Over on Slate, Alan Kazdin and Carlo Rotella tell parents what it takes to deter bullying. Under the headline “Bullies: They can be stopped, but it takes a village,” Professors Kazdin and Rotella explain what not to do and what works. They draw on real research about the issue, not just people’s reports and impressions.
Let’s say you find out that your child is being bullied by a schoolmate. Naturally, you want to do something right now to make it stop. Depending on your temperament and experience, one or more of four widely attempted common-sense solutions will occur to you: telling your child to stand up to the bully, telling your child to try to ignore and avoid the bully, taking matters into your own hands by calling the bully’s parents or confronting the bully yourself, or asking your child’s teacher to put a stop to it.
These responses share three features:
1) They all express genuine caring, concern, and good intentions.
2) You will feel better for taking action.
3) They are likely to be ineffective.
So what should a parent do? Well, my recommendation is easy: Read the article for guidance.
And, teachers, you should read this article, too. Then consult the resources listed here:
Over on 60-Second Science Blog, the news source of Scientific American, Karen Schrock reported that a task force of the American Psychological Association (APA) released a report recommending that caregivers eschew physical punishment. Ms. Schrock noted that at least one member of the task force disagreed with the recommendations, but that most members endorsed it.
Corporal punishment has long been a hotly debated subject, with conflicting study results and opposing ideologies feeding the fire. Now the results of a five-year effort to review the scientific literature are in: a task force appointed by the American Psychological Association concludes that “parents and caregivers should reduce and potentially eliminate their use of any physical punishment as a disciplinary measure.”
Continue reading ‘Physical punishment repudiated’
Hooray for US National Public Radio! In a follow-up to the segment of Talk of the Nation that aired yesterday, there are notes about “Discipline Success Stories.” According to the page, “NPR Producer Susannah George asked some additional educators and counselors to tell her a story about a child who acted out, and what they did to diffuse the situation.” The results include comments by George Sugai (PBIS) and Bev Johns (personal experience).
Link to the coverage.
The recent discussions in the press and the US Congress about seclusion and restraint prompted me to draft these preliminary notes about alternatives that are available to school personnel. Generally, one does not need to resort to putting students in isolation or holding them to the ground.
Schools that employ evidence-based practices have a wealth of alternatives to physical seclusion or restraint. These methods range from plain, old good teaching to systematic analysis of the functions that misbehaviors serve. In the next few paragraphs, I present laconic descriptions of these.
Continue reading ‘Notes about reducing misbehavior’
Representatives of Democrats on the US House Education and Labor Committee provided me with a list of resources covering the hearing held 19 May 2009. These hearings were about the use and misuse of seclusion and restraint in managing students’ behavior. Here’re items from that list:
Links to some earlier posts on this topic: “Seclusion and restraint: US hearings coverage” (19 May 2009), “US House to review seclusion and restraint” (here 13 May 2009) and “Seclusion and restraint: NDRN report” (15 January 2009 on Teach Effectively)
Reporting for US National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, Joe Shapiro covered the debate about disciplinary methods in schools. In “Discipline Methods Endanger Disabled Kids,” Mr. Shapiro presented different views ahead of hearings that were to be held later today in the US House of Representatives.
The hearings were prompted by the distressing report by the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) about seclusion and restraint in US schools. Although there’s going to be plenty of opportunity for demagoguery and people who follow the hearings will need to separate fact and opinion carefully, the topic is an important one and hearings are merited.
In some cases, the Government Accountability Office report notes, children have died or been injured when they have been tied, taped, handcuffed or pinned down by adults or locked in secluded rooms, often to be left for hours at a time.
The report looking at restraint and seclusion in schools will be released Tuesday at a hearing by the House Committee on Education and Labor. Committee Chairman George Miller, who asked for the GAO report, says it begins to give lawmakers a sense of the frequent use of those methods.
As reported here on Behavior Mod Info previously, there is virtually no need for harsh punishment, seclusion, or restraint in working with children. Mr. Shapiro’s report includes quotes about alternative methods for addressing behavior problems (e.g., functional behavior assessment).
Read Mr. Shapiro’s report. See my notes about “US House to review seclusion and restraint” (here 13 May 2009) and “Seclusion and restraint: NDRN report” (15 January 2009 on Teach Effectively).