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Writer's pictureBehaviour Mentor

Looking Through A Different Lens



Disciplinary action, punishments...


I am not on board!


Consider the following scenarios which highlight how different approaches to the same issue can have very different outcomes.



Student A is impulsive and has difficulty to stop himself from being physical with his friends. Generally there is no malice involved this student just acts without thinking.


Student B has a tendency to seek-out adult attention through telling tales on friends, this student enjoys the 'limelight' this affords. On occasion this student has been known to be economical with the truth as to the role that they have played in the given situation.


Adult 1 sits both students down and attempts to build a picture of what took place. Reflecting on what happened just before, during and just after. Discussing what might have been better responses and better choices resulted in both students agreeing and recognising their part in the incident. This allowed them to take ownership for their role in the problem and also reflect on how they might react in a similar situation in the future.


Adult 2 sits both children down independently and concludes who was at fault and who was the victim. The decision is then to e-mail the parents of Student A highlighting the incident and describing the physical interaction. It was also decided that Student B's parents should be made aware that Student A had been dealt with.


I don't know about you but I know which scenario I believe in...


Adult 1 was 'looking through a different lens' and identified that there was an opportunity for student learning to take place. If we are to help the students in our care to navigate their social interactions in a positive way surely we must offer them opportunities to change their behaviour. By mentoring them we can support them in learning the necessary social and emotional skills. Through discipline we will never achieve this outcome as the students in our care have a diverse set of needs which need to be approached in a diverse number of ways. According to Geoff James (2019) in his post titled 'Discipline and Authority in schools - a bumpy ride', authoritarian methods can harm students exhibiting social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. If you have time read his short article. He talks about schools with zero-tolerance approaches which remove student agency.


Please help me to change the lens by commenting and sharing this post and your opinions.

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