According to this Star Tribune article, ISD196′s Red Pine Elementary school has joined the ranks of other Minnesota schools hoping to curtail the number of negative interactions requiring a visit with administration by setting clear expectations and rewarding students who meet them. An apparently novel concept in education which has been used just about everywhere else is being hailed as the second coming.
From the article:
Once a month, Red Pine Elementary School principal Gary Anger dons a tuxedo and breaks out fine china to eat lunch with the best-mannered class in the school.
The reward is the school’s way of emphasizing students’ good behavior and creating a positive school culture. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce the number of kids sent to his office for breaking the rules.
[...]
Anger said that since PBIS was introduced at Red Pine, referrals to his office for negative behaviors have been cut in half.
[...]
The program provides students and staff with clear, consistent behavioral expectations and models them in different areas of the school, said Julie Olson, the district’s director of elementary education. Teachers and staff are encouraged to recognize kids’ good behavior with an incentive, like tickets.
This is exactly how things work in the adult world, especially in the workplace. Managers provide their staff with clear expectations and, in states other than Minnesota where no one wants to be confrontational, provides them with recurring feedback on an on-going basis about their work. While this feedback is rarely related to behavior, it translates into excellent work output and the likelihood of raises or other benefits for the employee. The fact that this is considered a novel idea in education is likely seen as a “duh” moment for everyone outside of education.
What do you think about this one? Are you surprised that education considers this a new idea? Do you believe this should have been implemented decades ago? Are you an educator? Is this something going on in your school? Is it as successful as the article makes it seem? Whatever you have to say about this go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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