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 | | Beyond Behaviorism: Changing the Classroom Management Paradigm by H. Jerome Freiberg (Editor), Jere E. Brophy (Editor) ISBN-10: 9780205282678 ISBN-10: 0-205-28267-9 ISBN-13: 9780205282678 ISBN-13: 978-0-205-28267-8 Paperback 1999-01 Allyn & Bacon Find Lowest Price |
Reviews | ||
There's no getting beyond it. Has it all been a crude attempt up until now to teach kids? Were we really so misguided about American classroom management practices before 1970, when the public education system had produced the bright and industrious minds which helped propel the fledgling industrial nation to the position of leading superpower? Freiberg and friends are ready to tell you how outdated and ineffective the old fashioned methods have become if we hope to revitalize and sustain good behavior and academic excellence in our troubled contemporary schools. Freiberg pens a couple of chapters in the introduction and conclusion concerning the history of classroom management, a few case histories of the Australian public education system in which he personally had involvement, and some general pep talk for teachers who want their caring and humanistic preconceptions of good teaching validated. Sandwiched in between are four chapters contributed by experts in education research, each author outlining and promoting his/her own complete system of classroom management. Among the programs, C.O.M.P. is the only plausible approach and it offers several useful pieces of advice for teachers because it does not explicitely and utterly reject the behaviorist paradigm for some stuffed-shirt's cockamamie alternative theory. As a student currently training under Alene Harris, I can say confidently that there is some merit to C.O.M.P., not least because it compartmentalizes aspects of management into useful categories for analysis and sensitizes teachers to diagnose problems in these areas more accurately. Its central tenet "prevention is better than intervention" is leagues more useful than the untenable ends of the other programs, which are better suited to alternate realities. CMCD is gushy, practically pleading for teachers to wipe students noses. Its model of the "student citizen" is an impractical fantasy and conflicts conceptually with its initial caring group focus. Nevertheless, it has a few interesting things to say about running a more efficient classroom through the distribution of perfunctory responsibilities to students and prominently displaying quality work to boost student self-esteem. "Judicious Discipline" and The Three Cs program are further out in left field, promoting ideas such as "complete student autonomy" and "constructive conflict." The time spent on these programs' lengthy activities designed to increase self-concept not only siphon off precious hours better spent in academic content, but also still rely implicitely on superficially spurned behaviorist theories. Case in point, the chapter on The Three C's, on page 145, suggests integrating community into the classroom by offering kids coupons to local stores that they frequent - so much for extolling the value of intrinsic motivation! The Johnsons' own research comprises over 90% of the sources cited in the chapter, and readers should note that it was conducted almost exclusively with students in the elementary grades. Furthermore, the Johnson & Johnson school of thought on group learning has been in academic battle with Robert Slavin's for a while now. The complete absence from this book of the latter's contribution strongly suggests editor bias. The creators of the "Judicious Discipline" at least have the sense to recommend tailoring consequences to the individual student and expressedly teaching students the rules and cues of the classroom. (But then again, hadn't even the vilified Canter figured that out in "Power to the Teacher"?) Nevertheless, despite applying their methods in highly controlled environments, the founders of the JD program themselves could not even muster the "autonomy" level in more than 50% of their test subjects in any given school. When will this oversimplified and emotionally charged demonization of B.F. Skinner finally cease, so that we can begin to make great strides in improving failing school systems instead of grandiose promises? Behaviorism merely describes a commonly observed phenomenon of human nature; it isn't a philosophy or a belief at all, let alone one that is wrong, evil, or fatalistic. Operant conditioning is an inevitable presence in the classroom because it is natural - not a creation of the school board. It will either detract from or enhance teaching and learning: it will not be rooted out and destroyed. Past studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in producing positive learning outcomes when understood and applied properly. Some "experts" apparently don't want to accept that education theory has a strong scientific component nor the fact that all students, to a great extent, learn and respond in the same way. Classroom management would be greatly demystified if we simply tossed out theories reliant upon unquantifiable and unrepeatable results. Likewise, we should stop denying valid findings simply because they do not suit our personal or political agenda. Misinformation is no friend of progress. | ||