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Blog » Subtle, Powerful Influences of Adults
An article in the Chicago Tribune today reminds me of the subtle, yet powerful, influence adults have over children in our schools. This article sites research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences from January. In this research, women teachers' anxiety about math seemed to influence the performance of girls in their classroom.
A quote from the article by one of the co-authors is telling. Susan Levine, a psychology and human development professor at the University of Chicago said, "It's not just a teacher's knowledge of the subject, but there's something about their feeling about the discipline (of math)."
So, if a teacher's anxiety about a subject can influence a students performance in school, what other aspects of student behavior are we influencing unwittingly? If we are concerned about school climate, student behavior, bullying and harassment is it possible some part of these problems are influenced by adult attitudes and perceptions?
Of course we have always assumed that parenting has influenced misbehavior or antisocial behavior at school. Parents who bully their children at home may very well be creating either bullies or victims at school. Yet are there subtle attitudes, prejudices and worries by educators that could create some of the trouble we're trying to prevent? Could the way the school day or the school building is designed influence the feelings of the students at the school?
"Whole school" bullying prevention programs often include a module on how adults interact with students, implying that this can improve how kids treat each other. These programs often include how to intervene in conflicts, how to create a welcoming classroom and how to handle student reporting. Nevertheless, the balance of most prevention programs are focused on changing student behavior directly not addressing the subtle influences of adults. This could be why we see only small decreases in antisocial behaviors when we implement some of the "best" programs.
Maybe this math teacher research is evidence that we need to start with adult behavior if we expect to change student behavior. Here are common practices in the schools I have worked in that could influence school climate and student behavior at school:
* Waiting in long lines to be served lunch, early bus dropoffs, etc.
* Inconsistent discipline and rules
* Adult anger, yelling
* Harsh discipline in front of other students
* Favoritism
Yes, students should be held responsible for their behavior. Yet, for what are we, including parents, community leaders and educators, held accountable? It could be the secret to improving school climate, the prevention of bullying and other antisocial behaviors starts with us.
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Posted by ckevqjzcw, 22/06/2010 2:58pm (1 month ago)
It turns out kids who bully are not a clearly defined group that can be detected easily.
Many students in middle school, for example, are involved in bullying behavior - some more, some less. Also, about 65% of bullying happens out of the view of adults at school. And, some interesting research has shown that adults are pretty bad at judging acts of bullying or identifying chronic bulliers.
So, in practice, this would be hard to implement, and raises a lot of practical, if not ethical questions.
Nevertheless, many students who are the targets of bullying would probably cheer your suggestion. When surveyed the majority of kids in schools say adults do very little to help them and it doesn't pay to report antisocial behavior.
Posted by Brian Koenig, 26/02/2010 1:07am (5 months ago)
Why isn't it possible to segregate out the students who are showing anti-social behaviors? Just as we don't feed all the students breakfast because some of them don't need it, why not just focus on dealing with the kids with the anti-social behavior? If they are segregated out you have removed a disruptive influence from the other students and at least have provided a safe, pleasant environment for the rest of them to learn free from the bully's interference. The educational experience can be preserved for the greatest number of students possible. The bullies can be dealt with separately.
Posted by ck, 17/02/2010 2:03pm (5 months ago)
I would suggest considering this problem more narrowly. Are students able to learn? Is the social part of the school day, which can't be avoided, scary, distracting, unpleasant? If they can't concentrate or are miserable at school then nothing else matters.
If the purpose of school is to provide an education and kids aren't getting an education, even if the cause is social in origin, then the point of school is lost.
A neighbor said to me, regarding school breakfasts, "We're not their parents. They should get breakfast at home." Well, if we can give them breakfast and they do better in school, then haven't we done our job? Maybe breakfast becomes something like textbooks, heat and quiet hallways, a necessary ingredient to a good education.
Maybe a positive school climate is a another necessary ingredient.
Posted by Brian Koenig, 09/02/2010 6:06pm (6 months ago)
I agree with your assessment of the problem during the school day. However, unless we accurately identify the real source of the child's antisocial behavior we have little chance of finding a solution. As a five year member of my local school board I found we continually look to our schools as the only answer to every problem a child encounters in life. While the schools have the student for approximately 6 hours a day during the work week, the parents, their friends and society at large have as great or greater influence on the student's behavior. Yet no one seems willing to identify these other influences as being a potential source of the problem. We all know they exist but feel helpless to deal with them. Certainly the schools have a role to play but until we muster the courage to accurately identify all the sources of the child's antisocial behavior looking to the schools as the answer will only be partially effective at best. How do we hold the parents accountable for their role in creating the child's antisocial behavior? How do we change their influence? It seems we have neither the resources nor the will to do so. Until we do I feel the schools will have a difficult time dealing with these issues.
Posted by CK, 04/02/2010 7:08pm (6 months ago)