My district provided me with a two-day training seminar this summer in the Positive Discipline program (Nelsen, Lott, & Glenn, 2000). While the tenets of this program work well with about 80-85% of the general student population (as a Tier-1 intervention), I have been finding that as a special education teacher with a high percentage of students with behavioral difficulties, my students are quite likely to fall into the top 5-15% of students for whom Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions just don't work.
The Tough Kid Book (Rhode, Jensen, & Reavis, 2006) is a collection of both theory and practical tips to support the application of more intensive behavior interventions for our most impacted students. Not only does this book describe why traditional classroom management practices and tier 1 interventions are ineffective for "tough kids", it also provides some classroom-tested suggestions for targeted intervention. Phenomenal read!
Schools of FISH! (Strand, Christensen, & Halper, 2006) takes a look at classroom community building through the four tenets of the FISH! philosophy: Play, Make Their Day, Be There, and Choose Your Attitude. (For more information on the FISH! philosophy and its Seattle Public Market roots, you can check out here: http://www.charthouse.com/productdetail.aspx?nodeid=24103.) I haven't made it through this book completely, but I appreciate the focus on choice and relationship building as the tools to build a caring community.
My goal is to compile the knowledge and understanding I've gained from these reads this week to build a positive behavior support system for my classroom. Be watching for updates here on my blog, on my classroom pinterest board (http://pinterest.com/rajieteach) and on teachersnotebook.com!
