Is behaviour worse in schools? 🧵
Almost universally the (hundreds of) schools I have spoken to have said YES - and attributed this to mental health and emotional problems arising from the pandemic. BUT . . .
Almost universally the (hundreds of) schools I have spoken to have said YES - and attributed this to mental health and emotional problems arising from the pandemic. BUT . . .
. . . in the few schools I’ve spoken to where they say behaviour is as good as, or better than, before they’ve focused on orderly environment, clear expectations and consistent policy around behaviour.
Perhaps we need to be looking at the narratives we create and follow, since they (consciously or unconsciously) influence our expectations.
You get what you reinforce, as the old saying goes. Give lots of time and attention to self-control, diligence, courtesy and respect, and we will likely see more of it.
Give lots of time and attention to why children can’t be expected to behave at the same standards as they used to, and we will get lots more children feeling they don’t have to behave at those standards.
And no, that’s not simplistic or reductive. Good behaviour policy provides clear expectations, predictable routines and additional support for the few children who need it. But if ‘few’ becomes ‘many’, support systems are overwhelmed and standards crash.
That’s one of the key purposes of behaviour systems - to prevent that from happening.
In other words, our kind intentions have overloaded support systems and increased poor behaviour. Time to change our narratives. IMHO
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
