Bad Behavior Is Not Dooming, Studies on Pupils Say

[RamboLiberal]

Source: NY Times

Educators and psychologists have long feared that children entering school with behavior problems were doomed to fall behind in the upper grades. But two new studies suggest that those fears are exaggerated.

One concluded that kindergartners who are identified as troubled do as well academically as their peers in elementary school. The other found that children with attention deficit disorders suffer primarily from a delay in brain development, not from a deficit or flaw.

Experts say the findings of the two studies, being published today in separate journals, could change the way scientists, teachers and parents understand and manage children who are disruptive or emotionally withdrawn in the early years of school. The studies might even prompt a reassessment of the possible causes of disruptive behavior in some children.

“I think these may become landmark findings, forcing us to ask whether these acting-out kinds of problems are secondary to the inappropriate maturity expectations that some educators place on young children as soon as they enter classrooms,” said Sharon Landesman Ramey, director of the Georgetown University Center on Health and Education, who was not connected with either study.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/health/13kids.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[boobooday]

1. Zero tolerance

Zero tolerance.

Can you believe our society came up with a policy like that to apply to children?

:shrug:

[pnwmom]

3. I know, don't you hate those words? Whoever decided to apply

such a standard to human beings at all?

[pnwmom]

2. This makes complete sense to me. And school these days only aggravate

these problems, since many capable children aren't ready to sit still for long periods in first or second grades.

I read once that -- because of the stages of neurological development -- until about the age of 8, a typical child has to expend more energy being STILL than moving. That's why even average kids are so fidgety -- the more tired they get, the harder it is to sit still. That explained so much! I was so glad I read this before I had two boys . . . who proved to me that the neurologists were right.

I passed this on to a friend who is dealing with these issues now. Thanks for the post.

[DCKit]

4. "children aren't ready to sit still for long periods in first or second grades."

Yet many school districts saw fit to ban recess.

Why do we trust these idiots with our children?

[AndyTiedye]

5. Sitting Still is Greatly Overrated

[Raejeanowl]

6. "Inappropriate Maturity Expectations" Says It All

Here's old Granny pointing out the fact that, in the 50s when she was born, kindergarten was a luxury for the rich, not a required part of the school curriculum. Much less, did children attend pre-K or nursery school.

Short version: Kids were nurtured at home longer by a full-time mother until age 6 or 7 before being sent off and expected to behave and absorb a curriculum. Ditch this penchant for labeling kids as having behavioral problems or diagnosing socialization disorders prematurely.

[DemBones DemBones]

8. I went to kindergarten in the Fifties and we were far from rich!

It was a half-day program and I actually went when I was 4, stayed home the year I was 5 -- probably because my mother was pregnant that year and money was really tight -- and started first grade right after I turned 6.

I don't think there was much emphasis on academics in kindergarten in the Fifties nor do I think we had to sit still much, so it was mostly a chance to play with other kids, which kids need.

[XemaSab]

11. All I remember learning in kindergarten

was the alphabet, basic numbers, days of the week, months of the year, and sunny/cloudy/rainy. Since it was an el Nino year with a lot of flooding, I think maybe we all got a little too much practice with rainy. :P

[bemildred]

7. Gee, children are all different? nt

[DemBones DemBones]

9. One thing I saw as a teacher was how kids are

stereotyped as "bad" and teachers who are new to a school are warned about the "bad" kids.

As you might suspect, virtually all of the "bad" kids were boys, and most were black boys. Most were a bit hyper and all were a bit mischievous, but none were evil or criminal.

Once a kid gets a reputation for being "bad," the best thing the parents could do is transfer him to another school and do whatever is possible to get negative comments removed from his permanent record.

Some teachers look for "dirt" in kids' permanent records, sick as that is. I don't know if parents have full access to permanent records, but if you have kids in school, you might want to check to see what's in there.

[Bigmack]

10. Not just the younger kids, either.

Taught HS History for 30 years, and I believe that there is little correlation between HS academic/social success and success later in life.

I had an "animal" class in 1978... I hand-picked them from the "worst" kids in school. Today, they are all over the spectrum. Some have disappeared, some are losers, and some are pillars of society. I loved those kids because they reminded me of me.

Schools and teachers aren't bad.... they just start out from an academic perspective. School was important to most teachers growing up, and they sometimes have a hard time identifying with kids for whom school is hell.

Maybe if schools didn't operate on couch-cushion change, and had a budget like the Pentagon, they could offer different programs for different kids.

[XemaSab]

12. Oh, but that's "tracking," and tracking is BAD...

:crazy:

[Bigmack]

13. Actually, it was waaaaaay tracking....

It was so tracked that I had to invent my own title.... "Alternate".

I'm assuming you see the utility of tracking. Me, too. IF it's done properly.

The only reason nobody bitched is because the kids were so far outside the school tracks that they didn't fit any of the paradigms. (Read: everybody was glad to get those kids out of their regular classrooms.)

It actually was worse than tracking, because when I trolled the low end of the GPA list and the disciplinary records, I came up with an all-star cast of 22 males and 3 females.

Brace yourself.... I then opted the 3 females out. I ended up with {b]an all-male class.

It was wonderful.... I could speak to them in language we all understood.

So... tracking gender specific.

I'm so ashamed. NOT!

[XemaSab]

14. Sounds like a good crew....

I am not opposed to single gender education.

The curse of the matter is how to get the benefits of single gender or tracked education without the big negatives that are also possible.