13. We
all imitate the behavior of others, whether it is positive
(e.g., shaking hands or waiting patiently in
line) or negative
(e.g., the binge drinking of college students).
What social behaviors in your community or workplace would
you like
to see changed?
How can you use behavior imitation to positively influence students’ behaviors.
I would like to see us all stay in a positive and problem-solving place. Not sure how to move and keep everyone positive but that is my wish. Maybe we need a motto or something that really focuses on this. I understand that when any of us get stressed it is much harder to stay positive and look for solutions. I just want staff to be able to take a step back, breathe, talk out options and try strategies. I try my best to make light of tough situations and to move quickly to coming up with ideas to help solve problems.
ReplyDeleteShelly,
DeleteI agree with you..and I think what helps more than anything (especially as women) is to make the time to talk issues out. I notice when I have the time to team with my EC teachers, parents, gen ed teachers, etc over student issues, everyone (including me!) seems to stay more positive.
I completely agree with both of you!!! When we have the chance to talk about what is happening, solutions can be found, and it is so much easier to stay positive! :)
DeleteI always wish that I would remain above the nasty that I occasionally see at school. However, it’s pretty easy to get drawn into it! Avoidance is my motto – if others start in on the stuff I don’t want to hear, I try to force myself to walk away. I do need to ‘vent’ my frustrations at times and go to the administrator’s office to blow off steam. I do not want a reply, just an ear (nonjudgmental) to listen to my frustration.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when others get on someone’s back and just don’t seem to let go of it. Avoiding it doesn’t change their attitude, but keeps me from mixing into the discussion. When students ask or complain about a teacher, a positive reply or explanation of that individual’s position can help students understand why they were given then answer. Even if I disagree with the other teacher’s comments/actions, I believe students need to see them in a positive light.
BUT, THERE ARE TIMES I WOULD LIKE TO SCREAM AT THE WAY TEACHERS TREAT OTHER TEACHERS OR STUDENTS!
I would agree with Shelly...I wish we could stay positive and remember why we choose to get an education degree. I look at how much influence we have over students and if we would change our behavior and make it positive, it would be effective in changing their behavior as well. Would we see less acting out behaviors? Would students turn in assignments? What would our hallways look like if the teachers were more positive?
ReplyDeleteThe change I would like to see in my school would be more of a team learning environment. I think we need a motto and a logo that represents as as a school. I know it is a small town but we still are a community and would be more of a team if we could come up with something that represents what we would like to see in our school.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see more of a team then committees. Committees are great but when does the whole community decides. I think some teachers are more involved then others and the ones that are not activity involved really are the ones that are struggling with the changes being made. I think being a community of teachers and earners would change a lot the attitudes the students and teachers have towards chang.
Change. Sorry for some reason when I go back to change something it will allow me to delate but it will not allow me to type.
DeleteSomething that drives me crazy is when the paraprofessional always takes the low students and works with them. The teacher will be giving the spelling test or worse yet working on her computer while the students complete an assignment at their desks. The students who are struggling and need extra assistance are always pulled aside by the para. Why can't the teacher who has training and expertise work with the struggling students while the para monitors and helps the others students?
ReplyDeleteThe question on behavior imitation reminds me of a workshop I attended years ago. Early in the day, the presenter would reinforce specific people who demonstrated the behavior she wanted (in your seat and ready to begin after the allotted break time). As the day went on instead of praising specific people, she would say 25 people are actively engaged to demonstrate that was the group norm instead of calling down the few who weren't.
Maybe we could adopt a “being positive” incentive like we have with the IEP’s. 50 cents every time you are caught promoting positive attitudes I know myself there are times it is easy to feed into a behavior but I try and keep myself in check and find that smile that I can put on my face. Sometimes just a smile or a silly comment can help to bring things around. Yet at times that doesn’t work I know. Like Jerrie I would rather find that one person I can have a conversation with to vent who will just listen and if they feel it is totally necessary to provide advice fine but most of the time just need to get it off my chest and then I can let it go. Motto – write it down and let it go!!! One of my best friends in life helps me with this. I can email my complaint and send it off and know I will be heard and it makes me feel better. Maybe part of our venting frustrations comes from lack of appropriate communication between administration and peers. If we could find the key to affectively and openly communicate without getting so defensive this would help to promote a more open and positive working relationship as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely places within the school where negative behaviors exist, like the teachers table in the cafeteria or the teachers lounge. Sometimes there are some really good conversations that occur but alot of times it is just gossip and back stabbing type conversations. I admit I have been guilty of participating in such behaviors. So to change my behavior I try to change my environment, I simply try to avoid those areas during high teacher traffic times, like before school or during lunchtime. Whenever there is more than 1 teacher gathered focus can be quickly lost! Venting does have a place but eventually its time to move on to more productive things.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would change are teachers who treat their job like a time clock, punching in and out during the day and not going the extra mile for students. We all know who those teachers are in our buildings and they are the ones with the most behavior problems and most students struggling in their classrooms.
Ohhh... If I was only in charge! HaHaHa- jk :)
I would like teachers to discuss concerns/problems of students and of other teachers in private. Our office is a place of gossip and demeaning conversations. I think it gives parents/students/itinerant professionals/teachers all a negative picture of our school. I really dislike how student behavior is discussed in front of the students. I think it is disrespectful. I try to model behavior by asking to speak in the office with the door closed or ask the student to step away so we can discuss the situation.
ReplyDeleteI know change is very hard in our building. Especially since we have specific indicators (goals) the state is wanting us to change. I believe the committees are great to get staff involved to help make these changes.
I agree with everyone who has stated that they wish their coworkers would facilitate a positive environment. Negativity and gossip is very easily spread. I try to avoid it when possible. Since we imitate others, acting as a positive person within the school, hopefully the positivity will catch on to others. Even a smile or joke could help influence others to be positive instead of negative. There are a couple teachers in my districts that always put a smile on my face when I see them. They brighten my day which helps me be in a better mood. Hopefully I can do the same for others to promote a positive work environment. The .50 incentive program Amy suggested would be nice and might help evoke more change!
ReplyDeleteI wish the social behavior of "gossiping" could be changed. I know it is human nature....and I also know that I have to look in the mirror and keep that person in line!!! It just seems that good people sometimes don't stop and think about what they are saying....or in this case repeating. They don't stop to think that they may not have any of the facts; or if they do, the only have a few of the facts! I try to steer clear of these conversations as much as possible. My oldest son spent some time in Israel and in Hebrew it's called "Hashorn" - the tongue. The hardest part of the body to "rein in".
ReplyDeleteMy team and I are striving to role model positive behaviors to our students from being polite to practicing self-responsibility and honesty. We try to be honest about our mistakes and role model "fixing them" as well as taking responsibility for them. (What you say doesn't speak nearly as loud as what you do).
We also try to "catch them being good and praise those moments" with our students.
Imitation is key to learning...both good and bad! I use imitation all day long )i.e. "look at my mouth" etc) essentially saying, do what my mouth does. I also model play, language and social skills for students all day, with the hope that they will imitate. Imitation is huge! I do it all of the time..if I like how someone else wrote an IEP goal, dealt with a student's behavior or even the shoes they are wearing... I will probably imitate it. I also observe other behaviors (and shoes!) that I am sure to not imitate! I think a positive attitude and kind words can go a long way. Pay it forward!
ReplyDeleteI drive quite a bit for my caseload..but I choose to drive. I am pretty sure that over the years, HPEC would have helped me establish a caseload closer to home if it had been a priority of mine. However, I choose to drive because of the people I work with. We support each other, we respect each other and we teach each other on a consistent basis and I know how fortunate I am to have that from my peers. I think it started with a few kinds words that were imitated over and over again......
Of course I would like everyone to model positive attitudes and behavior for kids to imitate. It would make a huge difference in all classes in our schools. I would also like to see more people practice perseverance--that "stick-to-it-ness"that we all need to accomplish tasks and get things finished. Perseverance is important to the kids we work with because school tasks are difficult for them and it is easy to give up rather than keep working hard until you "get it". We teachers can practice perseverance by not giving up on teaching skills kids need. It can be frustrating to keep working on the same thing for a long time, but it can make a difference for a kid, and help the student learn to imitate that behavior.
ReplyDeleteI think we need to model how we want others to act. If we want the environment to be positive - we need to be positive. If we want our students to be respectful - we need to be respectful and so on. I would like to see some of our teachers be more willing to help our behavior kids. Instead of being authoritative and saying - you have to change and it's your choice; it would be nice if they would say okay that's not acceptable and let's work on changing that and what are some ways we can do that. I think it would have more of an impact on some of our kids. I think we forget that a person doesn't become a behavior problem over night and that it does take time and help to change and go down the right path.
ReplyDeleteI am new at my school this year. When I started there were HUGE fences to mend and lots of misunderstandings that had taken place from last year. There was LOTS of gossip about some of the SpEd kids, lots of negativity, and it was so detrimental to the students!!! One thing that I would like to change this year (and have been working REALLY hard to get it changed) is the negativity and gossiping that happens about my SpEd kids. It has been a hard road, but one that I think is getting smoother and much more positive. I would really like for the other teachers to remember that the SpEd kids are regular kids too and that they and their parents have feelings. Small towns tend to talk...as you all well know! :) We have made huge strides in the building and I am really proud of it! I would really like to see it continue!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think that creating a positive environment is very important: talking to people how you like to be talked to, mutual respect among fellow teachers and students, positive behavior supports and reinforcements, etc. I think that this should always be what we strive for in a school community.
This is an interesting question and one that is really making me think about the people I see on a daily basis. One thing that comes to mind is driving in the car. I am originally from Minneapolis, KS a small farming community in central Kansas. Everyone waves to everyone they see while driving it is just something that you do. When I moved out here to western KS that is something I immediately noticed, people don't wave to the other cars they meet.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first year not in a general ed classroom and one thing I took on with my kids I had everyday was to smile and say good morning to each one as they entered my classroom. Throughout the year my students were more willing to say hello to teachers and other students as they passed them. I loved seeing that change!
It seems most people deal with the same behavior within the school building! I would also like to see a more positive environment. I would like to see the groups of grade level teachers become more positive towards other grade level teams. I often hear comments about those teachers in first grade or those teachers in fourth grade, etc. It would be great if the teachers were more supportive of everyone no matter what grade level they teach. Everyone around here has been highly stressed for the past couple of years with the demands put on them from administration and common core, but we all should be working together for the improvement of student learning.
ReplyDeleteI use behavior imitation daily with my students to increase speech and language skills. I use behavior imitation on home visits with parents so they can better teach their children. Everyone learns from others' behaviors whether it is positive or negative.
I would really like to see a new change in any professional setting. I think that it is so vital, and professional, to communicate as well as to be receptive. Sometimes we feel attacked and become defensive when others try to discuss certain situations. I think that as role models, adults, and professionals that we should be able to communicate with other adults as well as be receptive to the topics others need to communicate with us about. I really think that building a foundation of communication can pave the path of a more positive work and learning environment.
ReplyDeleteThere are several social behaviors in our workplace that I would like to see change. It pains me to see the lack of courtesy between peers when engaged in conversation (professional or otherwise). There seems to be very little listening and a whole lot of interrupting. This is also true with regard to the give and take necessary when dealing with professional issues (testing, evaluations). I do NOT know how to change this -- as far as demonstrating positive example personally, there is no notice because most are too busy talking.
ReplyDeleteI use behavior imitation to positively influence students' behaviors probably on a daily basis. I feel being "user friendly" helps create a positive, learning environment for all my students.
For me I think it is important to follow through with your word. If you tell a teacher or student that you will do something then do everything in your power to follow through. I know that things happen that are beyond our control and we can't always follow through. It has happened to me, but I always try to explain what happened and apologize to the person. I think if teachers and students see this happen then we build better relationships. When students see us keep our word then perhaps they will try the same.
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