+ addressing problem behavior in schools john winslade
Post on 31-Dec-2015
221 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
+
Addressing Problem Behavior in SchoolsJohn Winslade
+Aim of this workshop
To provoke shifts in thinking
To outline a different approach to difficult behavior
Based on a relational psychology
Drawn specifically from narrative counseling
• A comprehensive approach to violence
• Illustrates a range of methods• Restorative
conferences• Circle
conversations• Undercover anti-
bullying teams• Counseling• Conflict coaching• Mediation• Facing up to
violence groups
+Introductions
Introduce yourself
Why is it not surprising that you would come to this workshop?
+What is a relational psychology?
The individual is not the center of the universe
All does not emerge from the essence within the individual
Relationship events are folded into personal identity
People try to influence each other
+Usual approach to problem behavior
Which rule is broken?
Who did it? What does he/she
deserve?
Restore the authority of the rules
Isolate the offender Apply punishment Hope the offender
feeling guilt and remorse will lead to change
+Restorative justice
Who was harmed?
How were they affected?
Whose obligation is it to address this harm?
What is needed to make things right?
Restore relationships that were harmed
Give victims a voice
Ask offenders to be accountable to victims
Include more voices
+Restorative justice
What do I mean by “harmed” Who is
affected? Directly or
indirectly “It makes no
sense to say the school was harmed”
+
The person is not the problem;
The problem is the problem.
Michael White
+Discuss in groups
What sorts of events are you concerned about?
Share a scenario you are familiar with What happened? Who was involved and
what were their intentions? What was at the heart of
the matter? Choose one from each
group
+How are you currently addressing these issues?
What is successful?
What problems arise?
When might something different be useful?
+What are schools for?
Producing people, citizens, consciousness, knowledge, relationships, communities
Places where persons become somebody (“individuals”)
Dividing people into different futures (“dividuals”)
Serving the purposes of social machines that govern political, economic, social, cultural life
+If problem behavior happens, what is producing it? It does not happen
by chance No organization or
school is in complete control
No individual is in complete control
There are always limits to what we can do
This does not mean we should give up
+Violence and bullying are valued by …
The neoliberal capitalist machine (competition) A certain level of
violence is accepted
The military machine Desire for
violence is encouraged
The administrative machine of the state Acceptance of
violence by specialists is tolerated (e.g. police)
+On the other hand …
Students are not puppets
They are seeking to “become somebody”
They try to “enunciate” what is important to them
They protest, resist what is being done to them
They make decisions, speak and act
They exercise agency
+Identity is formed in schools is a mix of:
Mandated identity
What they say I can be
Chosen identity
Who I say I am “I’m ADHD but
I don’t believe it.”
+Discourses that restrain efforts to make a difference
1. Some people are born monsters.
2. Violence is natural and has always been there.
3. Schools are for academic learning, not social work.
4. A little bullying is good for people. They need to learn to toughen up.
5. Identify the bad types of person. Get rid of them. Then the school or organization will be less violent.
6. People don’t change.
+Counter arguments
No one is born a monster. We turn people into persons who do monstrous things
Peaceful, just, respectful and cooperative behavior is also natural
Schools are for producing citizens and this is a central function of education
No one deserves to be bullied in order to develop strength
Violence is not the property of a type of person. Get rid of some individuals and others will take their place
People change all the time
+What is a counter practice?
Address the harm done by violence
Build a culture of parrhesia (truth-telling, risky speech)
Reconnect those who are violent with an ethic of care
Listen to what victims of violence say
Identify how people are already responding
Encourage bystanders to take a stand
Restore relationships harmed by violence
+
Focus on the event
“The event is logically prior
to identity”
• look for a category of person
• ask what that type of person would do
• explain violence through the category
Don’t
+Instead…
Look for the event
Ask how the event produces people
Invite people to produce themselves differently
+Specific Practices which embody these concepts
Conflict coaching with individuals
Mediation with two people
Restorative Conferencing with groups
Undercover anti-bullying teams
+With each form of practice …
Listen to the story of what happened
Externalize the event Develop a counter story What would you prefer? Find singularities,
unique outcomes Connect them with
sustaining values Connect differences in
ongoing actions
+What is externalizing?
Speak about the event as a 3rd party
Attribute problems to it (not to the student)
Ask about its effects
Ask about the student’s responses to it?
+Conflict coaching conversation
What did you notice?
What work did particular questions do?
What assumptions were guiding this conversation?
What surprises were there?
+A restorative conference: assumptions
An offense is an event in a relationship
It creates harm An offense
Sets up a relation
Produces needs
Creates an obligation
To listen To care To respond
+Setting up a restorative conference
First questions to be asked:
What happened? Who has a stake
in this? Who has been
affected? Has the offender
admitted the act?
+Opening the conference
Welcome We are not interested
in blame. This is not a court case
This is not about punishment. It’s about putting things right. Are you willing to do this?
Please respect the privacy of what is said here?
Introduce yourself and say one thing you hope will come from this meeting?
+ The problem storyWhat would you call it?
What effect did it have on you? Fear
Cost time off work
Learning interrupted
Mad at him
Missed art class
Disappointed
RudenessShouting IntimidationFrustration
+ The counter storyWhat do you know about this person
that does not fit with this problem?
What does that say about him or her?
Helped clean up classroom
Good at art
Interrupted bullying
Sent homework to friend
ResponsibleCares for othersCan behave well when neededBelieves in justiceHas ability
+The challenge
Which story about you do you want people to know about you in future?
The problem story
The counter story
+ The plan
Are you willing to put things right? Why?
What needs to happen to make things right?
What do you (victim) need to feel safe?
What can you (offender) offer?
What difference will this make?
How can we ensure this plan happens?
+Undercover anti-bullying teams
Listen to the story of bullying
Ask about the effects
Victim is asked to name members of
the undercover team (6)
The team includes 2 of the worst
bullies 4 others
Facilitator meets
separately with the team
Victim is not asked to
confront bullies
Meet with victim of bullying
+Undercover anti-bullying teams
We need your help To make victim
feel better No one is being
punished Tell them the story
of bullying with no names
How would you feel?
Think of 5 things to help the victim
Do them undercover
Meeting the undercover team
+Undercover anti-bullying teams
Say hi to him every day.
Talk to her socially. Ask her how she is.
Listen to her. Start conversations
with her. Give her
compliments. Tell others to back
off. Tell people that the
rumors aren’t true. Tell her come and talk to us if anyone
is bullying her.
Examples of 5 point plan
+Undercover anti-bullying teams
Check-in separately with undercover team and victim Every few days For about 2
weeks Victim decides
when team has done its work
When successful, team are given Certificates Food voucher
+Results
In a study of 35 teams All were
successful Bullying stopped Victim felt
happier Team members
enjoyed the experience
Many bullies changed their behavior
Some gave little help but didn’t interfere
+Results
One facilitator said: “The girl that was the
biggest bully was the first to help end the bullying.
She actually had the kids that were bullying the girl online apologize to her. She said that
this was the first time she was ‘nice to another person’.”
+Comments from victims
It helped stop the bullying from happening again.
I liked the undercover team, because Mr. Bully was a part of it and they made him realize his mistake and fix it.
I liked hearing positive feedback, which helped me to think more positive and enjoy being in class.
The main person stopped bullying and started to be kind to me.
They treated me like another friend and I felt more comfortable in class.
I gained friends from this. I am really happy.
+Comments from undercover teams
I really enjoyed helping out someone that never had a friend in her whole life.
I liked knowing I was helping someone feel welcome and part of a group.
It felt good to help someone feel better about themselves.
It’s fun to help out others. If someone asked me to do it again I would do it.
I liked it because no one knew what we were doing.
It made me feel proud that I could help others.
+Comments from bullies
Not separated from undercover teams’ comments
These ones probably came from bullies I was given the
opportunity to help out instead of being stereotyped as the bully.
We all learned a lesson from this.
+Principles
Address conflict and violence (rather than shift it elsewhere)
Respect students and help them learn (rather than punish them or write them off as losers)
Build communities of care around a problem (rather than isolating individuals)
Restore relationships that have been harmed (rather than the authority of school rules)
Invite students to take responsibility (rather than imposing it on them)
top related