Schoolwide Positive Behavior

Words: 848
Pages: 4

The second current educational trend or issue that I find to be interesting is the implementation of schoolwide positive behavior supports in secondary school settings. As author Dr. Leanne Hawke states in the journal article “What’s Helpful in Secondary Schools,” “Almost a decade of research has identified the most effective approach to addressing issues of behavior before they become a problem: schoolwide positive behavior” (2005). The purpose and idea of the positive behavior support systems is to model and emphasize the behaviors we would like to see in our school environment rather than focusing on the negative behaviors and the associated consequences. These expectations of positive behavior are implemented not only in the classroom, …show more content…
As author of the article “Teacher to Parent – Positive Reinforcement Doesn’t Work in the Long Run,” Jody Stallings, states, “When extrinsic rewards are removed, the behavior you want to maintain doesn’t always stick” (2017). If a student is constantly rewarded for showing positive or expected behavior, what will happen if the reward is suddenly not available or given to them? Stallings goes on to discuss the real-world implications to being rewarded every time someone feels they are behaving in a positive manner or being nice to someone they meet. He says, “In real life, citizens aren’t rewarded for being good citizens...there are many things we do simply because they’re the right thing to do” …show more content…
Rewards or extra incentives awarded for positive behavior shown in the school environment has been known to work very well with elementary and early-middle school-aged students in my school district. These children are still in the mindset that they want to please their elders, and would love nothing more than to earn an extra recess, attend a merit-based field trip, or receive tickets when they are meeting behavioral expectations. However, I do not feel that this system works for all children, especially in the upper-middle school and high school levels. Approximately eight years ago, my current district adopted the PBIS model as our schoolwide behavior supports system. There were committees formed, one per building, that attended trainings and professional workdays to learn how to implement and incorporate PBIS into our