In Geoff James’ article titled Learning and Behaviour Management: Two Sides of the Same Coin? he discusses the way mainstream has generalized behavior problems and focuses strongly on punishment for bad behavior before reward for the good.  He discusses the use of solution-focused approach rather than problem-focused approaches and why they work better in different circumstances.  James works with students who are combative, disruptive, and show a lack of participation as an advisory support teacher and has worked in this field for 18 years.  He has the opinion that education about subjects such as math and English should not be taught separately from learning about ourselves.  

I think behavior problems have been generalized for centuries and only recently have experts taken a closer look at differences in behavior and addressed issues such as ADHD and anger management.  James believes firmly in “objective assessment of a child’s needs” instead of the resolutions that are many times formed from guesses about what deficit a child may or may not have (James, 2013).  There have been many individual cases demonstrating the importance of treating each child as the individual they are and not assuming the same consequences (good or bad) will have the same effect on every child.  The solution-focused approach discussed in this article focuses on the problem and how to make it go away.  Using this method, one is allowed to reach a solution without ever focusing on the problem.  Similar to many theorists, the focus is not on the child, but, instead on the issue.  The child is asked what he or she thinks they could do differently or what could be changed in the setting to help them better learn.  After the child develops their own plan (with adult guidance) they are asked to evaluate how they think the plan is working after a predesignated time allotment.

With the attention on the problem and not the student, they do not feel as much blame and are more likely to change their behavior.  I also think holding the student accountable for a follow-up discussion is a reminder of their personal accountability and helps with the improvement of behavior.  Children like to have responsibility and control and this is one way of giving that to them.  James also states that a teacher does not need prior permission to use this method because it is simply a form of teaching.  This is a large part of why I think this method has worked so well and I think that I will use some form of this approach in my classroom.  

Resource

James, G. (2013, April 02). Learning and behaviour management: two sides of the same coin?.

Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2013/apr/02/learning-behaviour-management-joined-up-schools?INTCMP=SRCH