I need help in my special education college classes

Question

I have to ask a special education teacher some interview questions that I have written from our chapters that we read. I am already a special education teacher but I cannot interview myself and since school doesn't start until Aug. 15th, no teacher wants to help me since they are trying to enjoy their last days. So, here are the questions, just answer some or all if you would... I can make up the rest or combine several people's answers.

1. Do you believe most behaviors are learned? Why or why not?

2. Do you believe most behaviors can be taught, modified, and/or changed? Why or why not?

3. In the past, some behavior modification tools used were drugs, electroconvulsive therapy, psychosurgery, and sterilization, why do you think these tools were used and do you feel that any of them could have or do help change behaviors in a positive way?

4. There has been talk among behaviorists that the terminology used in behavior modification should be changed to more humanizing language, do you feel the word change would change how people view behaviors?

5. Some people feel positive reinforcement is bribery, do you agree? Why or why not?

6. Do you believe all children should be treated in the same way? Why or why not?

7. What do you consider to be the most pressing need in diagnosing and managing student behavior in today's classroom? Why?

Thank you so much for any help!!

Answer 1

1.  Most behaviors are learned, at least to some extent.  From an early age, we begin shaping our infants' behavior by our response to them.  Anyone who has more than one child knows from experience that each child, even with the same genetic parents and the same environment, has a different personality and temperament.  But whether the baby is mellow or intense, we "teach" them that they can get and keep our attention by interacting with us - smile, make eye contact, coo, begin saying "da-da-da" or "ma-ma-ma," and the parents will drop whatever else is going on to focus on that social interaction.  As the child becomes more independent, they learn different ways of getting their needs met, and sometimes those ways are less than desirable.  If they learn that they can get what they want, or get out of doing something by having a tantrum, they have learned a powerful but negative behavior.  It's true that some children are more "difficult" than others.  And it's also true that some "behaviors" such as self-stimulating, are somewhat related to conditions such as autism.  But even these behaviors are learned in the sense that the child has discovered that they provide comfort or fill some other need.

2.  Yes, I think that most behaviors can be taught, and that teaching a more appropriate replacement behavior is usually the best strategy for "modifying" a behavior.  Often we want a child stop doing something, but we fail to teach and reinforce what we want him to do instead.  Even behaviors such as self-stimming can be modified in such a way to appear more socially appropriate, while still giving him the comfort he finds in the ritual.  I am basing this mainly on the decades of experience I have had in working with people with disabilities.

3, I think that the methods you mention were an attempt to find a medical "cure" for difficult behaviors.  Most of these were done in an era when it was embarrassing and shameful to have a family member with a disability.  The Kennedy family had their daughter Rosemary lobotomized because of her "difficult" behavior.  Many families institutionalized their disabled family members, and those who didn't often kept them isolated at home.  Remember, there was not even a mandate to provide free public education for children with disabilities until 1975, and prior to that time, there was very little help or support available.  

Of those methods, the only one with positive potential is medication.  As a special education teacher, I see a few children whose potential for learning is being limited by extreme anxiety or by ADHD, and in those limited cases, I think that medication can be useful.  

4.  I absolutely believe that the language we use impacts the way people react.  That's the basis of "people first" language - rather than saying, "He's a handicapped student," we say, "He is a student with a disability."  We want people to see our students primarily as students, who happen to have special needs, rather placing the focus on the disability.  I am not a terribly politically correct person in many ways;  for example, I was greatly relieved when my district went back to designating "mental retardation," rather than "developmental delay," as an eligibility criteria, because people were mislead into believing that the child was going to get the therapies and services they needed and then "catch up."  I am in favor in using accurate terms, and I don't think of what we do in my classroom as "behavior modification."  I think I have very good classroom management skills, and I am skilled at teaching children socially appropriate behaviors.  Children need positive behavior plans, not behavior modification plans.

5.  No, there is a big difference between bribery and positive reinforcement;  unfortunately, there are people who don't know the difference.   Suppose John throws himself to the floor and has a kicking, screaming, full-out tantrum.  You could say, "John, stop it and I'll give you computer time."   That's bribery - it's rewarding an inappropriate behavior, and it's taught John that he gets what he wants by misbehaving, or by the threat of misbehaving.  In the same scenario, you could say, "I can only talk to children who sit in their chairs and raise their hands when they want something.  Jennifer, you are sitting in your chair and raising your hand!  Great job!  Have a Skittle!  Would you like to have a turn to play with the flashlight?  Jose, perfect sitting, and you are raising your hand.  Here's a Skittle for you.  It's your turn to play with the flashlight."  When John finally gets his act together and sits in his chair, you say, "John, great sitting in your chair.  If you want a turn, raise your hand."  When he does, you give him the Skittle and the flashlight, paired with the verbal praise and general social approval (smiles, thumbs up, high five, whatever floats his boat.)  That's positive reinforcment - it's rewarding the appropriate behavior and it's taught John that there are particular procedures he needs to follow if he wants to participate in the activities.

6.  I think that the standards of acceptable behavior should be the same for everyone, and the classroom procedures need to be consistent for everyone, but obviously each child is different, so the level of support to achieve the behavior standards will differ from one child to the next.  There is a science to behavior management - teachers need to be acutely aware of how our responses to students reinforce their behaviors (and how often we are inadvertently reinforcing inappropriate behaviors by our reactions.)  But there is also an art to behavior management.  That comes into play by knowing each child and how best to support him or her.  If we are cleaning up the toys after choice time, Karen will gladly do the job for just my smile and verbal approval, while Tony needs me to sit next to him and say, "Put the blocks back in the box.  Good, next one.  Good, pick up that one,  Great job, Tony, let's put the box back on the shelf."  Both kids followed the procedure, but each kid needed a different level of support to do so.

7. My personal view is that we need to be assessing our students from preschool throughout their school careers, focusing on the behaviors that are needed to become successful adults.  Everyone needs to learn some self-regulation - how do you calm yourself in a stressful situation?  Everyone needs to learn how to get their needs met in a socially appropriate manner - how do you communicate your need for help?  Having spent a number of years working with adults with disabilities in work and residential settings, I know that the social skills are more important to adult success than the academic achievement.  Don't get me wrong - I absolutely value academics, and I absolutely feel that it is my obligation to assist each student to achieve their greatest potential academically.  But time and time again, I saw that the "high functioning" workers were worthless if their inappropriate behaviors got in the way, and pleasant, cooperative "low functioning" workers could learn to do a task and do it consistently and well.  So I think our most pressing need is to discuss and determine what behaviors are essential to adult success, and to see that we are supporting our students in learning these essential behaviors.