“Appropriate academic, social, and behavioral skills allow students to become part of the class, the school, and the community.”

I think that this quote summarized the main idea of this chapter. As teachers, we work with our students to help them develop the academic, social and behavioral skills to be fully included and have full access to membership in a class, a school, and a community. All of these skills (not simply academic skills) help students develop into confident and competent individuals who will be successful teens and adults. It is important for us to remember that our part in children’s development of appropriate academic, social, and behavioral skills impacts the future of these students and our world.

Further into this chapter, I was fascinated to revisit the process of a functional behavioral analysis. It reinforces the idea that there is a root and a reason for misbehavior and identifying the root of a behavior helps to create effective  modifications and behavior plans.  I am glad that the functional behavior analysis mentioned considering socio-cultural factors when analyzing a student’s behavior. This is something that I have been thinking about often with some occurrences in my placement. In so many of our classes in the SOE, we have learned about the importance of understanding students’ socio-cultural background and how that influences their schooling experience and behavior.

The second half of the chapter helped me think about the behavior of students in my class and the behavior supports we have in our classroom. (I have talked about this in length in my last blog post.) As I begin thinking about my case study, I was especially interested in reading about contracts and self monitoring. I personally believe that these methods make students more  aware of their behaviors and guides them in taking ownership and responsibility for meeting behavioral expectations.

I recently heard my CT use an analogy that I really like and think speaks well to this topic. She explained that when students question why others recieve extra rewards or have modified behavior plans she referenced how doctors treat patients . If a child with a broken arm and a child with a cold walked in, would the doctor give the child with a cold a cast on his/her arm? No, because he/she does not need it. He/she needs some type of cold medication. A doctor gives each person just what they need. In the same way, a teacher adapts for and teaches each studnet in the way that is best for him/her.

Advertisement