Re:rincipal Fires Guards, Expands Arts and Sees Test Scores Soar
Thank you, this statement is huge! I have worked with children since I was 15, came from a large, close knit family, lived in a neighborhood that had over 50 children on one block, Catholic, I wish more people would realize oe size is not fit all. It is my dream or our educational system to tune in on this and the way children learn, and focus on these. The evaluations they do on children in kindergarten could be used to help children pick their path of learning based on their strengths instead of everyone of using on weaknesses. I think more vocational teaching should be offered. The complaint issued on here by many poster is that there is a lack of skilled workers. Teaching to the test s stifling our youths many talents. There are eight areas of intelligence and we narrow our focus on a few.
Children are my passion.
I work with the Developmentally disabled...mentally retarded.... for our vocabularily challenged.
When I started in the mid-80's...there wasn't a day that went by where we weren't restraining someone...we physically restrained them, mechanically restrained them, and chemically restrained them as a means of "behavior modification" the idea was to reward them...with edibles, hugs, or some other preferred positive attention when they're behaving properly and negative reinforcement when they behaved inappropriately.
It didn't work....it was primarily based on fear and intimidation. "Do what we want, or we'll tie your ass to a bed for two hours. At that time we had a ratio of 1:12. Four staff, four groups, 48 hyperactive and maladaptive developmentally disabled adults in the prime of their physical lives (early 30's)...I should also mention that these folk that I first started working with were also quite profoundly disabled.... we are talking about IQ's in the single digits to low teens....people who were brought to the institution shortly after birth...because that's what doctors told parents back then....put the child away, forget about him/her and try for another.
Only when we lowered our staffing ratios and switched to a positive only reinforcement model did things begin to change. We were able to give more attention...we had to learn that outbursts and those maladaptive behaviors weren't necessarily them being assholes....pain...all kinds of pain....physical, mental...whatever... when you are talking about non verbal people with virtually no ability to communicate...the only way they had to express themselves was by acting out.
Add into the mix that when they were brought into the institution In the 50's, the ratio was even worse.... 2 staff to 60 DD infants....these folk had virtually ZERO nurturing, ZERO attention and ZERO stimuli. There just wasn't enough time in the day for two staff to do it. It was at that time...a literal human warehouse. They learned to stimulate themselves in any way they could.
So some of those behaviors were created that way....others were created by survival....bigger, more aggressive people preyed on the weak...stealing food, physical attacks and when they reached puberty, sexual predation.
So by the time I got onto the scene...those behaviors were well ingrained.
I can't begin to tell you all the improvements I have seen in my years there. It would take too long and I've already gone on too long...but personal attention, combined with positive reinforcement has made a huge difference....in short...love conquers authority...which ties in nicely with the thread.
