Student Conduct: What are we training?

Student Conduct

I've been doing some thInking about student conduct.  Here are some thoughts and issues that come to mind.

How and when are students taught models of acceptable, appropriate, good behavior in the various situations they will encounter?  For example, waiting in line for lunch, listening attentively at an assembly, arriving in class ready to learn, self-control when they want to go off task.
How do staff members buy-in to consistent reinforcement of good behavior and consistent correction of poor behavior?
What we accept is what we promote.  Are our rules consistently enforced, reinforced, or ignored? Do we have the will and means to develop norms and culture that will sustain itself over time?
Are our discipline practices building student connections and training students how to behave well; or are they more about consequences that do not train, but rather make celebrities out of those who stand out with their unacceptable behavior?
In our haste to remove offending students from a class or our urgency to "put a lid on it, get back on track," are we missing teachable moments?  Are we in fact, giving up power to the offenders?  Perhaps stopping to analyze, achieve common understanding, and re-train would be a better use of ten minutes today, than pushing the issue out of class or into the background.

In a positive middle school culture I saw a simple pattern work well for students and staff.  First of all, there were few written rules and no posters "selling" or "admonishing" students. However, every adult followed a simple practical procedure.  When student behavior was inappropriate in any way a simple series of steps was taken.

The adult stopped whatever was going on.  If class was in session, everything stopped as the adult took control.  If the student was in the hall or other public location, he or she was addressed on the spot as if time had stopped until the matter was resolved.
Once the adult achieved the attention of those in the situation, class or hall or where ever; a very practical, methodical, adult conversation was conducted.
The student was asked, "What are you doing?"  He or she was expected to tell the whole truth, describing in detail their actions.  At this step, reinforcing truth-telling was the priority, no matter how long it took.  Without this essential step any discipline process falls apart.  When the adult was satisfied that the student had told the whole truth, the truth was repeated by the adult to demonstrate that they were aligned on the same page.
Once the truth had been established, the adult then asked, "What are you supposed to be doing?" This step was to reinforce not only the appropriate behavior, but also establish that the student had known what was appropriate and had willfully engaged in inappropriate behavior.  It was my observation that this was usually the tipping point of the process.  At this stage, it is about retraining and connection building, not who is right and who is wrong.
The adult may choose to restate the "what are you doing" and "what are you supposed to be doing" for clarity and impact. Or, he or she may embellish or personalize, citing previous examples of the student performing well.  The priority is behavior modification.  In any case, the process cannot stop here, it must continue.  Consistency matters.
The next adult question in the practice was, "If this inappropriate behavior continues or you choose not to behave appropriately, what will be the consequence?"  The universal answer to this question is key to the practice.  In our case, the answer was, "I will meet with the Assistant Principal who will take further disciplinary action as needed."
Once the student articulated the follow up that would take place if he or she did not modify the behavior, the teacher would ask, "Are you prepared to behave appropriately now?"  If the answer was affirmative, the student was sincerely thanked by the adult for being honest and taking responsibility.  If the answer was not affirmative, the student was escorted to the office, either by an adult who was called, or by another student chosen by the teacher as escort, depending upon the disposition of the offending student at that point in the process.
In the majority of cases, the student did not go to the AP.  In fact, in my class room experience, the climate and productivity of the entire class was lifted whenever this process took place.  It had a positive impact on everyone.  Once in awhile, with sixth graders, it was necessary to deal with another student who couldn't control his or her desire to wag a finger, or call out the initial offender.  However, the process simply was used on that inappropriate behavior too, and it tended not to happen again.  I cannot over-emphasize the need to consistent application.  The first few times it may feel robotic or unnatural, especially for long service teachers who like to do what they've always done; but the students need the consistency.  For the sake of the students, consistency is required.  The adults need to see that what's best for the at-risk, most fragile students in the long run, is more important than the teacher's sense of autonomy or creative will.

A solid culture of self-discipline evolved at this school.  Yes, it was only 6-8th grade and only about 400 students, with little demographic diversity; but the culture of self-discipline allowed us to operate without some of the awkward, inefficient structures many building employ.  For example, hall passes were unnecessary.  If a student was out of a class room, not.  was it rare, but they were on their way to another location walking with purpose and could articulate to anyone what they were doing.  It was incumbent on the adults to expect that and walk the student back to class if something seemed amiss, but the students learned how to conduct themselves without passes because they were trained and it was reinforced.  Compare that with students who shuffle along aimlessly carrying a passbook.  Is the passbook system moving the student toward self-discipline or away?  Is it in fact, crutch that breeds mistrust and creates minor disruption where it need not be?  Passbooks and arcane rules are only the tip of the iceberg.  Maybe we need to look closely at ways that the building culture is built by adult actions that actually create more problems than they solve and encourage misbehavior by creative students who "work" the system.

Emphasize the autonomy, mastery, and purpose of the student.

WHAT IF STUDENTS HAD A FIVE LEGGED STOOL?

Let's pick a place to begin:  the student's twelfth birthday.  What if each student was met on his or her twelfth birthday by a support team of five people?  Why five?  It's a place to start the thinking.  One of the objectives of the meeting is to get the student and the support team all on the same page.  A key process barrier to avoid is the temptation to make these meetings "cookie-cutter," no offense, but much like mandated IEP meetings have become over the years.  The point is to see the student as an individual, needing and receiving individual attention.

Let's acknowledge that the student may have become jaded by the age of twelve.  Year after year, adults in his or her life may have been saying one thing and doing another.  For example, even in the most consistent and supportive environments, children learn that adults do not always follow through on what they claim to expect.  Adults can not only be manipulated by children, but systematically, children move to the next grade each year as they age.  Consider the proposition that in the mind of a twelve year old, adults are phony and the system they represent is a fraud.  No, we are not suggesting a system of retention, but rather, a support system that guides and reinforces achievement.  Not just achievement defined by "standards," achievement defined by the autonomy, mastery, and purpose of the student.

Let's consider the birthday meeting as a kind of rite of passage, an official guidepost in the student's path to adulthood.  Recognizing the student as unique and the system now  flexible, not rigid, we have a "whole child" conversation.  Through coaching and counseling language and actions, the team of six, including the student, revisits the path to this point and the path ahead. Again, emphasizing the autonomy, mastery, and purpose of the student.

Great meetings do not just happen and meetings with twelve year olds take preparation.  Let's begin with how to prepare the student.  First, none of the participants can be strangers.  The student must have had some prior interaction with each adult, even if it was only a conversation about hobbies.  Preferably, all or most of the adults in the meeting, on the team, will be readily seen as mentors in the life of the student.

In a future post, meeting possibilities.  Think about the power of a five legged stool.