Before starting PechaKucha, provide overview of Inquiry Topic, project, and process. Tell audience about the Blog, and how to use it. Also, plug the Gabor Mate talk on TVO.
In 1980 the Diagnostic Statistical Manual listed Oppositional Defiant Disorder as a diagnosable condition … permitting that a child has 4 of these 8 symptoms for more than 6 months
I was most definitely not oppositional and defiant, especially at school … but I had a different condition; I was incredibly shy, and too timid to speak my mind, and at times even think my own thoughts …
In my late teenage and early adult years I changed this and managed to choose my own unique path, take risks, and speak my mind … something that I admire in students …
This is one of the reasons why I enjoy taking students who have challenges in school to the backcountry on adventure based learning trips … where they can face adversity and work through some of their challenges … which may be oppositional and defiant behaviour
In response to this advertisement about ODD, someone in Portland, Oregon created this add about Compliance Acquiescence disorder … arguing that students who are oppositional and defiant are sometimes simply demonstrating independent and critical thinking … not necessarily a bad skill
There is a vast difference between DISCIPLINE and PUNISHMENT … Discipline teaches a child how to act. Discipline should make sense to a child. It should have something to do with what he has done wrong. Discipline helps a child feel good about himself. It gives him the chance to correct his mistakes. It puts him in charge of his actions. Punishment only tells a child that she is bad. It does not tell a child what she should do instead. So punishment may not make sense to the child. Punishment usually has nothing to do with what the child did wrong. Gabor Mate – students are ‘acting out’ because they are not being heard … this is a way of communicating (it is key to look beyond the behaviour and look at what is actually going on with the student)Effective discipline helps children learn to control their behavior so that they act according to their ideas of what is right and wrong, not because they fear punishment. For example, they are honest because they think it is wrong to be dishonest, not because they are afraid of getting caught.
ODD is a serious condition, at least some of the behaviours can be damaging to a student’s current and future life … many studies identify how it can lead to conduct disorder; regardless, it is a call for help, as the student is likely experiencing something … defiant behaviour is a way of communicating …
Comorbidity is very common with ODD; especially ADHD, but so many other conditions can co-exist … it is in these cases where medications are prescribed
It is common knowledge that prescriptions for children’s medication is quite staggering … and of course this is a highly contentious issue, regarding side effects, pharmaceutical companies, dependencies, and so forth …
In addition, ODD, among other mental health disorders, receives a great deal of stigma,This puts the onus on the child to be fixed. Meanwhile, according to Robert Neufeld – “If you’ve told a student to do something 1,000 times, and they’re still not doing it … who’s got the learning problem?” Gabor Mate – “we’re the ones who have to learn, we’re the ones who have to figure things out”STIGMA
Child psychology misses the source of the behavior with all these labels. When psychologists say a child is “acting out,” what it really means is a child is expressing through behavior the emotions that he or she doesn’t have the words to express, as in a game of charades, in which you’re not allowed to speak and have to act out to communicate. We should deal with acting out not by controlling the child or somehow blaming the child for the behavior but by understanding the dynamics behind it. What is the emotional reality of that child? What do the child’s actions represent that he or she can’t tell us in words?
Biopsychosocial model – each of these areas affects the student’s life, and hugely impacts their ability to operate, especially in a classroomStudents need to feel safe in order to be in the SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT mode, which is required in order to learn!
I have been interested in this issue for quite sometime now … it was not until I was living in Nunavut when the light went on for me. I was running a group home for adults with special needs, as well as working as a substitute at a high school … in these jobs I quickly realized that the best way for me to work effectively with people, especially those who are marginalized, was based on a few things, interestingly, many of which relate to the strategies for working with oppositional and defiant youth …
First of all, Place, pace, and circumstance … environmental and contextual factors are key!SO MUCH FROM THE ENVIRONMENT, CONTEXT, AND CIRCUMSTANCES ALSO … THE CLASSROOM IS A PLACE OF THESE 3 ELEMENTS!“When things go wrong, don’t ask what’s wrong with the kid … lets look at the environment, at what’s going on in the family, in the cultural, in the community, and most of all, what’s going on in the immediate relationships with the person who the child is closest to
Secondly,RELATIONSHIPSHow can you look at oppositional as an individual problem … it must be oppositional to something … It must be relationships that need the work!RELATIONSHIPS SLIDEEmotional contact is essential for healthCollaborative problem solving between adult and studentWhen kids are acting out … it is not a behaviour problem, but instead is a relationship problem (with adults for some students)Mental health issues in children went up during recession … stressed parents
Third, perspective, empathy, and understanding are all hugely important. Life is complex for each person … there are so many variables at play, and things are always changing for everyone, and there are so many factors and rules at playTeachers have to first feel that they are stable before working with students effectively“We often separate the individual from the environment … these are not problems with the individual, but with the system”
Fourth, Everyone is Unique. As I move towards teaching in a high school, and reflecting on my past experiences, it is so important to keep in mind that each person is unique. As difficult as it is, connecting with students as individuals is important. And not just seeing them as a body in a chair, or a person who has to pass through this phase of life, but instead as an individual.
Not to my surprise, so many strategies exist … here are 25 of them, but most of all the key idea is that most of these have something in common … and that is that when working with oppositional and defiant students, one must have …
Compassion, respect, care, and time for students. This is what life is so much about. People respond well to being treated this way, and also to treating others this way. We have a unique and privileged position as teachers. Curriculum, content, and competing resources will always exist, and will always make this challenging, but treating students with respect, support, care, and time will be a surefire method of connecting with students in the classroom, especially those who are oppositional and defiant.
As I pursue my career in teaching, I will do my best to have a big heart, and big ears, and I can only imagine how overwhelmed I will be with busyness, with tensions, and with other factors; but the most important thing is that I try to treat each student as an individual, and that I do my best to maintain this philosophy!THANK YOU
