Managing Misbehavior - from the front lines

My job at the school was all about correcting unwanted behaviors and rewarding positive ones. This is what I did all day, every day. Nearly every behavior exhibited by students was taught to, by myself and my colleagues, one way or the other. This is why these children were at this treatment facility or at this school: because they lacked structure and discipline in their home lives and had been unable to be successful in a normal school setting. In addition to discipline problems, the vast majority of students had IEP's as well. Granted, many, many of these kids came from a background of trauma, abuse and neglect, but the bottom line was that they needed to be held accountable for their actions and they needed the support and structure of a contingency of appropriate, caring adults to change some of the things in their lives.

I'm not going to say that we were miracle workers, but I saw many students turn their lives around during my time at the school and it was a combination of the system set up by school and facility administrators and students' willingness and determination. The system that had been implemented into the school was a token economy. I have heard of different forms of token economies for different environments, but the system in place at the school seemed to work well for the majority of students. All students were on individual contracts and had their own individual goals for progress. Every time a student exhibited a pre-determined positive behavior, they were allowed to make a deposit (using a mock monetary system). This means that every time I saw a student behaving appropriately, according to their goals, I would teach to this behavior by praising them and providing rationale for why they were allowed to make a deposit. On the other hand, when students failed to behave appropriately, I would teach to them based on this behavior and they were asked to withdraw from their account. I would tell the student what they did wrong, why they needed to correct the behavior and how they might go about doing it differently in the future.

For example: if a particular student was interrupting the teacher during instruction by talking or being disruptive, I would walk over to the student and say "I'm sorry but I need you to withdraw for being disruptive". Talking while the teacher is against the rules and it distracts other students who are learning. Can you see how this might be disruptive to the learning environment"? "Next time, why don't you raise your hand and I will come see if there is something you may need help with". To which the student was expected to respond by looking at me and nodding or saying "yes, I understand". If a student failed to acknowledge his or her misbehavior or continued to argue, they would be in an intensive. An intensive meant that they were not being accountable and were unwilling to change their behavior. Sometimes this intensive escalated and I had to remove the student from the room or the situation. On some occasions the student would become unruly and aggressive (either physically or verbally). No matter what, my job was to remain calm and to de-escalate the situation using a stern, therapeutic approach.

My disposition as a person of a authority would prove to be the most important aspect of my job as an ETS. I learned to never get into a power struggle with a student, no matter what the situation. I learned to never attack a student's character, rather to always teach to the specific behavior. We employed the 3:1 ratio rule, where for every teaching to a negative behavior, we taught three times to a positive behavior, praising the student and encouraging them. This was the best part of my job. Building relationships with these kids and witnessing the growth and sense of accomplishment that they didn't even know was possible. I saw students grow in ways that touched me heart and told me no matter how stressful the job got, this is where I was supposed to be. I learned more about myself in this year than I had in perhaps my entire life. I learned patience, a genuine concern for my students, the character and what it takes to be a teacher and a mentor, and most importantly that every student deserves a second chance no matter what their history. I was inspired by my co-workers and administrators every time I went to work.

I felt fortunate to be a part of a place that truly helped to change the lives of young people and learned to have a profound respect for the profession of education. Every employee had a genuine love and concern for their students and every person went above and beyond to ensure that they were providing a therapeutic environment for the children. The students were the main focus of the school and perhaps that's what I enjoyed more than anything. I learned that managing misbehavior is about consistency and dedication and fairness and honesty. I learned that the system and structure of a classroom is of paramount importance. I learned that children will respond to honest feedback and that they really want someone to hold them accountable and push them to reach their full potential. I learned that more than anything, they wanted someone to care.