It’s Mother’s Day – and the end of Teacher Appreciation Week.  This seems appropriate since most teachers play the role of surrogate mom about 180 days per year.  Teachers nurture, support, encourage, provide boundaries, model, listen, and teach.  These aren’t their only jobs, but if you just look at the traits, it is hard to distinguish whether you are describing teachers or mothers....

  This week I was reminded of a former student. He had significant behavior issues. Every day he told us how much he hated school, how he didn’t like us, and how he wanted to be somewhere else. Yet oddly enough, when the end of the day arrived, we couldn’t get him to leave the building to board the bus home. It was at a meeting for this child that I got some insight into his world. He had...

Are you familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? This theory highlights our need for physical and emotional safety. Included in a lower ring of needs are “love, acceptance, and freedom from fear.” Sadly, it took me many years of parenting to learn that although I treated it as such, “good behavior” is not part of Maslow’s hierarchy.   As a parent, I had a proclivity for addressing...

Up for a new adventure? I’m thinking about pitching a new television reality series: Survivor: The Classroom. Contestants are divided into tribes and individually placed in classrooms abounding with students and their varying cognitive and behavioral challenges. With minimal supplies, hit-or-miss bathroom and lunch breaks, and sporadic support from outside resources, participants compete to...

Did the Easter bunny hop by your house this morning? All the Easter talk today made me think about two of my boys who had difficulty with “hopping” issues. Our fourth son, Max, had attention concerns when he was younger. He’d regularly “hop” from one thought to a completely different one without skipping a beat. Our second born, Micah, had difficulty remaining still. He was hyperactive and...

So, I was thinking about past pets yesterday, specifically, Juan Pablo.  Chameleons are interesting creatures.  They are able to blend in to their environment entirely, can completely change their colors in less than 20 seconds, and when feeling threatened, they puff up like blowfish with survival behaviors on full display.  Sound like any kids you know? Our brains are wired for survival, and...

Some individuals might remember this tagline from a 1984 TV commercial. It refers to the strength of garbage bags. Do they hold in the trash or break open leaving a big ugly mess? What a great question – and great behavioral lesson we could apply to our thoughts and words.   As I get older I realize how important it is to pause and think before speaking. Inhibiting our words can be hard,...

Spring fever has arrived – that time of year when students are uninhibited, excited, stir-crazy and in need of change. Behavior challenges pop up more frequently and we seem to have a more difficult time holding things together.  This got me to thinking about one of my former students.  I remember him distinctly – dead set on convincing me he was “bad” as evidenced by his words...

Actions may speak louder than words, but we best not underestimate as a nation how the phrases we use shape the language of children we are collectively raising.  I guess it is a hazard of my profession, but I regularly see and hear the world through the eyes and ears of youth and wonder how exposure shaped their development.  With regard to verbal behaviors, it isn’t always foul language...

I did a great deal of yard work yesterday and was reminded of an important behavior strategy. It’s one I don’t talk about nearly enough, given its effectiveness. Of course, with most people’s busy schedule it’s also hard to come by. The strategy to which I am referring is physical activity.   When we engage in physical activity oxygen is sent to the brain, blood flow increases, and “feel...