Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Automatic Timeouts -"illogical consequences"

I came across this while researching my argument against these systems. It may be interesting to some of you.

http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/cm/Chapter19behavioralSystems-final.htm

Thanks, Pemberley!

I don't know that you will find a lot of research against time-outs in the classroom - BUT that is because any study worth its merit would only be studying time-outs used in a clearly defined behavioral mod system. Meaning: there would be clearly defined rules and expectations and a clear and consistent procedure for using a time out.

The way you have described this teacher's half-hazard approach sounds awful. I'm not sure how to approach this with the teacher. One thought is to ask if she can more clearly define the class rules for your child (and the rest of the class) so everyone knows when a rule is actually being broken. Many of these poor kids will go one of two ways in her current system: become self-conscious and angst in their every move OR give up trying to be "perfect" and potentially act worse then when they started her class. The book "123 Magic for Teachers" may serve to help you illustrate /define the many errors she is committing.

If she is inflexible and unapproachable, the principal /director surely needs to know.

This reminds me of my own 1st grade teacher. Any time there was a behavior the teacher didn't like you had to "pull a card". You started with an A and if you got down to an F, you got detention at recess. This teacher really seemed to have it out for me. She didn't like anything I did. Wouldn't even let me color a person with red hair because there was no crayon the color of red hair. One day I was bored with my work and was somewhat subconsciously making sounds like a ringing telephone. I was a VERY quiet and shy kid, so this was extremely unusual. With no warning she pulled two cards on me taking me to a C. One card was the norm and usually a warning preceded it. I looked at her with shock and said "Why..." and before I could say anything else she took me down to an F for back talking. I was given a 10 minute detention at recess and since I wore a watch, I knew my time was up. I waited a little while for her to release me, but she didn't so I reminded her of the time. For that she made stay for the rest of recess and started me with a C card the next day.

I began having lots of stomach trouble from the stress of not just this incident, but many others as well, so my mom took me to the doctor. She had no idea of the stress I felt and thought I was sick. While waiting, I drew a picture on the paper on the exam table. It was me, holding a gun, with my teacher laying there having been shot. Now, before you go thinking I'm psycho, know that I had complete understanding it would be a horrific thing to do and that I would NEVER do that for real and only used it as a way to get my doctor to see how much she bothered me. My mom was completely clueless about most anything I went through and never advocated for me... but that's a whole different story. Anyway, my doctor certainly took notice. She sent my drawing to my principal and he immediately moved me into a different classroom. My friends said that teacher was MUCH nicer to everyone from then on and she transferred to the high school to become the librarian the following year. I was so proud. I felt like I had righted an injustice for everyone, not just me.

Sorry, I have no advice... other than you probably shouldn't let your child handle it the way I did.

We had open house at DD's school last night and it was my first chance to see what system they are using in place of the color chart that causes her so much anxiety. So instead of the color chart public shaming device we battled so hard to have removed from her classroom they are instead using ... {drum roll} ... checkmarks on the board.

Those of you that clicked on the link I posted above will probably appreciate the irony...

Pemberley, while it seems that the TCM methodology being advertised at that website and in the author's book has a lot of merit, I also noted some faulty reasoning at that link, and I think that terms like "public shaming device" are going a mite overboard. It's a classroom management system that seems to work pretty well in general, including at my son's school; I don't see children hanging their heads in shame there.

But I guess that doesn't matter... for your daughter, the acid test will be whether whatever method they use to track classroom behavior causes her anxiety problems. The school admins and teachers have to be free to run their classrooms; maybe they could track her behavior in private, or even just give her a free pass on the behaviors that would be corrected in other children. Whatever they do should be geared to accommodate her.

My gut still says that classroom management using this sort of tracking is not a problem when it's fairly applied; it's unfair and inconsistent application of rules and management techniques that can be (in general, not discounting PTSD-ish symptoms or whatever in certain cases). A child could have stress and anxiety with an unfair teacher that didn't use this sort of tracking too.

I'm afraid the OP is stating just the start of attempted punishments / behavioral modifications that make little or no sense. The one common practice I always have to roll my eyes at are the "Zero tolerance policy" That's a school's way of needing to make judgment calls based on individual circumstances.

Example: I live in a largely agriculturally based area. Tim, 12 years old helps his dad with morning chores feeding cattle, barely finishing before hopping on the school bus, Tim fails to take his pocket knife out of his jeans that he uses to cut bailing twine. Later in the day a teacher spots the outline of his pocket knife in his front pocket. Zero tolerance, Tim is suspended for 3 days and carrying weapons is on his permanent school record.

In the example above there was no threat, only a hard working kid who made an honest mistake. The zero tolerance policy served the school, the community, and the student well didn't it? This is what happens when school administration does't wish to take the responsibility of making human judgment calls and instead relies on "Policy"

Tangenting off with you : our local school district has a zero tolerance policy on "risk of harm" which requires a student be screened for possible hospitalization and only returned to school with a signed letter from a professional that they are no longer a risk of harm to themselves or others.

I cannot tell you how many tines I have screened 5-7 year olds who, whilst playing on the playground, made some "ominous" threat such as "I'm going to blow you up with my bomb." Despite the fact each school has a social worker or counselor who could decipher what is normal child's play from psychological risk, a child is suspended until screened.

Ridiculous.

Sounds like Tim will be available to help with the harvest this week! :p