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| Author: Ruth Wells, M.S. |
"In a perfectly rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and
counselors, and the rest of us would have to settle for less, for passing civilization on from one generation to the next, ought to be the highest honor and highest responsibility anyone could have." -- Lee Iaocca
This lovely quote has very little to do with reality. At our workshops around the country, more and more teachers and youth professionals say that due to budget concerns, they are increasingly being expected to do more with less, that their community does not properly value and fund schools and youth services. Classrooms of over 40 are becoming common. School counselors have caseloads of thousands-- and that's the lucky schools. The unlucky schools now have no counselor at all. Whatever your job is in the youth service sector, you have probably been affected by budget cuts.
Here are tips on maximizing your remaining resources; there are hundreds more at our site.
PROBLEM: REDUCED SERVICE DAYS/HOURS
Many schools and agencies have reduced the number of days that services are offered, or the amount of hours per day have been cut. You may be in the position of having the same mandate but far less time to accomplish it.
SOLUTION: The typical teacher or youth professionals wastes 22 minutes per hour on on-demand behavior management'stopping the inappropriate comments, requesting students pay attention, ending side conversations, and so on. More than ever, you need to maximize the time you have with your students, so be sure that you are thoroughly training your youngsters to perform the skills they need to benefit from your site. This does not mean that you re-state the expectations for conduct. This means that you actually teach nuts-and-bolts skills such as attendance, punctuality, how to sit in a chair, how often to talk out, how often to make comments, voice level, choice of words, etc. If you begin to systematically provide this training, you can expect to re-gain much of that lost 22 minutes per hour. Our web site can give you hundreds of dynamic, can't-get-anywhere-else intervention. Visit our website (the Help and Solution Center area) to see a large sampling of problem-stopping methods.
PROBLEM: FEWER RESOURCES, SAME GOALS
When you retain the same goals but have less staff and tools, it can seem overwhelming-- especially if you work with students who seem apathetic about your service, which is quite often the case.
SOLUTION: More than ever, it is critical that you motivate your youngsters to see the value of your site's services. You no longer have the time or manpower to "drag" reluctant participants along you need each youngster to be convinced that they need your service. Working with motivated students can quickly help you accomplish more since you face less resistance from your youngsters.
SAMPLE STRATEGY:
Here is a motivation-maker for schools. (If you are not in a school setting, our books and workshop have plenty of motivation-makers to fit your site.) Ask students to list all the things they may ever want to do in their lives. Elicit answers like "travel to Australia," "buy a Porche," and "fly a plane." Write the answers on the board then ask your class to review the list, determining which
activities require education (reading, math, science, etc.) to do. All/most activities will require education. For example, to go to Australia, you must read to understand the flight schedule and secure a passport. Discuss with the class: "Education: Don't leave home without it."
PROBLEM: REDUCED STAFFING
When you cut resources, you often open the door for safety concerns. Conduct disorders, and other children and youth who are calculating in their misbehavior, can notice this, and seize upon your reduced staffing as an endless opportunity for acting out.
SOLUTION: Safety concerns need to take center stage in all settings where staffing and resource cuts have occurred. Supervision must be more carefully planned with top priority given to conduct disorders, your most misbehaved youth. All staff must have superb skills with this population, and be well-versed in using approaches designed especially for conduct disorders, as conventional methods fail with these children.Be sure that all personnel-- including adjunct staff such as your receptionist, cafeteria staff, etc.-- are familiar with which of students may be at highest risk of serious misconduct. Our web site can help. Visit our site for a fast, "real world," practical resource to do this. |
Author Bio:
Get much more information on this topic at www.youthchg.com and theclassroommanagementsite.com. See hundreds more of innovative, problem-stopping interventions at the Youth Change web site. Ruth Wells MS is the director of Youth Change. Ruth is the author of dozens of books including the popular Temper and Tantrum Tamers, Turn On the Turned-Off Student, Last Chance School Success Guide and Maximum-Strength Motivation-Makers. She annually trains hundreds of teachers, counselors and youth professionals in staff development workshops, conferences, seminars and in-service throughout the country. Get free samples and see 100s more of her problem-stopping interventions at Youth Change's web site. Ruth is the author of dozens of books and ebooks, and conducts professional development workshops. Please visit us at our website at www.youthchg.com or feel free to call us at 1-800-545-5736. |
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