. Just not in a special education classroom where kids are doing the best they can with what they have. We are making things worse. Kids are being left way behind all because they can't be manipulated by the lure of a tub of junk toys. If there is a prize in the box they want, they may do the one thing they must do to get it. But it won't be quality work. It won't be generalized to the next request. And it certainly won't be done from the place within that needs to be opened up so they can lead a productive life, hold a job and enjoy loving relationships.
Let's not be so scared to wander away from the research that has been done if it just isn't working in our situation.
And we all know from graduate school that any findings, numbers, statistics can be skewed....
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Ponderable Perspectives
I have been delightfully buried in some of my very favorite books and articles addressing education challenges. Here are some direct quotes from these readings. They are nothing short of delectable morsels worth every moment of pondering. Roll them around in your head like you would a fine wine on your tongue. This is the stuff of which I base my practice.
And because y' all know by now how impossible it is for me to just drop a quote on you without my opinion (you also know how I love to pontificate!), stay tuned to future blogs because each one will be pondered upon by yours truly. I just know you can't wait!
From The Trouble With Boys by Peg Tyre
"... perfectly smart kids develop at different times."
"Teachers also need to help boys develop emotional vocabulary."
"By fourth grade, though, children who attended academic preschools earned significantly lower grades - behaved worse - then children who attended play-based or mixed approach ones. The boys who were best able to keep pace wit the girls had attended the child-initiated schools. The boys who fell farthest behind the girls were the ones who had attended the academic preschools."
"Parenting has become a competitive sport."
"Boys who don't thrive in school, who disengage, and who fail to reach their potential not only are suffering assault to their self-esteem and confidence, but are setting themselves up for a life of economic insecurity."
"... using her high-powered fMRI machine, she found that boys and girls use different neural pathways to decipher simple words. Inside the "black box" of their skulls, boys and girls use different parts of their brains to read."
"The male literacy deficit is not something that is immutable and hardwired in boys. It turns out that schools may be teaching them wrong."
From Punished By Rewards by Alfie Kohn
"The underlying assumption is that there are exactly two alternatives: punitive responses or positive reinforcement, sticks or carrots, slaps or sugar plums."
"The troubling truth is that rewards and punishments are not opposites at all; they are two sides of the same coin. And that coin does not buy very much."
"Rewards usually improve performance only at extremely simple - indeed mindless - tasks, and even then they improve only quantitative performance."
" 'Do this and you will get that' turns out to be bad news.... Even assuming we have no ethical reservations about manipulating other people's behavior to get them to do what we want, the plain truth is that this strategy is likely to backfire."
"As behaviorists carefully admit, theories about rewards and various practical programs of behavior modification are mostly based on work with rats and pigeons."
"Behaviorist's conception of humans as passive beings whose behavior must be elicited by external motivation in the form of incentives is, by any measure, outdated."
"If it does make sense to measure the effectiveness of rewards on basis of whether they produce lasting change, the research suggests that they fail miserably."
".... what is not always recognized is, first, just how utterly unsuccessful rewards really are across situations, and second, just how devastating in indictment is contained in this fact."
Ponder away.
And because y' all know by now how impossible it is for me to just drop a quote on you without my opinion (you also know how I love to pontificate!), stay tuned to future blogs because each one will be pondered upon by yours truly. I just know you can't wait!
From The Trouble With Boys by Peg Tyre
"... perfectly smart kids develop at different times."
"Teachers also need to help boys develop emotional vocabulary."
"By fourth grade, though, children who attended academic preschools earned significantly lower grades - behaved worse - then children who attended play-based or mixed approach ones. The boys who were best able to keep pace wit the girls had attended the child-initiated schools. The boys who fell farthest behind the girls were the ones who had attended the academic preschools."
"Parenting has become a competitive sport."
"Boys who don't thrive in school, who disengage, and who fail to reach their potential not only are suffering assault to their self-esteem and confidence, but are setting themselves up for a life of economic insecurity."
"... using her high-powered fMRI machine, she found that boys and girls use different neural pathways to decipher simple words. Inside the "black box" of their skulls, boys and girls use different parts of their brains to read."
"The male literacy deficit is not something that is immutable and hardwired in boys. It turns out that schools may be teaching them wrong."
From Punished By Rewards by Alfie Kohn
"The underlying assumption is that there are exactly two alternatives: punitive responses or positive reinforcement, sticks or carrots, slaps or sugar plums."
"The troubling truth is that rewards and punishments are not opposites at all; they are two sides of the same coin. And that coin does not buy very much."
"Rewards usually improve performance only at extremely simple - indeed mindless - tasks, and even then they improve only quantitative performance."
" 'Do this and you will get that' turns out to be bad news.... Even assuming we have no ethical reservations about manipulating other people's behavior to get them to do what we want, the plain truth is that this strategy is likely to backfire."
"As behaviorists carefully admit, theories about rewards and various practical programs of behavior modification are mostly based on work with rats and pigeons."
"Behaviorist's conception of humans as passive beings whose behavior must be elicited by external motivation in the form of incentives is, by any measure, outdated."
"If it does make sense to measure the effectiveness of rewards on basis of whether they produce lasting change, the research suggests that they fail miserably."
".... what is not always recognized is, first, just how utterly unsuccessful rewards really are across situations, and second, just how devastating in indictment is contained in this fact."
Ponder away.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Closure Is A Good Thing
I get up this morning at 5ish having slept about 15 minutes the whole night.
I did some laundry and some corresponding, dressed and headed over to school a bit before 8.
I have my ID badge that unlocks the main doors, no room key as principal said it would be open, remember?
Get to school, my badge lets me in.
Go upstairs, my door is locked and as I peer in, I note that it is so full furniture from another classroom I am not sure I will be able to get to my stuff.
Luckily there is major demolition/construction going on to install write boards so I ask one of those guys to let me in.
In I go. I took very little. I left so much stuff and realized this is probably how my aunt felt when she was facing terminal cancer. She just detached form her belongings.
I only took my favorite workbooks to use as examples in my university methods course, my very-own-made-up-and-invented-by- little-old-me-mediation tools. I was about done hefting all this crap in a laundry basket and a milk crate and wandered over to the big cabinet.
And. Was. Horrified.
Blatantly staring at me were three gigondo clear plastic bins filled with junkie toys. One bin labeled, 500 points. One labeled 1,000 points. One labeled 1,500 points. And in each bin the size of the junk items grew in proportion to the number on the corresponding bin.
I actually yelled out, "Oh know! What the fuck?"
I slammed the doors fast.
At this point may I encourage (insist) you all refer to Alfie Kohn's book, Punished By Rewards and then have a look at Daniel Pink's book, Drive.
So on with the morning. I sit at Aunt Sally. I hang on to her. I actually stroke her solid, smoothly worn beams. I cry. I finally cry. I realize I am most sad about leaving Aunt Sally. I apologized to her for not being used last year and that I would do all I could to get her back to kids.
I schlepp my stuff (just three loads) to the front door and hear my phone ring. Not once, not twice, but three different times.
I load the car, check voice mail and hear the superintendent called and wants me to call him back. You read that right, SUPERINTENDENT. Oh brother.
I come home, have a nervous breakdown, talk to Hub and a sister to get my mojo going and return the call to THE SUPERINTENDENT.
Long story short, it was a pleasant call. We exchanged a few jokes, he addressed all points in my letter to him, apologized (yes, APOLOGIZED) for not getting back to me about the November issue. He told me he greatly appreciated my work, he even referenced Aunt Sally. I told him I appreciate him taking the time to call and address my concerns, I wished him well and told him I would be ready and willing to assist the district in any way.
OK, so it was damage control.
But I will take it. Closure done professionally. Too bad my principal couldn't do that.
Ooooh, gotta go, I see another door opening!
I did some laundry and some corresponding, dressed and headed over to school a bit before 8.
I have my ID badge that unlocks the main doors, no room key as principal said it would be open, remember?
Get to school, my badge lets me in.
Go upstairs, my door is locked and as I peer in, I note that it is so full furniture from another classroom I am not sure I will be able to get to my stuff.
Luckily there is major demolition/construction going on to install write boards so I ask one of those guys to let me in.
In I go. I took very little. I left so much stuff and realized this is probably how my aunt felt when she was facing terminal cancer. She just detached form her belongings.
I only took my favorite workbooks to use as examples in my university methods course, my very-own-made-up-and-invented-by- little-old-me-mediation tools. I was about done hefting all this crap in a laundry basket and a milk crate and wandered over to the big cabinet.
And. Was. Horrified.
Blatantly staring at me were three gigondo clear plastic bins filled with junkie toys. One bin labeled, 500 points. One labeled 1,000 points. One labeled 1,500 points. And in each bin the size of the junk items grew in proportion to the number on the corresponding bin.
I actually yelled out, "Oh know! What the fuck?"
I slammed the doors fast.
At this point may I encourage (insist) you all refer to Alfie Kohn's book, Punished By Rewards and then have a look at Daniel Pink's book, Drive.
So on with the morning. I sit at Aunt Sally. I hang on to her. I actually stroke her solid, smoothly worn beams. I cry. I finally cry. I realize I am most sad about leaving Aunt Sally. I apologized to her for not being used last year and that I would do all I could to get her back to kids.
I schlepp my stuff (just three loads) to the front door and hear my phone ring. Not once, not twice, but three different times.
I load the car, check voice mail and hear the superintendent called and wants me to call him back. You read that right, SUPERINTENDENT. Oh brother.
I come home, have a nervous breakdown, talk to Hub and a sister to get my mojo going and return the call to THE SUPERINTENDENT.
Long story short, it was a pleasant call. We exchanged a few jokes, he addressed all points in my letter to him, apologized (yes, APOLOGIZED) for not getting back to me about the November issue. He told me he greatly appreciated my work, he even referenced Aunt Sally. I told him I appreciate him taking the time to call and address my concerns, I wished him well and told him I would be ready and willing to assist the district in any way.
OK, so it was damage control.
But I will take it. Closure done professionally. Too bad my principal couldn't do that.
Ooooh, gotta go, I see another door opening!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wow, That Door Really Hurt When It Hit My Ass.
Well, well, well.
My resignation was received Tuesday by noon. My job was posted by noon today.
By 11 this morning my principal sent an all staff email announcing I had decided to resign from the district using the usual administrative one line bullshit about thanking me for my years of service to the district and the students.
By 3 this afternoon I was booted off school email.
Tomorrow I am going into my room to pack up the rest of my stuff. Principal won't be there, she assures me my pass will work to get me in the door and that my room will be unlocked.
Any bets on that? My pass key won't work and room will be locked.
Downtown is partying tonight and will continue to do so into the school year.......
..... until they see my name on the next school board ballot.
And you know what? I don't think we are irreplaceable in any meaningful way. I think we are only replaceable in the any-warm-body-will-work sense.
I am sad.
My resignation was received Tuesday by noon. My job was posted by noon today.
By 11 this morning my principal sent an all staff email announcing I had decided to resign from the district using the usual administrative one line bullshit about thanking me for my years of service to the district and the students.
By 3 this afternoon I was booted off school email.
Tomorrow I am going into my room to pack up the rest of my stuff. Principal won't be there, she assures me my pass will work to get me in the door and that my room will be unlocked.
Any bets on that? My pass key won't work and room will be locked.
Downtown is partying tonight and will continue to do so into the school year.......
..... until they see my name on the next school board ballot.
And you know what? I don't think we are irreplaceable in any meaningful way. I think we are only replaceable in the any-warm-body-will-work sense.
I am sad.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
And The Door Has Hit Me In The Ass
So, it is now official. I have submitted my written resignation to the school board and superintendent. The Superintendent also got a two page letter outlining how I arrived at my decision to leave. It outlined the unresolved issue from November as well as concerns I have about the special education department. I was careful not to name names or use specific examples of stupidity. I offered my assistance and let him know I was going to still be around as a parent of special needs kiddos in his district. I informed him that while I was counseled to seek legal action regarding the November incident, I chose not to in hopes that bringing awareness about it there would be no further victims of this sort of harassment.
Yeah, I know. Why waste my breath.
I guess I am treating him like I would my students. Ever hopeful that once in a while what I have to say has of a bit of value and will stick.
But I did make good points that I felt were necessary to expose. Not for revenge. Not to be fixed. But to be the voice of those unheard and uncared for. One of the most important being two African American boys expelled from our district after they left my program... at the end of the year after I begged for reasonable help and was told to suck it up. Yep, expelled because our district placed them in a resource program where they were certain to be unsuccessful. So, isn't it our fault they failed? Shouldn't other placements have been tried? Shouldn't I have been consulted before this decision was made? I knew these boys and although they were quite prickly, I deeply cared for them. Shouldn't we all be doing everything we can to make sure they graduate from high school?
And my second point was about how our district keeps hiring special needs teachers for less than 1.0 FTE. Really? My kid has autism ALL day, not just .6 of the day. Do any of you know any CD, EBD, AUT or LD kid that is only challenged by his/her disability a fraction of the day? Oh, if only. Geez, what I would pay to have Movie Man and Superman special needs for only .6 of the day.
I included a bit in my letter about the lack of vision, effective leadership and planning in the special ed department. I had to. You know I did.
But what was good about the letter is that it was not angry. It was out of deep concern.
So, I mailed the letters at the post office to guarantee I would not dig the envelope out of my own mailbox and then sent it all to my principal electronically so she would get it a few hours ahead of Downtown Suits. She called this AM. I did not take the call. I know I need to return that call, but just cannot right now. She is not going to care much at all about me leaving. She will care that she has to find another EBD teacher this summer.
I am in a state of grievous shock right now. Even so, I did the absolute right thing. I will continue to advocate as I always have. My audience has simply changed.
My blogging will continue as I have just gotten started. We have so much more to share, to explore and to bitch about, don't we?
I can only imagine what cleaning out my classroom will bring to the surface.
Thank goodness I have therapy scheduled today!
Yeah, I know. Why waste my breath.
I guess I am treating him like I would my students. Ever hopeful that once in a while what I have to say has of a bit of value and will stick.
But I did make good points that I felt were necessary to expose. Not for revenge. Not to be fixed. But to be the voice of those unheard and uncared for. One of the most important being two African American boys expelled from our district after they left my program... at the end of the year after I begged for reasonable help and was told to suck it up. Yep, expelled because our district placed them in a resource program where they were certain to be unsuccessful. So, isn't it our fault they failed? Shouldn't other placements have been tried? Shouldn't I have been consulted before this decision was made? I knew these boys and although they were quite prickly, I deeply cared for them. Shouldn't we all be doing everything we can to make sure they graduate from high school?
And my second point was about how our district keeps hiring special needs teachers for less than 1.0 FTE. Really? My kid has autism ALL day, not just .6 of the day. Do any of you know any CD, EBD, AUT or LD kid that is only challenged by his/her disability a fraction of the day? Oh, if only. Geez, what I would pay to have Movie Man and Superman special needs for only .6 of the day.
I included a bit in my letter about the lack of vision, effective leadership and planning in the special ed department. I had to. You know I did.
But what was good about the letter is that it was not angry. It was out of deep concern.
So, I mailed the letters at the post office to guarantee I would not dig the envelope out of my own mailbox and then sent it all to my principal electronically so she would get it a few hours ahead of Downtown Suits. She called this AM. I did not take the call. I know I need to return that call, but just cannot right now. She is not going to care much at all about me leaving. She will care that she has to find another EBD teacher this summer.
I am in a state of grievous shock right now. Even so, I did the absolute right thing. I will continue to advocate as I always have. My audience has simply changed.
My blogging will continue as I have just gotten started. We have so much more to share, to explore and to bitch about, don't we?
I can only imagine what cleaning out my classroom will bring to the surface.
Thank goodness I have therapy scheduled today!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
I Statements
Let me introduce you to a woman I respect greatly. Not only for her personal journey, but for her clear and consistent common sense message.
What brings me to this introduction is yesterday's post. I mentioned 'I' statements the kindergarden teacher was using and was reminded of a great piece written by Jane Bluestein about how bogus the 'I' statement concept is.
Check out Jane's website. Read what she offers up. So much of it is free and easily accessed. All of it is relevant, true, and right on.
I want to be like her when I grow up.
What brings me to this introduction is yesterday's post. I mentioned 'I' statements the kindergarden teacher was using and was reminded of a great piece written by Jane Bluestein about how bogus the 'I' statement concept is.
Check out Jane's website. Read what she offers up. So much of it is free and easily accessed. All of it is relevant, true, and right on.
I want to be like her when I grow up.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Poor Ben
Just spent a frustrating half hour watching a show called Kindergarden on HBOF-W. Original showing was in 2001 and all I can say is I hope to hell the teacher on the show is no longer teaching. Poor Ben. This little guy was adorable and just needed a teacher who understood.
My God, all she did was 'Blah, blah, blah, bah blah". And so much of it was all about her. "I am so disappointed. I am having trouble teaching with you in the room." Was she trying to use 'I' statements? Did she think that would help out this little guy? She was also big on pulling Ben out of the group and timing him out. No reteaching, no examples, no engaging Ben in positive activities, no practicing with his peers. Just a bunch of lecturing and demeaning scolds. And to top it off she sent a horribly nasty note home with Ben to his parents about how nasty he was that day after he had to meet with the principal! Are you kidding me? From where I sat, Ben was just a little short on impulse control. He was sweet, and seemed genuinely confused. He was not hurtful. He was annoying, but not hurtful. He was smart and personable and just a regular little kindergardener trying to figure it out and get along.
Here is the perfect example of a teacher thinking that if the student could repeat back what the right choice would be, he could follow through and actually do the right thing. Some kids can give you the right answer all the time and put that into action. Other kids can give you the right answer but cannot walk the talk. Some kids know the right thing to do and do it. Some know the right thing to do and WON'T do it. Some kids know the right thing to do and CAN'T do it. Some kids don't know what to do.
Turning what one knows to be the right choice into action is really hard for some kids. It's our job to figure it out why and then how to help them along.
The absolute wrong thing to do is to talk, talk, talk and use guilt and personal disappointment as the motivator. You run the risk of kids internalizing all sorts of negative things about themselves. Once a kiddo starts believing there is something wrong with him/her, you have a long and hard road to changing that belief. And it is from that belief that many more wrong choices are made. This is a horrible thing to do to a kindergardener who is actually doing his best.
So, why am I so agitated by this? All the rage is bubbling up again. We make so many mistakes with kids and then consequence them for not turning out like we think they should.
I guess it is simply the injustice of it all that gets me. Way too much of this going on.
Let's be more careful out there, people.
My God, all she did was 'Blah, blah, blah, bah blah". And so much of it was all about her. "I am so disappointed. I am having trouble teaching with you in the room." Was she trying to use 'I' statements? Did she think that would help out this little guy? She was also big on pulling Ben out of the group and timing him out. No reteaching, no examples, no engaging Ben in positive activities, no practicing with his peers. Just a bunch of lecturing and demeaning scolds. And to top it off she sent a horribly nasty note home with Ben to his parents about how nasty he was that day after he had to meet with the principal! Are you kidding me? From where I sat, Ben was just a little short on impulse control. He was sweet, and seemed genuinely confused. He was not hurtful. He was annoying, but not hurtful. He was smart and personable and just a regular little kindergardener trying to figure it out and get along.
Here is the perfect example of a teacher thinking that if the student could repeat back what the right choice would be, he could follow through and actually do the right thing. Some kids can give you the right answer all the time and put that into action. Other kids can give you the right answer but cannot walk the talk. Some kids know the right thing to do and do it. Some know the right thing to do and WON'T do it. Some kids know the right thing to do and CAN'T do it. Some kids don't know what to do.
Turning what one knows to be the right choice into action is really hard for some kids. It's our job to figure it out why and then how to help them along.
The absolute wrong thing to do is to talk, talk, talk and use guilt and personal disappointment as the motivator. You run the risk of kids internalizing all sorts of negative things about themselves. Once a kiddo starts believing there is something wrong with him/her, you have a long and hard road to changing that belief. And it is from that belief that many more wrong choices are made. This is a horrible thing to do to a kindergardener who is actually doing his best.
So, why am I so agitated by this? All the rage is bubbling up again. We make so many mistakes with kids and then consequence them for not turning out like we think they should.
I guess it is simply the injustice of it all that gets me. Way too much of this going on.
Let's be more careful out there, people.
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