Comments on: Supporting children’s behaviour development. Making ‘behavioural mistakes’ and ‘good choices’ (Part 1): with help from The Rolling Stones and Rob Long!

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 07:44:34 +0000

Hi Tim
That joke about the Grateful Dead is spot on, as are your comments about sensory issues.
Some of the behaviours that children with severe learning needs exhibit seem totally bizarre and unpredictable. However they may make more sense to us if we were able to see the world through the eyes of the children. They are trying to make sense of the world, through a very distorted set of sensory perceptions.
I found the ideas of Dave Hewitt and those working with Intensive Interaction to be very helpful, where for a short time we mirror exactly what the youngster does, without any interpretation of what they are doing.
Many thanks!
Michael
PS the season of festival-related posts is coming to an end, but I have one more in the pipeline!

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 18:04:03 +0000

Hi Moriel
Yes, I certainly felt very confrontational at the time, and afterwards I did wonder if one member of staff was playing some kind of ‘mind game’ by trying to show everyone that she was in control. Unfortunately this does happen in organisations, including schools and settings. When you are at the front of a big group of children, it can be very difficult to know how to react. Comedians get this all the time, and build responses to heckling into their act. However teachers and practitioners do have a responsibility to act as role models to children, by showing respect and a certain amount of maturity in the way they treat each other.
Luckily I went to a school the next day where the head teacher was totally on board and the children produced amazing work.
Tim has certainly introduced some interesting ideas about listening. It is part of maturation for children to be able to tune out background noise, but maybe in the process over the years we stop noticing sounds around us?
We are very lucky to work with young children, who keep reminding us about what is important!
Best wishes
Michael

By: moriel gidney

moriel gidney — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:26:30 +0000

Respect and awareness of companiable learning come to me – and how easy it is for people to opt out of a companiable activity in the current trend of fitting so much into a day.
I totally think you were right to stand your ground in that hall – putting up a display was not respecting what you were doing and actually having a focus to join staff and children can be quite rare in school (I think) and that sense of unity is one of those invisible quality times. Going on a school trip similarly puts staff and children together in a different way.
As to the question of hearing versus listening, I have been very interested by this the last few months and it took me about thirty seconds to identify the sheep bleating in a fairly distant field that another member of staff was asking the children to listen for. (Though of course it may be my advanced years!!) How much do we miss either through familiarity or narrowed expectation? It goes back to your recent blog about song lyrics and our amazing versions of them in a way.
And I like the ‘behavioural mistakes.’ We should stand up for what we believe as you did, but it took me many years to improve my confrontational style of doing so at times!

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 06:34:05 +0000

Hello again Carol
Your comment about storytime inspired me to write a blog about this subject. It can be found at http://www.earlylearninghq.org/ under Michsel Jones, where I have a regular blog spot. I have worked extensively with settings, developing group time, and this was a big part of our work with Every Child a Talker.
There is also a lot of info about how to transform storytime at /
Best wishes
Michael

By: Carol Adams

Carol Adams — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 20:40:27 +0000

Interesting comment about background noise Tim. Today I had a short session with the children about road safety (following an incident that occurred when a child was with their parents). We are very close to the M25 and I started off by asking the children to tell me what noises they could hear outside. Nobody mentioned the constant hum of the traffic on the motorway! Does this have any effect on children’s behaviour or hearing?
Yours front stage, Reading Festival, with a complete set of waterproofs. Shows my age.

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 20:07:57 +0000

Thanks Heather. Yes, I know that teachers have a lot to do, but we all have a duty to be good role models and can do so by showing respect. Most do this, and also get involved with planning follow up activities.
Michael

By: Tim Dunkerley

Tim Dunkerley — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 15:55:51 +0000

What do Grateful Dead fans (Dead heads) who have run out of dope say?….”Jeez this band suck”

Cheap jibe you say. Trying(badly) to do a Michael Jones here. By saying a lot of people’s focus, engagement, willingness to participate, abilty to see what is going on in a room, social dynamics etc is perhaps mainly influenced by sensory and environmental factors.Background noise being one of the biggest distractors available. At our school we have been very aware for the last few years about the sensory needs of our pupils and students, particularly those with a diagnosis of ASC. In(very) short, what sensory experiences pupils might be seeking and those they might be trying to avoid: In the case of those with quite deeply rooted sensory modulation issues, in quite an extreme way. (eg. rushing off to smell a complete strangers armpits, or thumping the nearest available person if an unexpected noise occurs).
“Behaviour” occurs often as a result of sensory experience (input and output) which doesn’t appear logical or triggered to those(adults) who have appropriately moderated sensory “diets” That “behaviour” in the face of well-planned, appropriate, ostensibly engaging activities can be very difficult to manage especially if the person presenting it either has no way to communicate what it is they can’t bear or desperately need, or if they are in the care of, or receiving education from, adults who have no knowledge of what is going on for them sensorily.

Ahem. “Altamont Primary”…. hilarious. There probably is an Altamont High School in California, just because it’s a place.I would love to hear a list of hilarious school names. I happened upon Dog Kennel Hill Primary in Camberwell the other day. Back in the 70’s my Uncle threatened to rename the school he had been newly appointed headteacher of, to “Bertie Clack Middle School” He didn’t; it’s still St Lukes Primary school.
School names: I have theory that the majority of Special Schools in England have rural names. My Theory continues that this represents an unconscious and unpleasant societal undercurrent / desire, for those with special needs to be placed on the outskirts of towns where they are less visible.
Another music undercurrent I think you would be best placed to comment on and link to your admirable theories about how we communicate and teach our young to communicate effectively Michael is the trends that come and go in Band names. I’ll leave it with you, but suffice to say that my favourite (actual as opposed to made up)Band name of all time is still is “You’re laughing now but soon we will all be Demons”
Yours backstage, with a keg, in a leather waistcoat and some soiled levis
Tim

By: Heather Bridge

Heather Bridge — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 15:12:35 +0000

Michael, you raise an important professional development issue concerning how educators have opted to use their time during your workshops. Educators can be preoccupied with “staying on top” of their workload and mistakenly see a guest speaker as giving them “time off” to get on with jobs. By making that choice, educators miss a rich opportunity to learn how to build on the workshop content and incorporate new approaches into their teaching.
“Busy work” has to be minimized so that educators give priority to the really important aspects of their jobs which are all about supporting children’s learning by listening to them, responding to them and extending their knowledge and understanding.

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 11:11:45 +0000

PS Santana at Ally Pally, and you found a husband! That must have been a life changing evening!!!! A friend of mine saw The Grateful Dead at Ally Pally, but the acoustics were so bad that they sat outside and heard everything much better! I wanted to see Santana at Wembley in 1976, with the Dead and lots of other West Coast bands, but the gig was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. That’s when I realised that times had changed!
More posts soon
Michael

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 10:17:14 +0000

Thanks Carol!
You are so right about story sessions, and the need for all adults to be focused. This is an important message from my ‘Bring Storytime to Life!’ day course.
I am writing a post for Early Learning HQ about this very subject.
One nursery school I did training in now has a sign on their front door reminding visitors to try not to ring the front door bell between 11.30 and midday, as children will be having a group story then, and all the children and adults will be busy focusing on a story.
I have a cousin who is a financial advisor, and he visits families at home in the evenings. He knows not to try to book an appointment while Eastenders or Corrie is on TV, as his prospective clients won’t be able to concentrate. It should be the same for storytime!
Michael