Research
that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories
I want to
share a story of the son of a friend In South American, Ecuador. Her son was diagnosed
with Hyperactivity and was medicated. The first doctor was wrong, the report
that the doctor gave to the school caused a terrible damage for the child, the
people in school called to the child: ” the problem child”, they began to label
him. For that reason his self esteem was low. His grades began to drop, and his
desire to study.
So his mother was seeking help in a person who
makes more studies and test in investigation of problems of hyperactivity, and
attention. When she found a good
researcher, that person wanted well being of the children and the first thing
that she did was to be friend for the child, then she begin to talk with him,
and making some test of drawing, talking with his pediatric and working
together. And the conclusion of this case is that that boy never had
“hyperactivity” he only had a behavior problem because in his house there was no limits, and he grew in an environment
of family problems, their parents was divorced, and he also grow without rules.
In this
case you could see the two ways of research in one case it made a damage for
the kid in his self-esteem, and in the other way the good research help to him
in not to be label anymore, and to resolve the behavior problem.
“Research benefits children, without
such research, we would know less about children’s points of view, their wants
and needs and their possibilities.”(Glenda Mac Naughton, Sharne A. Rolfe, &Iran
Siraj-Blatchford.2010)
THE GOAL OF EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT IS NOT CREATING "PERFECT" CHILDREN, BUT PROVIDING THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT USING RESEARCH-BASED STRATEGIES THAT GUIDE STUDENTS TOWARD INCREASINGLY RESPONSIBLE AND MOTIVEATED BEHAVIOR."
THE GOAL OF EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT IS NOT CREATING "PERFECT" CHILDREN, BUT PROVIDING THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT USING RESEARCH-BASED STRATEGIES THAT GUIDE STUDENTS TOWARD INCREASINGLY RESPONSIBLE AND MOTIVEATED BEHAVIOR."
That is such an interesting study. It is so common for people to pass judgment without knowing the facts. Our principal always tell us to be careful of have we refer to our students to each other and especially in the "general" public, because we may not know what that child is going through at home. A child that acts out, should not always be labeled as "bad". When we do this it creates biases in everyone against this child. We tend to expect a certain behavior without getting to know the child for ourselves. Great Post, Maria! Thanks for sharing.
ResponderEliminarMaria,
ResponderEliminarWhile I am interested in the topic of ADHD and attention in young children as a research topic, I think the true message contained in your post is a powerful one! I hope everyone who reads your post takes to heart the power that each of us holds as a teacher. Even more, just because a behavior is not socially appropriate or desirable does not mean it is not actually developmentally appropriate. I find that so often it is our unrealistic expectations that serve as the trigger for undesirable behavior in children. If we only reflected on our own practices we would realize it isn't the kids' behavior. The problem is the context in which we place unreasonable expectations on the. Thank you for initiating a conversation on such an important topic!
It is funny to me how in the past years many doctors would be hesitant to diagnose a child with ADHD without several test on the children, and today many people including doctors do not even think twice about labeling a child with ADHD. I am a firm believer that the child and their family-life should always be taken into account when attempting to diagnose children with anything. Children are affected by so many stressors in life, just as adults, but unlike adults they do not always know how to communicate this so they will tend to act out or shut down. It is very important that as educators and the doctors of our children assess the "whole" child.
ResponderEliminarI thank God for researcher like your friend doctor and the wisdm she had about finding another doctor. It's good to get an second opinion about the situation.This is why it's essential to develop relationships with the people who help care for the children. Good Job!!!
ResponderEliminar