Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids Chapters 1 and 2 Assignment for Book Club

My first assignment for Whole Brain Teaching Certification is complete! I'm not really sure how or why I came to the decision to take on the WBT certification but apparently I have. My task this week was to address 3 points from Coach B's book at the first faculty meeting of the year as a new principal of a charter school. The mere thought of being a principal gives me panic attacks even though I do have my principal's certificate. Today, I think administrator's are crazy for the responsibilities that they take on. Ask me in a couple of years and I may have a very different answer. Below is my first assignment. Good morning and welcome back. I'd like to start today's meeting with a quote from one of my former principals. "He's your problem. Deal with him!" These were the words written on a Post-It that was handed to me upon the return of a middle school student who had been sent to principal's office for inappropriate classroom behavior. I do not use the quote today as a warning for what may happen if you send a student to me for inappropriate classroom behavior. Rather, I use this as a challenge to all of us that have or will have challenging students. After I calmed down after my initial shock of reading the Post-It, I was able to recognize that there was a clear message and an ounce of truth there. However, I did have one lingering question. How do I address challenging behavior in the classroom? It was at that point that I realized I had to play by a different set of rules. The Whole Brain Teaching movement offers us those rules, in five simple statements, and a new game plan. Upon reflection, I realized that the lecture model doesn't work. Coach Chris Biffle addresses this idea in his book, Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids. He says, "the more we talk, the more students we lose." As a result, I had to tell myself to shut up before the kids had the opportunity. Upon more reflection, I realized that the student was not my "problem" but he was my "responsibility". We may only have our students in class for 180 days but we impact the rest of their lives in that short time. We must examine our instructional practices and determine if we are part of the problem. Coach B states that "challenging kids can't be challenging when they are busy learning." I feel the number one deterrent for "bad behavior" is good teaching. This is why Whole Brain Teaching works, it is brain friendly! We will examine these ideas from Coach B, along with numerous others, as we begin a new school year and book study. Whole Brain Teaching is a journey that we are set to embark on this year that will offer us challenges and successes, but no Post-It notes. I have to be honest. I was not actually the teacher that received the Post-It note but rather a teacher across the hall did. I had to include a personal story and as I was reading Chapters 1 and 2 I couldn't help but think of the "Post-It Note Incident of '05". It was epic. If we had only known about WBT then, we would have had a much more successful school year. While I think the Post-It notes with discipline directions are a thing of the past, students with behavior challenges are not. I'm ready for a great year!