behavior problems at school

Goodness, there sure are a lot of ways to stray from the CPS model...and we heard about a lot of them on this program!

Are there students who are simply unmotivated to do well, or is it always more complicated than that? Is motivation the engine or the caboose?  Alas, this was a very interesting discussion...

Susan described a new student with some interesting and unexpected points of view...and the discussion started rolling from there...

Dr. Greene and the principals focused on a variety of topics, but probably the biggest: the importance of shifting away from focusing on behaviors (and modifying them) and toward  the problems giving rise to those behaviors (and solving them).

It's that time of year again...the students are back, and the problems that were unsolved at the end of last school year are probably still unsolved now (except in British Columbia, where school hasn't started yet due to mitigating circumstances). Today's program focused on assumptions about why students have difficulty meeting expectations, and whether we should start by assuming that they really can meet those expectations or immediately leap into solving problems collaboratively to find out why they're not.  An omen of programs to come...

Our guest on today's program was Tim Graves, Superintendent of Schools and Programs in the Near North District School Board in Ontario, Canada.  He has some interesting ideas about the characteristics of schools that successfully implement the CPS model (and those that struggle), and those ideas sparked a very interesting discussion among our group of principals.

The Educators Panel shared their thoughts on an article that recently appeared in the Christian Science Monitor (click here) in which recommendations for improving school discipline from the Discipline Disparities Collaborative were described. And they had some thoughts on a bunch of other things too!

On this month's program, the Educators Panel tackled the question of how to ensure that CPS outlives a principal's tenure in the building...and then got an update from (and had some guidance for) Mallett School in Farmington, Maine, one of the schools implementing CPS building-wide.

What's crystal clear is that the CPS model is really helpful for behaviorally challenging (and other) students. But, among the various resounding messages from today's program, it's also clear that educators get a lot out of it too.

Our group of educators has grown to four -- Susan, a school principal from Surrey, British Columbia has joined the Educators Panel -- and not only did they have guidance for schools just getting started with the CPS model...they also had their own New Year's Resolutions for moving the ball forward in their buildings.

Dr. Greene and Educators Panel answered some email questions from listeners this week who are in the beginning stages of implemention. Topics included the patchwork of behavioral techniques, how to convince colleagues to change their lenses and the pros and cons of having a principal involved in the core group (which both panelists are heavily in favor of).

The Educators Panel are joined today by Ryan Quinn, principal of Kennebunk Elementary school, a school that is currently in the early stages of implementing the CPS model. Ryan discusses how the implementation process is going thus far, adding that by using the model as part of the spectrum of interventions used at the school has already captured all of the kids that weren’t being understood and helped before. The Educators reflect on their respective experiences and offer advice on many aspects of implementation, such as how to move forward once a core group has been established, handling staff members who are nervous about implementing a new method of discipline, the importance of communication with parents regarding Plan B, and how the CPS philosophy reflects a shifting paradigm among current research and best practice in education.

How do we do a better job of understanding and helping students with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges in our schools...while simultaneously feeling like we're "holding kids accountable"...while attending to the diverse needs of other students...while trying to make sure they all do well on high-stakes testing?  Not by simply increasing detentions, suspensions, and expulsions or referring behaviorally challenging kids into the judicial system!  In this program, Dr. Ross Greene -- author of The Explosive Child and Lost at School, and originator of the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach -- helps you view challenging behavior in a more compassionate, accurate, productive manner and intervene more effectively. If you want to learn more about his model, have questions about how to get the ball rolling on using the model in your building or classroom, or are having difficulty using the model with a particular student, this is your opportunity to get your questions answered and listen to how other educators are overcoming obstacles and aplying the model.  You can join in live -- the program airs every Monday at 3:00 pm Eastern time -- or listen to archives of past programs.

On today's program, Dr. Greene was joined by Lisa, a high school special education teacher who's been leading the charge for Collaborative & Proactive Solutions in her school. Lisa told us about how she got the ball rolling in her building, how the core group was formed, and the challenges that lie ahead.

"It all starts with the Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems".  Identifying lagging skills ensures that adults have the right lenses on.  Identifying unsolved problems that are congruent with the four guidelines helps adults and kids know what problems they're trying to solve.  Both are indispensible.

On today's program, Dr. Greene provided feedback to a caller on the wording of the unsolved problems she'd written for a student on the Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems. That feedback might be helpful to you too!

The students are back, and so is the Educators Panel!  Our principals shared what they're doing at the beginning of this school year to further implementation of Dr. Greene's model (now called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions), with some exciting developments at Nina's school and some strategizing at Carol's new school. Tom had some difficulty avoiding the term "collaborative problem solving" (Dr. Greene is now legally prohibited from using that name to refer to his model), but made excellent progress on that during the program.

On this program, we listened to an example of the Empathy step of Plan B recorded by the very brave staff at Anytown Elementary. Then we heard their self-assessment:  Nice job of engaging the student in the discussion and with reflective listening...but cut back on the amount the adults are talking and theorizing.

Lots of ground was covered on this last Educators Panel of the current school year, including how to prove to kids and adults that we're taking challenging behavior seriously...and whether Plan B does the job.

On this program, we listened to our first recording of a Plan B from the staff at Anytown Elementary...and, as with any first attempt at Plan B, some things went well and other things didn't.  But the ball is now rolling...