What Canaries & Popcorn Have In Common
Why we cannot solve behaviour problems outside of the environment in which they occur
Behaviour is complex
When we’re trying to “solve” a child’s behavioural problem, we (adults) very quickly develop tunnel vision. We tend to look only at the child, forgetting there are always many factors at play when it comes to behaviour.
Behaviour is incredibly complex and not easily explained, nor easily changed, especially if we only look at one aspect while ignoring the rest.
It sends the wrong message
This approach sends a message to the child (however unintentionally) that they are the problem, therefore they must be removed and “fixed” before they can return.
That is very harmful to a child’s self-concept and also sends the same message to their peers, who will follow the adults’ lead.
Teachers and staff are also influenced by the leadership and culture of their school. If their administration and training encourage them to focus on the surface behaviour and see the child as the problem, then this is the approach they will take.
Certainly nowadays administrators and courses at teacher’s college don’t blatantly say “see the child as the problem”, yet their actions and policies still clearly expose this attitude.new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
When a child is having difficulty in school, we tend to separate them from their class and try to “help” them individually. There are three major issues with this, which render it a very ineffective way of supporting students.
It misses the bigger picture
Behaviour does not occur in isolation, therefore we can neither support a student, nor address their challenging behaviour, in isolation.
The environment in which the concerns are happening will be contributing to the problem. Removing the child to “work with” them, then returning them to an unchanged environment will solve nothing.
Like popcorn in the coal mine
To put a new spin on an old analogy
When one child is so obviously struggling in an environment, we can guarantee the adults and other children are struggling too — their difficulties are just less obvious.
Think of the staff and students in a school or classroom as a pan of un-popped kernels.
When things heat up, someone has to be the first kernel to pop. That just gives us a signal that if we don’t change something in the environment, then other kernels will begin to pop as well.
This is not about blaming anyone — neither the adults, nor the child — it’s about taking a systems approach.
Removing a single kernel will not stop the others from feeling the heat. Some kernels will reach their limit much earlier than others, but if we don’t address the heat source, the other kernels will eventually start to burst too.
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