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In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
Watch for Behavior Challenges During Transitions
For months, students who have primarily been in remote learning settings have lived by a different set of behavior expectations than are typical in face-to-face settings. Trips to the bathroom may not require specific permission or a hall pass. There is no need to ask for permission to sharpen a pencil or seek out a needed classroom resource.
Yet, a different set of expectations may accompany students’ transition back to in-person learning environments. Obviously, some expectations are necessary to ensure safety, maintain focus, and avoid unnecessary disruptions. Accounting for the whereabouts of students is important within a school and ensuring an orderly learning environment may require some limits on student freedom and choice.
For some students the expectations will be unwelcome and feel excessively restrictive. Having to ask permission for activities that were self-regulated at home may seem like an attempt to over-control or signal a lack of trust. Having to sit quietly and resist talking with friends that they haven’t seen for months may be a difficult expectation to meet.
The bottom line is: We can expect some student confusion, uncertainty, and even resistance to the behavior constraints they experience as they transition back. For some, the expectation may not be much of an issue and they will make the transition smoothly. Other students may question and complain but will adjust and comply. Still others will predictably resist, pushback, and may even experience meltdowns as they are confronted with expectations that have not been part of their lives for as much as a year.
This reality presents at least three implications for action from us. First, we need to examine the expectations we have for students as they make the transition back. Expectations that are based in tradition but have no compelling purpose need to be abandoned. They are not worth the fight associated with enforcement and they can damage our relationships with students. The expectations that are necessary to ensure safety, preserve order, and support learning need to be presented with a clear rationale and with as much flexibility as we can manage. Where practical, we can invite students to discuss and have input on how the expectations will be implemented and managed.
Second, we need to reflect and consider how students were able to manage greater freedom and flexibility as they engaged in remote learning. Some of the routines and procedures allowed in remote learning settings may work fine in face-to-face settings or may be manageable with some modifications. We learned many lessons about managing behavior and engaging students in remote settings. We would be wise to bring as many of those lessons to in-person learning environments as we can. The fact is that in some cases, students can handle more freedom and responsibility than we have given them in the past. They may need supports and reminders, but the benefits can be significant.
Third, we need to offer flexibility in the implementation of the expectations that students may struggle to meet. We may need to teach some of the procedures associated with the expectations. It is predictable that some students, especially young learners, may not remember routines and procedures that were once familiar. Some students may just need time and support to adjust and have expected behaviors become routine and consistent again. Our challenge is to anticipate and respond with clarity, empathy, and support.
Behavior expectations are not academic learning, but they help to create the conditions under which learning can occur. Our careful planning and management of expectations can offer significant benefits to the learning environment if done well, or result in resistance and disruption if students fail to see the need for or the benefits of the expectations presented to them.
Communication, In Your Corner, Supporting Families
Watch Timing When Sending Home Negative News
Schools across the country are reporting lower grades and increasing course failures over the past several months. Of course, there are many reasons for the achievement slide, and it is reason for concern. In the coming months, a major focus will be on how to fill learning gaps and accelerate progress to help students get back on track.
However, as I read the reports, I was reminded of a research study recently published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study drew a concerning connection between the timing of negative news, such as disappointing report card contents, and increases in child abuse. The study compared reported incidents of child abuse to state child welfare agencies to the days of the week when report cards are sent home. Examination of almost 2,000 cases indicated that on Saturdays following Friday distribution of report cards, reports of child abuse jumped fourfold compared to reported incidents following the release of report cards on other days of the week.
Predictably, several factors might contribute to this sad connection. Weekends typically provide more time for adults to notice and react to information provided on report cards. Adults in children’s lives who may already be feeling anger and stress can choose to take out their frustrations on children whose report cards carry negative information. Parents who see education as crucial to a better life, but without a broad range of skills and strategies to respond, may resort to punishment to motivate greater commitment to learning and school success.
The study was conducted prior to the pandemic, so it is difficult to predict whether conditions have changed significantly. Yet, we know that the pandemic has increased stress levels for just about everyone. For people who are already facing challenging circumstances and do not handle stress well, the situation may be even more volatile.
We also know that far too many students have already been traumatized by life. They have seen and experienced what no child should have to endure. They may live in families that struggle to find resources to live. They may be in uncertain and unpredictable environments where conflict and violence are too frequently present. Or they may be in a household where mental and psychological issues are ongoing concerns.
On its face, the study might lead schools to a simple solution: Send report cards home on days of the week other than Friday. However, the findings of the study hint at a broader set of implications and cautions for school personnel, especially in light of the challenges and stress brought on by the pandemic.
We need to do all that we can to help parents and caregivers develop and utilize a broad set of strategies to discipline and motivate the children for whom they have responsibility. Physical punishment remains a preferred means of discipline, especially for young children. According to the JAMA study, between 75% and 95% of parents report using physical or corporal punishment for children between the ages of two and eight. Studies also show that physical punishment that escalates to physical abuse is associated with poor academic achievement and emotional and behavior problems, the very behaviors the punishment is intended to eliminate.
We must also give careful attention to the consequences of other communication with parents and caregivers that contains negative information about the behavior of children. If poor grades on a report card can stimulate abuse, it is reasonable to assume that similar information conveyed through other means may lead to similar consequences. This is not to say that we should keep any information that is not positive away from parents. Rather, we need to be thoughtful and sensitive about the timing, means, and framing of what we share. When we take the time to share the full picture surrounding negative information and provide suggestions for actions to correct the situation, we can lessen the intensity of emotional response and create a positive path forward.
We also need to be alert to situations where negative information is likely to lead to physical abuse. For example, when students show unusually intense fear about how an adult will react to information we plan to share, it may be an indication that the consequences will be extreme. We may need to share the information verbally or in person to gauge the reaction and provide coaching about appropriate responses and corrective action. Of course, we need to remain alert and report incidents of abuse we suspect.
Far too many children live in environments that leave them vulnerable and traumatized. We may not be able to prevent the negative forces in their lives or intervene in ways that fully counter their vulnerability. However, we can remain alert to dangers they face and do all that we can to avoid contributing to their troubles.
Resource:
Bright, M. A., Lynne, S. D., Masyn, K. E., Waldman, M. R., Graber, J., & Alexander, R. (2018). Association of Friday school report card release with Saturday incidence rates of agency-verified physical child abuse. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(2), pp. 176-182. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.4346
In Your Corner, Student Learning
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
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As much as we sometimes want to take control and tell students what they should do when they face a difficult challenge, it usually is best to position ourselves as coaches, reflectors, and supportive advocates.
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