![\"gove\"](\"http:\/\/www.petehowells.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/gove.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n(an open letter)<\/p>\n
Dear Mr Gove,<\/p>\n
Having worked with children who have challenging behaviour for over thirty years I remain flummoxed even now by certain conduct. For example, why would a child purposefully repeat an action that they know will only make matters worse? Explaining consequence – telling them, \u201cIf this<\/i>\u2026 Then that<\/i>\u2026\u201d simply doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you push those metal prongs into that plug socket you are liable to get an electric shock<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you punch the wall it will hurt. You could end up in hospital. It could mean knuckles so injured that they are permanently damaged<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes, we\u2019ve all had to learn the hard way. Most of us, as teenagers, have toyed with the notion that you shouldn\u2019t trust anyone over the age of thirty. It\u2019s part of growing up. But I am talking about students who have<\/i> put the metal back in the socket. Repeatedly. And others who, despite having no real knuckles left, continue to punch walls.<\/p>\n
Why, when in a certain fame of mind, does the idea of deferred gratification or deferred punishment seem illusive to pupils with social, emotional, behavioural difficulties?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you continue to threaten that girl with a knife we will be forced to take it from you and things could get very messy<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
Or<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you refuse to go into the examination you will not get the GCSE you said you need for college<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
These are not made up scenarios. This is the daily deal for many who work with pupils like this. Some children, if they are lucky, get referred to Special Schools with teachers, psychologists, counsellors, therapists and residential social workers who are trained and experienced in dealing with these kinds of situations. Some children, if they unlucky, improve in their ability to fail, and then to fail again, by being left in an environment that is totally alien them \u2013 a mainstream school perhaps; a school that, with the best will in the world, is ill-equipped (in terms of finance, staffing, training and time) when it comes to understanding the problems associated with really unacceptable behaviour.<\/p>\n
This is why it irks me when I hear people say the teachers are inadequate, that the school is at fault and that there\u2019s no wonder the kids of today behave as they do because the education system is getting worse. \u201cI blame the teachers,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n
Yes, there are poor teachers. Yes, there are failing schools. Yes, the education system needs to change (continually, as it happens.) But reason and research provide us with only one conclusion.<\/p>\n
Poor parenting often results in poor behaviour which in turn produces poor educational standards. So when Michael Gove demands teachers improve and says he wants schools to return to the content and style associated with the, \u2018marvellous education\u2019 he had. When he says, furthermore, that under-performing teachers are to be weeded out so that heads can sack them, he should first remove the proverbial beam that is causing his myopia and ask himself some serious questions about his own education – in the broadest sense<\/span>.<\/p>\n Did he as a child suffer any or all of the following?<\/p>\n Some children suffer all<\/i> of the above. Many endure some<\/i> of the above in large doses. Their day to day experience is fraught with problems. This is probably why they do repeat an action that they know will make matters worse. This is almost certainly why deferred gratification or deferred punishment seems erroneous.<\/p>\n It is no good unless the parents do enough<\/b>.<\/p>\n Good parenting tends to produce children who are compliant enough<\/b><\/p>\n to fit in enough<\/b>,<\/p>\n who are confident enough<\/b><\/p>\n to ask the right questions enough<\/b>,<\/p>\n and content enough<\/b><\/p>\n to be successful enough<\/b><\/p>\n in school.<\/p>\n These children tend also to do well enough <\/b>in later life.<\/p>\n Parents who have had serious problems of their own – parents who have been deprived themselves – are unlikely to raise children who will perceive any need to comply, to value academic success (either for intrinsic reasons or as a vehicle for improving their lot).<\/p>\n Moreover, these parents will struggle when it comes to trusting the teachers who are trying to work with their kids. They will resist what they see as a pointless education system because their<\/i> life experience tells them it\u2019s worthless and the people who are trying to teach their children are not only, \u2018not on their side\u2019 but \u2018not even on the same planet\u2019 either. Their children, in turn, will not be able to see any real potential in learning at all, because their parents don\u2019t see any real potential in learning.<\/p>\n Perhaps some of these parents would enjoy a pint or two with Michael Gove.<\/p>\n You can just imagine the conversation can\u2019t you?<\/p>\n \u201cOi, oi, Micky boy!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOi, oi, geezer\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s it goin?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeh, alright.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThem teachers are all tossers innit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInnit though!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perhaps not.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, if there is blame where should it lie?<\/b> Is it the teachers? Is it the parents?<\/p>\n The Nature\u2013Nurture debate is one that has raged for far more than 150 years. Psychology, of course, was a branch of philosophy until the 1870s but since then it has been accepted more and more in terms of it being an empirical discipline. However, the question of whether it is our genes or our environment that affects our behaviour was muted millennia ago by Plato, who said,<\/p>\n \u201cChildren begin life with knowledge already present within them, they do not learn anything new but merely recollect knowledge that has previously lain dormant\u201d.<\/p>\n Despite the advances in research methods, genome discoveries and so on, I\u2019m not sure we have gone that much further than Plato did. The questions still remain: Are we are all born equal only to materialise as the different people we become through our different experiences? Or are our genes are in charge? Are we are nothing more than elaborate genetically programmed machines? Dare we even consider blaming the parents these days?<\/p>\n Michael Rutter\u2019s book** (2005) sought to address these issues. He asks a rather poignant question, \u2018Why is the topic of genes and behaviour controversial?\u2019 Rutter doesn\u2019t preach but he does come to several very persuasive conclusions. He says that, \u2018virtually all psychiatric disorders show a significant genetic contribution<\/b>, with heredity at least in the 20 to 50 percent range\u2019. So where do the 50 to 80 percent on the other side of the equation come from? Rutter points towards abuse<\/b> and neglect<\/b>, institutional deprivation<\/b> with its resulting psychological dysfunction and the impact of poverty<\/b> and drug abuse<\/b> on childhood-disruptive behaviour.<\/p>\n Of course good teachers can sometimes help children improve their behaviour. Primary school teachers tend to spend more time engaging with children than their parents do. They can have a great influence. The worst teachers may fall short of correcting bad behaviour. Perhaps some blame should lie there. The important point is, poor behaviour means little learning.<\/p>\n Experience, research and, one could argue, common sense, suggest we should <\/i>apportion blame somewhere. If you are offended by the \u2018B\u2019 word then try one that is less pejorative – \u2018RESPONSIBILITY\u2019.<\/p>\n I would like to lay the blame<\/i> or the responsibility on the teachers; not because they are an easy target but because,<\/p>\n Parents are Children\u2019s First Teachers.<\/b><\/p>\n What we are, what we say and what we do, determines what our children become. Parents who spend quality time with their kids, parents who communicate with teachers, generally produce children without poor behaviour. Similarly, teachers who work with the parents, as well as the pupils, tend to get better results both socially and academically. Pupils who have suffered abuse, poverty, neglect or are deemed at risk genetically, require specialist intervention. And there\u2019s the rub. Specialist intervention is, almost by definition, costly. But the price we may have to pay without <\/i>that intervention could be far higher.<\/p>\n Go to the estates Mr Gove.<\/p>\n Spend time, not just a fleeting visit, in some real schools.<\/p>\n Have a few days in some Special Schools.<\/p>\n Have a pint.<\/p>\n Then ask yourself some serious questions about education. In the broadest sense.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yours Faithfully etc.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Further Reading: Educational Psychology: Topics in Applied Psychology (TAP)<\/b> [ By Norah Frederickson<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/a4ar398<\/a><\/p>\n **Genes and Behaviour: Nature-Nurture Interplay Explained <\/b>Sir Michael Rutter<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/b8p3gw8<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0Seth G N Grant http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/a3ybdej<\/a> \u00a0Seth G N Grant cites Rutter\u2019s down to earth approach as he considers the genome project and rips into certain areas with titles such as, \u2018The supposed poor quality of the evidence from twin and adoptee studies\u2019, \u2018Fraud and bias in behavioural genetics\u2019 and \u2018Acceptance of funding from organisations with an axe to grind\u2019.<\/p>\n *Genes May Contribute to a Child\u2019s Bad Behaviour <\/b>– From the APS journal \u2018Psychological Science<\/a>\u2019 http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/axmrwhr<\/a> <\/b><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Roots of Bad Behaviour, the Nature\/Nurture Debate and Mr Michael Gove, the Secretary of State (an open letter) Dear Mr Gove, Having worked with children who have challenging behaviour for over thirty years I remain flummoxed even now by certain conduct. For example, why would a child purposefully repeat an action that they know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n