CHAPTER 1 An Introduction to Behavior Management

1) Definition of Behavior Management Interventions:
a) Every child has a unique individual behavior
b) Intervention can be done by parent, teacher or caregiver
c) Intervention can be an action of a conscious inaction
d) The intervention is tailored to the child’s needs
2) Teachers and Behavior Management:
a) Behavior management is the responsibility of the teacher, who must plan appropriate interventions for children on an individual basis
b) Teachers must focus on effective educational leadership to reduce unacceptable behavior of students
c) Teachers must also be proactive and creative enough to develop alternative plans to enforce the discipline at school
d) Good behavior in school experiences helps students reduce unwanted behavior and helps students succeed in the educational level
3) Ethics of Behavior Management:
a) Traditionally diverse classrooms have precipitated the discussion about ethics of behaviors management
b) The specific problem raised is whose decisions are principal in the management of a child’s behavior, and is the form of management warranted or legitimate
c) A child’s environment affect his/her behavior
d) Changes in environment consistently, systematically results in different behaviors of children
e) The ethics of behavior management is discussed in different venues: political, legal, professional, and scientific
f) The goals of the intervention are difficult to define, but the techniques for carrying out intervention are varied and useful as a “means to an end”
g) The reason that there is no “end goal” is different educators view behavior management through different philosophical lenses
i) Does the child have freedoms and rights of expression (formalism)
ii) Should the collective rights of the students to learn curtail an individual’s rights of self expression (utilitarianism)
h) Behavior management interventions should always be objective and supported be empirical evidence
i) Controversial studies are subjective and open to vague or unquantifiable interpretations (the child is “better”)
4) Rights of Children
a) Normalization
i) What it is
(1) Make classroom interactions equally comfortable for students and teachers
(2) Reduce the obstacles that the child’s disability poses
(3) Effectively teach self determination, give children autonomy to thrive and the skills to work with others
ii) What it is not
(1) Forcing a disabled child to behave identically to typical peers
b) Fairness
i) Management should not be arbitrarily implemented
ii) It should be consistent, the same rules apply all the time
iii) Management should not infringe on any individual child’s rights to education
iv) Teachers must be willing to enforce rules that result in a “fair” classroom
c) Dignity
i) Children are little human beings, not inferior to adults
ii) No corporal punishments
iii) No psychologically traumatic punishments (isolation, segregation, harassment)
5) Laws
a) IDEA
i) All children, whether disabled or not, have the right to study in public schools together and receive services
ii) Section 504: students who do not meet IDEA standards but have mental or developmental disabilities still receive goods and services
b) IEP
i) Disabled children have individually tailored lesson plans that promote their success
ii) Developed in an interdisciplinary collaboration between the child’s parents, teachers, and professionals in special education
iii) Is reassessed throughout a child’s primary education beginning (K-12)
c) Public Law 103-382
i) Zero tolerance for weapons or violence in public schools resulting in 1 year expulsion
d) No Child Left Behind
i) The school is responsible for the success of all of its students
ii) Designed to safeguard diverse student populations (minority students, disabled students, etc.)
iii) Government funding is proportional to school’s documented success