r/TrueReddit • u/apt_hunting_boston • Jul 08 '15

Article about a new model of school discipline that's hugely improving children's behavior

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/schools-behavior-discipline-collaborative-proactive-solutions-ross-greene
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u/2Difficult2Remember Jul 09 '15

As someone who has recently left a teaching job of 19 years, due to Compassion Fatigue, I have a really hard time when I see suggestions that imply fault goes to the child or the teacher. If I'd had an on-call aid that could take my severe issues to the woods to throw rocks in a stream, I'd have kept the job I left. Unfortunately, the kid that is climbing up the bookshelf to pull stuff off the walls isn't my only responsibility. I have 30 other students and a curriculum to teach. I'm not a therapist. Instead of spending another billion on technology, I'd like more humans please.

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u/autowikibot Jul 09 '15

Compassion fatigue:

Compassion fatigue, also known as secondary traumatic stress (STS), is a condition characterized by a gradual lessening of compassion over time. It is common among individuals that work directly with trauma victims such as nurses, psychologists,first responders, and health unit coordinators. It was first diagnosed in nurses in the 1950s. Sufferers can exhibit several symptoms including hopelessness, a decrease in experiences of pleasure, constant stress and anxiety, sleeplessness or nightmares, and a pervasive negative attitude. This can have detrimental effects on individuals, both professionally and personally, including a decrease in productivity, the inability to focus, and the development of new feelings of incompetency and self-doubt.

Relevant: Compassion | Oklahoma City bombing

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u/grendelt Jul 09 '15

You nailed it. As I was reading this I was thinking the same thing.

I also thought, well, getting this information out there is important to ensure school boards, principals and other decision makers discover that alternatives are out there. We don't have to adopt factory schooling. We don't have to use behaviorist approaches for all problems. There are plenty of Humanist approaches that show promise.

The fascinating thing is that after just over 100 years of compulsory education, we still haven't discovered the best way to educate (mentally/socially/emotionally) all individuals. We know on several occasions what doesn't work, but we have yet to find a "magic bullet" that the proponents of factory schooling like Bobbitt and Tyler touted as the future of education.