Category: classroom management

Mediation teachers like to use two animal metaphors for the mind, doggy mind and monkey mind.  Doggy mind is like the dog running after every bone, every impulse, every desire and every aversion.  Any thought can occasion the chase.  Monkey mind swings from tree to tree from thought to thought.  It is active restless and wild.  Whether it is doggy mind or monkey mind this restless activity of thought keeps your from being in the present moment.  Children are unskilled and undisciplined in the arena of self-control.  Their impulses lead them not only into the doggy chase or the monkey climb but also into inattention and distraction.  A growing body of research indicates that many children start school not ready to learn because they lack the critical ability of self-control.  Self-control has a stronger association with academic achievement than either IQ or reading readiness.  The encouraging news is the elements of self-control can be taught.  Tools of the Mind  is a  program that promotes intentional and self  regulated learning.  In Tools:

• Teachers use scaffolding to structure activities.  Children have learning plans and play plans.  Their activity is more more interactive and sustainable.
• The notion of being able to sustain one’s own interest is the core building block.  Children are less distracted because they are so consumed in the activities they have chosen.
• Development of the internal voice or thought conversation helps children avoid distraction.

The exciting results of this program are children who are not merely behaved but self-organized and self-directed.  Tools teachers in New Mexico reported fewer classroom incidents and less need for discipline.  And while these techniques might sound fuzzy and theoretical the program has support in neuroscience.  The development of the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls impulses begins in early childhood.  This high level executive function can be developed and strengthened using the Tools techniques.  When I first read about Tools I was struck by how similar this teaching was to the practice of mediation.  The goal is not to eradicate thinking but to observe what is going on in the mind.  Neuroscience is finding amazing implications for learning.  Any school looking for methods to promote self-control and intrinsic motivation needs to look to the research.  It’s there for those willing to take a risk and look outside of the box  for new applications to promote learning.

What is guilt? 

In clinical terms it’s a rapid response system that helps control negative impulses by producing an incredibly unpleasant sensation.

Psychologists say that children typically begin to feel guilt in their second year of life.  Some children possess a temperament that makes them more prone to guilt and others less prone both due to parents and other early influences.

Understanding guilt is important because this response creates tension and negative emotions when children are tempted to misbehave or even to anticipate breaking the rules.  Children who have a healthy guilt response have fewer behavioral problems. 

Self-control is critical to academic success.  Children without self-control have a poor guilt response and risk losing the understanding and patience of their teachers. Most discipline referrals are a result of teachers needing a break from the impulsive interruptions of these students.

Every year I dealt with the same persistent and chronic group of students who most likely would have scored low on the guilt response meter. They were consistently told by administrators and teachers alike that their behavior was bad, and in some cases that they were bad.  I witnessed some discipline lectures that teetered on the precipice of shame.  Hoping to shame a child into better behavior is a destructive tactic because shame  produces feelings of worthlessness. 

Effective classroom management focuses on admonishing the sin and not the sinner.  But is it enough?  From a child’s perspective there is little distinction between, “you did a bad thing, and you are bad.”  The word “bad” is prominent in both.

There is a better approach.  Psychologists recommend using the atonement strategy.  Learning how to make amends is making things right.  Making amends should be the focus of all discipline because it repairs the damage.   When children get the opportunity to repair the damage it restores feelings of self-worth and competence.  The risk of creating shame is eliminated. 

Allowing students to make amends builds trusting relationships and also creates a quality environment.  The most effective classroom management is one that is addresses problems without too much interruption to the learning process. 

One way to do this is to make a reflection corner in the classroom.  Here students are removed for a short time to devise their own plan of improvement.  Students will be asked why their behavior is a problem and what they can do to improve it.   Making amends might be as simple as cleaning up a mess or sharing materials.   

Teachers should be careful not to depend on  discipline interventions by administrators to solve their problems.  Making amends allows students to participate in nurturing a classroom environment that is satisfying and effective for everyone.