Description
Read Practical Application Case and complete the questions below 1-5.
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Use appropriate heading, basic writing skills (correct grammar, punctuation) and use Arial or Times New Roman and a 12inch font while writing in complete statements
The Big Boys and the Very Muddy Day
Mrs. Belk taught first graders in a neighborhood public school for several years. She decided to upgrade her skills by taking a graduate course in psychology at a nearby university. She had only been enrolled in the class for a few weeks, but the professor had already lectured on operant conditioning. What a great idea, she thought: ignore the negative and reinforce the positive.
Mrs. Belk was eager to try some new guidance techniques with several of her more challenging children, especially Chad, a 6-year-old who tended to be her group?s ringleader for inappropriate behavior. He seemed to be in a constant state of motion although, he took a medication for hyperactivity.
The past week of school had been particularly stressful for Mrs. Belk. Chad had been even more out of control than usual. It had rained so much that the children had not gotten to play outside. The sun had come out but there were still large mud puddles. When the room was clean, Mrs. Belk asked, ?How would you like to go outside??
To the children?s gleeful shouts of, ?Yes!? Mrs. Belk answered, ?We can go outside on one condition. Everyone has to agree to stay in the dry areas.? The children eagerly agreed. As Mrs. Belk walked out into the bright sunlight, she took a deep breath of fresh air and felt a great sense of relief to be outside the stuffy classroom. In seconds, she saw Chad running backward to catch a ball, and splat, he stepped right into the mud. Mrs. Belk stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Chad and thinking about whether to have him sit on the bench for 10 minutes for breaking the rule she had just made.
She knew that it was a real effort to keep Chad sitting for 10 minutes. Mrs. Belk dreaded a confrontation and decided she did not have the energy to deal with Chad at the moment. She started thinking about what her professor had said about it being helpful to ignore inappropriate behavior?and besides, she thought, maybe his stepping in the mud was really an accident?so she looked the other way and decided to ignore Chad. Within seconds, eager children pulled at her shirtsleeves saying, ?Mrs. Belk, Mrs. Belk, look, Chad is in the mud!? Mrs. Belk told them, ?Go play and don?t pay any attention to Chad.?
Within minutes, two of Chad?s favorite cohorts, Eddie and Jayden, shrieked as Chad stamped his foot in the mud, splattering mud on them. They, of course (after they nervously looked back to make sure Mrs. Belk was still ignoring Chad), stamped their feet in the mud, splattering Chad from head to toe. The chase was on with half the class frantically telling Mrs. Belk, ?Look, look, look!? and the other half squealing and laughing as the three boys chased and slid in the mud.
Mrs. Belk realized that her ?ignoring? strategy was not working. With a look of daggers in her eyes she shouted, ?Okay, everybody line up at the door to go inside.? All of the children (except Chad, Eddie, and Jayden) hurried to the door and made a straight line. In an angry voice, Mrs. Belk stared straight at the three boys and said, ?I?m waiting. Not everyone is ready to go inside.? She thought, ?There is no way I am going to chase those three around in this mud.
The muddy boys tried hard to look tough, as if they weren?t afraid of anything. By this time, however, their shoes and clothes were caked with mud and they were beginning to feel very uncomfortable, anxious, and out of control.
The playground was a mess and the boys were a mess. The situation was no longer salvageable. The principal called their horrified parents to come and get them. There was no easy way for the boys to make amends for their behavior or to save face in front of their friends, parents, and teachers. They had taken part in open rebellion, a serious and scary step for a child and a damaging precedent for future behavior.
Case Study Questions
1. What is the difference between ignoring a behavior and ignoring a child?
2. What could Mrs. Belk have done that might have prevented, redirected, or stopped the inappropriate behavior?
3. What do you think the muddy boys were thinking and feeling throughout this episode?
4. What do you think the rest of the children were thinking and feeling?
5. What role do adults play in helping children regulate their behavior? When is children?s behavior our responsibility? When is their behavior their responsibility?
