5.
Whenever we are trying to change something, our Riders
often become mired in TBU analysis—“True But
Useless.”
What are the TBUs in your life?
What
does the story of Jerry Sternin and Save the Children (Chapter
2) teach
us about tackling a problem with minimal help
and meager
resources?
How did Sternin move beyond TBUs to
help
reduce malnutrition in Vietnam?
Since I do counseling with some students, I think that I focus on TBU's alot. I need to change this. I need to work harder at solution-focused therapy and not drilling down into the student's past.
ReplyDeleteI love the story of Jerry Sternin and Save the Children. It is a powerful reminder that sometimes we try to spend money and over solve problems. If we make a small change, some times those changes can be more powerful than huge changes. He was able to move beyond what he and everyone else knew (starving children) and look for bright spots to see how to effectively reduce malnutrition without huge resources. I question what areas in my job and life can I effectively make changes in with minimal help and resources. My second question is how can I effectively help my teachers to make necessary changes when they are almost always short on paras. I am excited to take this new knowledge and apply it.
TBUs are useless, but we tend to focus on them. Maybe because it provides a scapegoat when situations don’t improve or a change is resisted. Family history keeps popping into my mind. I hear teachers say things like: well, you know his mom, or his older brother was the same way. Their statements are true, but useless because this student is a distinct individual, not a carbon copy of a sibling or a parent.
ReplyDeleteThe level of observation that Sternin did was phenomenal. He didn’t assume no one in Viet Nam could raise a healthy child. He looked to see what was right and then helped those doing it better become leaders of others. I really like the idea of focusing on the ‘right’ rather than trying to change a whole system. He had a lot of TBU information. By emulating the nutrition of the successful families, he let those moms show the others how to improve nutrition for other children. I also like the way he used the local families to teach the nutrition. These people were showing their peers how to solve the problem which makes it creditable. ‘High-powered outsiders’ coming in to teach the families how to eat smaller meals with the sweet potato greens wouldn’t have the same creditability as the successful locals did. Learning from someone who is in your same situation is powerful. That’s why I like peer teaching at school.
Sometimes we know too much about our students and we let all that information weigh us down into thinking they cannot change. The information might be true (and sad) but it won’t help us move forward to get the kiddo on down the road. How many times has a new student moved into our district with a huge file and lots of stories but then when we get to know the child, its all good and we learn to love the kid. Maybe we need to start something new ... TBNW (True but now what?)
ReplyDeleteI like the TBNW.
DeleteMe too!!!
DeletePeople around me definitely focus on TBUs. I work with some students where the TBU gets mentioned regarding family history of parenting especially when serving siblings. The team needs to look at each child and begin with the bright spots! I need to remember to do this as well. I can see where this strategy is very helpful for home visits and goes along with the coaching model.
ReplyDeleteSternin's story teaches us that there are always bright spots to begin teaching from. One needs to find the bright spot, act on one of the spots and give specific instruction in order to teach new skills and incorporate the change. That focus is very important when I go on home visits and provide coaching strategies. The parent can be overwhelmed when the child has skills that need to be addressed in several developmental areas. It is important to look at the child's skills and the parent's interactions. Then find what is most important to the parent to begin improving. As the coach I would then find the bright spot in that area. Most of the other skills can be worked on by building on that bright spot. Sometimes resources are limited in these homes and creative ways need to be developed to build the skills into daily routines.
Sternin moved beyond the TBU by finding the bright spot of how mothers were feeding the children and what the children were eating that had better nutrition. He then had those mothers teach other mothers those skills. Sternin used specific instruction and acted on the behavior.
I this statement of TBU really impacted me and I have talked about it with colleagues quite a bit since I read it. I, like many students, came from a broken home. I lived with my dad, but had visitations (well when she felt like showing up) with my mom who had addiction and criminal issues. My dad and step mom would tell, yes it is hard, but I need to move on and be the best I can. It is true, I had a rough childhood, but it was useless to hang onto that as an excuse. I believe in this approach when working with students, especially behavior ones. I started as a classroom teacher in inner-city Charlotte. I had to learn quickly not think too much about the students' home life and to focus on school life.
ReplyDeleteSternin looked a the big picture of tackling hunger in Vietnam with a creative mindset. Also he looked for the bright spots with the issue. When he found these bright spots, he started small and utilized local resources and residents to help change go over smoothly and in a cost effective manner. Sternin did not look at the situation in Vietnam as helpless, instead had hope about finding ways to help the hunger issue with Vietnam's children. Speaking to the locals and finding out how some poor children were still healthy, he was able to find the ways parents got their kids nutrients like adding sweet potato greens or shellfish parts also feeding them more times a day. Very good idea! Seeing past the true to help change the reality slowly and cost effective.
I think in the school setting teachers always look at the TBU information and try to formulate some response to a child's problem based on that information. I learned a long time ago that we can't change a child's home life, or how they are parented, or what happened with their siblings. The only thing that we can change is what is happening for them at school and how we can help them be successful. Don't get me wrong, TBU information is good knowledge, however, we should never base our decisions for students only on that information. Each student is an individual and should be treated as such. I think that when my siblings and I were growing up, a lot of the teachers just assumed that because we were all siblings that we would all learn the same and all be great students. I kind-of feel bad for my younger sisters, because they dealt with that more than I did.
ReplyDeleteSternin's research was amazing because he didn't try to go in with some big ideas and change the entire situation. He went in and looked for the bright spots...what some families were doing right...to try and help the other families. He learned from the families he was working with and helped them help others. What an amazing concept. I think that too often we forget to look for the bright spots in situations and only focus on the negative. As educators, his research is an important reminder to look for the good in any situation and build from there.
As a psychologist, I think our training makes it easy to focus too much on the student's past and home life. I also think when problem solving we spend lots of time focusing on TBU information even within the classroom. I love the concept of solution-focused counseling and have found many of its techniques to be very useful. Since I have experienced success with it, I ask why do I seem to use some of them for awhile and then they slowly fade away until I get another reminder.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Sternin is very powerful and can easily be correlated to the school setting. With recent budget cuts and lack of funding, its no secret many schools are operating on a shoe string budget. But we seem to focus on a specific program to solve a problem (no money to buy it) or a need for a certain space or room (building is already dealing with overcrowding) instead of simple solutions. I question why teams continue to think it takes big expensive changes to have an impact when likely all of us have seen major changes occur with minimal changes to a students instructional environment.
There are many TBU’s at work. I try not to focus on them though and focus on the here and now with my students. That’s the only thing I can really control anyway. I can’t help what their past has encompassed or what their home life is like.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Jerry Sternin teaches us that there is hope in places where it doesn’t seem like it. They focused on the ‘bright spots’ and helped their mothers who did have healthy babies teach others how to raise healthy babies. This is brilliant because it did not take an expensive program. They searched for a solution within the society and the women were more apt to listen to people from the same country than outsiders.
TBU’s are what we tend to use as our crutch in our world more often than not. It is what allows us to have negative relationships at work or at home and that gets a person nowhere. I like the saying – “less is more!” I feel like if we had less in our lives we could simplify our answers and not reach paralysis when making decisions. I would love to go back in the old days even though people talk about how hard those days were it was less and life was simpler.
ReplyDeleteI like the small chunks that were used by Sternin to solve the problems. Just like when we write IEP’s we don’t focus on the entire child’s concerns we break it down into chunks and we work on them in baby steps to reach an ultimate goal which is a year out and sometimes longer.
TBU's are what I feel most people focus on. It is easy to find what the "root cause" to a problem is but it isn't always so easy to solve that root cause. What small things can we see and change in order to make a change to the root cause of a problem. This goes right back to finding the bright spots like Jerry Sternin did in Save the Children, he didn't try to solve the root cause of the children being malnutritioned but instead he focused on what some mothers were doing for their children and helping the rest see the things they could do for their family.
ReplyDeleteAt school we cannot solve all the problems in our students lives. Some come from very troubled backgrounds, as this is true we cannot fix or change where they came from but we can find the positives or bright spots that we see in them at school and build upon those moments. As teachers we really do have the opportunity to make big positive changes for the students we work with
When we are trying to analyze, or thoroughly examine, a topic of any sort we tend to focus on TBU factors. This is because our brain is trying to focus on what it knows in order to move forward. The TBU's stick out because it is what we know. I often come across TBU situations when dealing with students because the obvious information does not necessarily need to be used when making decisions. Also, I may know what needs to be addressed in a lesson, but how to get there is the challenge. I encounter a lot of information that I already know and has not helped me get to where I need to be in a planning session.
ReplyDeleteMoving beyond TBU's happened for Sternin because he know that others had spend a great deal of time using that information and it proved helpless. Finding what is working can be a hard concept when you have no background knowledge on the benefit of it; it can be easily overlooked. However, it is a very useful strategy that I hope I can begin to utilize in my daily routine. It will be very useful when reflecting on lessons that have proved successful and those that prove to be unsuccessful. Whether my lessons are "good," or "bad," they will have some important influence on the future lessons I hope to put together.
It seems like there is a lot of TBW stuff out there. I loved to play Trivial Pursuit game in college, I was good at it, I knew lots of trivia, that was the education system I was under. Our knowledge at the time was limited to books, encyclopedias, and our teachers knowledge. Now we have an endless supply of knowledge due to technology and the World Wide Web. Most of that knowledge is useless and I won't even get started on how much is actually true! We learned a lot of things that were for the sake of learning but with no direction to it. Unfortunately a lot of that Trivial Pursuit type knowledge it true but useless, unless you are playing a trivia game. On vacation this summer I saw a t-shirt that said, "Once again another day has passed and I have yet to use Algebra", I love that shirt because I do not like math and have yet to find most of what I learned useful over the years.
ReplyDeleteThe simplicity of Sternin's plan in Vietnam was to find what was working and duplicate that. There is so much out of our control, hasn't the recent events in Washington driven that point home? Education is the key to any reform. That is what Sternin did. He found the bright spot, what mothers in poverty were doing to raise healthy kids and educated the others. Sometimes we over think and over plan when the solution is much simpler. Find out what works and spread the news. The key to what he did was hands on education. He did not print up a brochure and pass it out to the village people or hold lectures. He set up classes and taught them HOW to cook healthier meals. Hands-on learning! Isn't that how our own kids learn???
I do, we do, you do*****
TBU's can be situations where you feel the obstacle is too large to handle. There is a certain situation that I feel so many things need to change to make it good. I have been rethinking how those changes can be made one small step at a time. We need to look to the core of the problem and figure out where we can make changes that are achievable. Sternin was able to find a positive in the situation and figure out a way to achieve the positive for all people involved.
ReplyDeleteI think many people get stuck on TBU when working with children who are difficult. I think being a new teacher is good in ways because we are not only getting to know are students but other colleagues. I find every student reacts differently to each teacher so we need to make are own decision. It is good to have background knowledge but when it comes to behaviors I think teachers need to make their own decision on how the child will be with them as his or her teacher.
ReplyDeleteChapter 2 made me reflect on a novel I read. The title was The Boy Called It. When I was reading that story about how Sternin went in and looked at what they already had and ways to improve nutrient overall. Sternin was not expecting parents to go spend money they did not have but ways to improve the way they were eating on what they could afford. I think sometimes people want to go in fix things but not give the tools needed to be successful. I sometimes feel that is what is happening in the school districts. The government is saying fix the problem but where are the tools and supplies to become successful. They do not want to provide us with money but we do not have the tools that we need to be successful. I think every teacher is being resourceful but we are putting more time and enjoying in looking for resources.
(Mary S.) I think we, as educators, as well as on a personal level, tend to gravitate toward the "TBU's" because it provides some sort of (real or imagined) reference point. TBU's can and often do get in the way of coming up with a solution to a situation. (excuse?) I was impressed that Jerry Sternin had the idea (foresight?) to search the communities for the "bright spots" - see what WAS working and go from there. He gave the mothers (riders) specific directions - "showed them where to go, how to act, what destination to pursue. And that's why bright spots are so essential, because they are your best hope for directing the Rider when you're trying to bring about change. Chapter 2 also pointed out - "There is a clear asymmetry between the scale of the problem and the scale of the solution. Big problem, small solution," yet the most common approach is "What's broken and how do we fix it?"
ReplyDeleteTBU’s at school often revolve around my students and their lives. Whether in school or in my personal life I have to focus on “what do I have control over, what can I change”. I often think of the phrase “just cut to the chase!” – or what is the real issue without any fluff or drama.
ReplyDeleteAt school I have to focus on what I can do for students: providing a safe learning environment, role modeling manners, study skills and personal interactions. etc.
In Vietnam Sternin focused on the basics (good nutrition), the positive (some parents were feeding their children well) and the immediate (feed children better now). I think sometimes I spend too much time and energy in “wishful thinking” both professionally and personally instead of focusing on essentials. Or I over analyze a situation – “True, but useless”!
TBU’s at school often revolve around my students and their lives. Whether in school or in my personal life I have to focus on “what do I have control over, what can I change”. I often think of the phrase “just cut to the chase!” – or what is the real issue without any fluff or drama.
ReplyDeleteAt school I have to focus on what I can do for students: providing a safe learning environment, role modeling manners, study skills and personal interactions. etc.
In Vietnam Sternin focused on the basics (good nutrition), the positive (some parents were feeding their children well) and the immediate (feed children better now). I think sometimes I spend too much time and energy in “wishful thinking” both professionally and personally instead of focusing on essentials. Or I over analyze a situation – “True, but useless”!
I see lots of true, but useless information at school A child has a rough home life--true--but I can't do anything about that, so it is useless information. I can only work with the child at school--do my best as a teacher and err on the side of kindness where ever I can.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Sternin story. He didn't go in with a "big brother"attitude. Instead he looked for what was working (healthy, nourished children) and figured out why that was working and then found local mothers to spread that message. Probably his small amount of funding fueled his creativity to find this solution. The solution is a great one also because it does not impose some one else's culture on the folks with the problem.
TBU - -true but useless. When I think of this concept, I think of the comments I have read above, such as home life, siblings, family history, all of those questions we ask to gather information about a child. While I don't think they are completely "useless" , I don' think they provide the can now/next steps that we are looking for to move the child forward. TBU as it relates to home life, family history etc. is a big part of my work with kids as I go into the homes and coach parents/caregivers on ways to facilitate development. If I didn't take into consideration education and social history of the family I am working with, I would be spinning my "rider" wheels. TBU also makes me think using standard scores to direct teaching/therapy/goal setting. Sometimes that number is limiting and not all inclusive to the capabilities of the student. I think more solutions are revealed when we look for the can now/next steps than when we look for the cannots. To me, TBU's are all of the "can'ts" that come in the way of effective education, whether it be administration, parent, the child, teacher, therapist ,etc. Anyone with an "I can't" attitude is TBU.
ReplyDeleteJerry Sternin was able to do much with little; however, he didn't go to Vietnam unstudied. He knew the malnutrtion rate in Vietnam and he read the studies and research to prepare for his journey. Having that knowledge, although TBU, helped his understanding of the situation and spurred ideas on solutions. Had he not known all of the TBUs (poverty, clean water, ignorancy) he might not have ever looked for the bright spots.
I think this teaches us to remember where we came from -or where our students came from -but to not let that limit our expectations. He used his knowledge and shared it with the villagers in such a way that they were receptive to it. He had to know their TBU (e.g. culture, social status, family history) etc to organize a way integrate the use of crabs, shrimp and sweet potatoe greens into a traditional diet.
I think we get distracted by the TBU information and forget to focus on the problems that are presented to us. We focus on the things we cannot solve or fix instead of tackling the small things we can change. I tend to forget that small changes lead to big changes and are usually more manageable and obtainable.
ReplyDeleteI have a behavior student that I keep thinking I have to fix or change completely - I have to remember they are not broken! This student just needs to work differently in some small ways and if they were to do that he/she would not be getting in trouble all the time. We've decided to focus on working on behaviors in one class and on only one or two behaviors for awhile. This student is much more willing to work since I don't seem to be wanting to make them into a different person.
Jerry Sternin knew what the big problem was but instead focused on what was not a problem. He focused on what was working and he copied it. He showed the others how to copy it and did it without making a "big" fuss about the problem. He was positive and looked at the people he had to work with. He found a way to get them to try new things that worked with their culture and who they were. I think we sometimes get caught up in the thought base that we have to change students instead of the student behavior.
The TBU's in my job revolve around students and their background. There is information out there about them, but I can't change their home lives or their quirks. However, I can focus on making their time here at school the best I can make it. This is something I have to remind myself to take it one hour at a time and work on the small things I can change. I think the key is to look at the bright spots and go from their. We can work with those and create change.
ReplyDelete