Question:

THIS MONTH, YOUR BEHAVIOR SPECIALIST RECALLS THE WRITERS WHO MOST INFLUENCED HER IN HER 33 YEAR (SO FAR) CAREER. ARE YOU LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION? THE FOLLOWING ARE THE HEROES WHO INSPIRED AND TAUGHT ME.

Answer:

1. FRITZ REDL If you work with emotionally disturbed or behaviorally disordered youth you must have these books in your library.

"Trying to understand child and youth care practice without reading Redl and Wineman is like trying to understand algebra without learning about addition - It's that basic!" Thom Garfat, International Child and Youth Network

Redl, F. & Wineman, D. (1965) Controls from within: Techniques for the treatment of the aggressive child

Redl, Fritz (1965) Children who hate: the disorganization and breakdown of behavior controls

Redl, F. & Wineman, D. (1972) When we deal with children: Selected writings

"Boredom will always remain the greatest enemy of school disciplines. If we remember that children are bored, not only when they don't happen to be interested in the subject or when the teacher doesn't make it interesting, but also when certain working conditions are out of focus with their basic needs, then we can realize what a great contributor to discipline problems boredom really is. Research has shown that boredom is closely related to frustration and that the effect of too much frustration is invariably irritability, withdrawal, rebellious opposition or aggressive rejection of the whole show." When We Deal With Children

To address that boredom problem:

2. David and Roger Johnson

Cooperative Learning is a relationship in a group of students that requires positive interdependence (a sense of sink or swim together), individual accountability (each of us has to contribute and learn), interpersonal skills (communication, trust, leadership, decision making, and conflict resolution), face-to-face promotive interaction, and processing (reflecting on how well the team is functioning and how to function even better)." http://www.clcrc.com

Johnson, D., Johnson, R., Holubec, E. (2002) Circles of Learning, 5th ed.,

Johnson, D., Johnson, R., Holubec, E. (1987) Structuring Cooperative Learning: Lesson Plans for Teachers

Johnson, D., Johnson, R., Holubec, E. (1994) The Nuts & Bolts of Cooperative Learning

Kagan, S. (1992). Cooperative learning (2nd ed.). San Juan Capistrano, CA: Resources for Teachers ·

3. William Glasser
Establishing relationships is the next basic tenet, and I deepened my understanding of this with:

Reality Therapy is the method of counseling that Dr. William Glasser has been teaching since 1965. Since unsatisfactory or nonexistent connections with people we need are the source of almost all human problems, the goal of Reality Therapy is to help people reconnect. This reconnection almost always starts with the counselor/teacher first connecting with the individual and then using this connection as a model for how the disconnected person can begin to connect with the people he or she needs. http://www.wglasser.com

Glasser, W. (1989) Reality Therapy: A new approach to psychiatry

Glasser, W. & Dotson, K.L. (1998) Choice Theory in the Classroom

4. Jeanne Gibbs
After student/teacher connection, I realized the importance of creating a classroom community. I used the techniques from Tribes, "a process with activities intentionally designed to build self esteem, responsible behavior and academic achievement."

Gibbs, J. (1995) Tribes, A new way of learning to be together

For inspiration and support of my beliefs I found:

5. Herbert Kohl

As the father of the Open School Movement of the Sixties and Seventies, many have discounted Kohl's role in current reforms, yet it is Kohl's work that helped bring many of Dewey's reforms into practice. Kohl advocates for a more democratic setting. He believes that the adults are firmly in charge and set the tone for learning at all times, but are still people and should share themselves and the power bestowed on them with the students. http://www.hamline.edu/~mboucher/capstoneproject1998/kohl.html

Kohl, H. (1990) Thirty six children

Kohl, H. (1986) On teaching

And:

6. Jonathan Kozol

Kozol, J. (1990) Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools, based on his teaching experiences in Roxbury. The book won the National Book Award in 1968. (I also recommend Savage Inequalities and Amazing Grace, though they are not strictly about teaching)

Let me know if you read any of these, and if you do, how you like them. Happy reading!