Craig Archer
Author
Proactive
Behavioral
Specialist
Philosophy
Foundation
The foundation of all institutions is in the relationships it builds with its participants. This is also the foundation of the Proactive Behavioral Specialists company. The tetrahedron is one of the strongest shapes in nature because it is made of triangles. Each of the edges is super strong because it is supported by the other sides and vertices. That is how we view education. It takes a village to raise a child.
The shape of the tetrahedron has 4 points and 6 sides. The triangle is one of the strongest shapes possible. When pressure is exerted on any particular side no other side will give because pressure is deflected by the strength of the sides and shape. The triangle can be expanded to create a three dimensional model that includes a triangular prism, a tetrahedron, or a pyramid. Each one of these three dimensional models are strong and lasting because of the shape of the triangle.
It is this shape that I think reprents education.
The tetrahedron represents the cornerstone components of education. These components are communication, community, consistency, and academics. Developing each of these skills within the school will create a classroom atmosphere that is positive, proactive, and will improve and strengthen student achievement and behavior. When anyone in the school system engages in proactive behavioral management strategies the bonds between students and teachers, parents and administration, and parents and teachers are strengthened. These four things create a super strong bond that will give students, parents, and teachers the tools and opportunities to perform at their highest level.
The four edges of the tetrahedron are part of the Proactive Behavioral Strategy to help students create a reality of successful behaviors and improved test scores. These points are:
Community – Parents, staff, administration, teachers, and students all have to have similar goals, desires, and behaviors to make our system work.
Consistency – Habits, focus, and persistency is a critical element to make any significant change in our classrooms and schools.
Communication – Relationships and concurrently positive behavior are created through communication with parents and students. Dialogue is important in building an atmosphere of trust and love.
Academics – We are here to teach and learn. In school that is the one measureable variable we can demonstrate success. Our schools are geared to increase academic success and changing behaviors have to have that as our end game.
There is much more to the discovery about each of these critical elements in education and improving the classroom, but all is explained in my seminars and professional development.
Proactive Philosophy
Proactive versus Reactive
Proactive behavioral management is strictly defined as something you would do ahead of time to change or modify the behavior of any particular student, parent, or administrator that you interact with on a daily basis. This may include a variety of behaviors that you consider mundane or irrelevant. However, these behaviors will change not only your interaction with that person but will change your life as well. These proactive behaviors have a permanent impact upon everyone, including you.
Some of these actions may include things like saying, “Thank You,” giving a high five, or smiling at someone you make eye contact with.
Reactive behavioral management would be where you are caught off guard with a particular behavior and have to react to it. This means that you are reacting to the behavior with a particular modification strategy that may or may not work because you have not prepared for the specific situation and you have to fly by the seat of your pants with regards to what to do. I have done this before and often times it results in ineffective instruction. This usually is not very productive when changing any student or person’s behavior. When you react there is usually a story behind the behavior and depending upon what story you are telling yourself about that student and the way they are behaving you often will react negatively. This is just human nature. We all get angry, frustrated, and confused when confronted with situations we have not planned for and then react. Many times this confusion leads to a reaction that is counterproductive to what you are trying to achieve. I believe that we are all good and that we all want what is best for each and every student or individual we encounter in our lives.
When we react proactively we maximize our positive impact upon the people we are interacting with. Being positive and happy, by nature, is something we all strive for as humans. As teachers we want that same thing for all of our students as well. All teachers go into the occupation because we love people, see the good and innocence in every child, and want the best for students as they grow in the academic setting. The best way to foster that growth is through the influence of a positive atmosphere that is created in the classroom with proactive behavioral management strategies. When a teacher goes through their complicated day of planning, collecting resources, dealing with conflict, organizing, or fulfilling mandates the idea of being positive is often times left on the back shelf and you forget what you are there for. All the federal, state, and district mandates are important to find time and instruct towards, but these academic goals are not the only mandates that are necessary for the student to find lifelong success, self-efficacy, increased problems solving skills, and self-reliance.
As teachers, parents, and administrators we also want each and every student to love education as we do. We can do this with a set of strategies and behaviors that we develop in and out of the classroom. We can provide training and materials that will create a proactive and positive philosophy within our school, classroom, and community. These ideas are the foundation for Proactive Behavioral Management. The ideas set forth in our seminars, activities, and behavioral modification strategies will create a classroom environment that builds trust, increases communication effectiveness, strengthens community relations, and improves academic performance.
Proactive behavioral management is not a hard thing to do but requires planning, persistence, commitment, and repetition. Each of the steps and activities that are created in this program are tried and true ways to get students to engaged in the educational process, increase self efficacy, and make every teacher’s environment a better place to work. Every teacher, parent, or administrator will reap the windfall of academic as well as personal success when applying the ideas presented in the seminar.