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1. Bringing Troubled Youth Back into the Fold................................................................................................. 1
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Bringing Troubled Youth Back into the Fold
Author: Chrystal, Charles

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Abstract: Sometimes we need to change the adult in order to reach the child. This article focuses on a strategy
that attempts to leave some of the old school practices behind and jump ahead to challenges that will produce
long-lasting results. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
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Full text: Headnote
Sometimes we need to change the adult in order to reach the child. This article focuses on a strategy that
attempts to leave some of the old school practices behind and jump ahead to challenges that will produce long-
lasting results.
The great majority of students who come through the doors of our facility have "had it up to here" with formal
education. They have learned that schools are irrelevant to their lives, hostile to their ideas, or that it is
impossible for them to master the skills sacred to our society. They do not fit the template of "good student," and
they are painfully aware of it. Consequently, these students become angry and defiant, unwilling to extend
themselves even to good teachers.
This is not to say that our students have not learned or that they are incapable of learning. Nor is it to say that
they are lazy. It is simply that what teachers teach appears to have little value to students, and that what
students have learned is not deemed important by schools. If schools and teachers affirmed what our students
have learned-the perspectives and experiences they bring to the classroom-things would probably work out
much better. Perhaps there would be fewer children with behavioral disorders and fewer children whose
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emotions get the better of them.
Much of the difficulty occurs because we as adults are rather inflexible in our expectations of students. The
prescribed curriculum with its goals and objectives provides an unforgiving framework for schooling with the
instructional process giving form to that framework. The structure and substance of education are determined
even as soon as the child begins kindergarten. Is it any wonder that the joy of learning so evident in the
preschool years disappears as the student finds that "knowledge" comes in the form of a bland recipe? How
many of us secretly agree with the student who protests that trigonometry is of no use to him? We tend to fall
back on platitudes when dealing with such disgruntled students, such as "It never hurt me" or "Just go with the
program."
Well-meaning adults, many of them teachers, also attempt to motivate our students by asserting that "learning
is important." What those well-meaning individuals do not understand is that most students agree with the
statement. Adult behavior does not, however, convey to those students a true concern for learning. There is
often a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant. The adult assertion should be rephrased from
"learning is important" to "schooling is important." If learning were the real issue, few students would have
difficulty in school. Most of what happens in school is really about schooling, not learning, and our students
have typically come to that realization. Schooling, including the framework and form of instruction and the
mismatch of the school's social system to our students, is truly the problem.
The question of how to teach troubled and troubling students is by now an all-too-well-roasted chestnut, for
answers have been slow in coming. I would like to suggest that we are asking the wrong question. Rather than
inquire, "How should we teach?" perhaps we should ask, "What do these students know?" "How do these
students learn?" If we start with children's understandings and strategies for learning rather than with what we
think they should know-and how they should learn it-we may find greater success in the educational enterprise.
We need to work from the strengths our students possess, rather than from our suppositions about what is
important to learn.
Constructivism is a theory about knowledge and learning that may prove helpful to us as we work with
maladjusted students (Brooks &Brooks, 1993). Constructivism holds that people develop understandings of the
world based upon their unique experiences, and that they apply their understandings to the different situations
and problems they face. If a given strategy fails, the person may discard that approach in favor of another.
Learning occurs through experimentation, the generation and testing of hypotheses. Even within the same
context, what is learned-and how it is understood-may vary according to the attributes and experience of the
student. Constructivism respects individual differences in a way that didactic teaching does not, and it is
explicitly sensitive to the developmental characteristics of students. For that reason, it may be helpful in our
work with students who have emotional and behavioral problems.
In contrast to the traditional, didactic, "top down" approach to instruction taken by many teachers, the
constructivist approach views learning as a collaborative, problem-solving enterprise. Rather than play the part
of "expert," the teacher assumes the role of "guide" in the classroom, helping students to develop whatever
knowledge and learning strategies they already possess. Instead of showing students how to solve a problem in
geometry, for example, the teacher might present a "real" problem in a general manner, and then ask students
to pose-and test -possible solutions. Problems of a similar nature might then be given to students in an effort to
extract and develop related strategies, approaches, or laws. The conceptual understanding derived from such
instruction have been shown to be much more durable than material that has been memorized for future
regurgitation on a test or examination (Katz, 1985).
The teacher using constructivist strategies in the classroom will find few hard-and-fast guidelines for planning
and executing lessons. So teacher creativity in instruction is essential. Brooks and Brooks (1993) provide
general suggestions for teachers working within a constructivist framework.
Application
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First, the teacher should pose problems that have or promise to have relevance to students. Such problems
should be immediately challenging and appropriate to students' developmental capacities. Time should be given
to students so that they can grasp concepts central to the solution of problems posed them. Ample opportunities
should be accorded to help students transfer new understandings to other parts of the curriculum. From the
constructivist stance, depth of coverage is viewed as more important than breadth (Glatthorn &Jailall, 2000).
Teachers must also recognize that through solving problems, students may need to re-evaluate and modify
previous understandings. Teachers should also recognize that such reevaluation may not occur quickly.
Concepts
Second, the teacher must give careful consideration to the conceptual material he or she presents to students.
"Primary concepts" fostering higher-order thinking form the nucleus of constructivist teaching and reflect the
concern of instruction for meaning. For example, the teacher may write, "For each action there is an equal and
opposite reaction" on the board and then ask students to consider that proposition from a scientific,
mathematical, and historical point of view. The teacher may also invite students to compare and contrast
opposing views of a similar phenomenon. For example: Is generosity self-serving, or does it spring from
empathy and altruism? Where students "go" after they are given such propositions is not readily predictable, but
it is likely that any path they might pursue would lead to enhanced awareness and understanding. Naturally,
such conceptual material is easily linked to readings, videotapes, and other concrete instructional materials,
which may yield written or oral reports, essays, and presentations.
Backgrounds
Third, the teacher must seek to understand students' perspectives on matters of educational relevance.
Students must be given opportunities to express their opinions and perspectives within an atmosphere of
acceptance. The concern is not so much for "right" or "wrong" answers, but for explanations that are
reasonable. The goal is for learners to assimilate knowledge into their mental frameworks (Hanley, 1994) and to
broaden their understanding through dialogue, application, and experimentation. Cooperative learning and
project-based learning may prove helpful. The constructivist approach supports the premise that useful ideas
and opinions will eventually find favor over less useful beliefs, for they are ordinarily based upon sound thinking.
Along the way, all student perspectives are rightfully accorded teacher respect. Respecting students for what
they bring to the educational enterprise is, of course, critical for those who have emotional and behavioral
disorders.
Individual Development
Fourth, the teacher must ascertain that instruction complements students' cognitive development or the
students' ability to process and grasp educational events, rather than developing higher intelligent quotient (IQ)
or achievement test scores. The teacher structures the learning experience for students in a manner
appropriate to their level of cognitive development (Glatthorn &Jailall, 2000). The thinking skills that students
use to understand the world change over time, and the impact a lesson makes depends greatly upon their
intellectual characteristics. Research has shown that what a child learns is largely dependent upon when
instruction occurs based on individual development. Constructivism builds upon the learning characteristics
students bring to the educational process, and so respects individual differences.
Testing to Teach
Finally, the teacher must agree that the purpose of assessment is to inform the student of his progress rather
than to judge. Assessment should describe the skill of the learner within temporal, developmental, and social
contexts, rather than find the student able (or unable) to attain the "right" answer. As Brooks and Brooks (1993)
explain:
"Rightness" and "wrongness" ... relate as much to the filtering system used by adults to sort through students'
responses as to the students' conceptions of the issues and questions to which they respond. To teachers,
inaccurate responses are "wrong." To students, inaccurate responses often represent the state of their current
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thinking about topics. (p. 87)
The constructivist teacher uses assessment to better understand students and applies that understanding to
prepare lessons and classroom events to complement students' cognitive status and to add to their knowledge
base. Using tests to understand students minimizes the stress many students experience through traditional
forms of evaluation and side steps the emotional reactivity many show when they are judged to have "wrong"
answers.
Constructivist approaches to the curriculum remain current despite the fact that "standards-based" models have
recently been adopted by several states (Glatthorn &Jailall, 2000). Although the standards-based curriculum is
typically organized around traditional disciplines (e.g., English language arts), it is nonspecific insofar as
instructional content is concerned. Standards-based curricula need not run counter to constructivist principles
and strategies (Ruenzel, 1999) because of the leeway that teachers have when it comes to designing
instructional events, they may use virtually any means to meet the standards. When state or local standards
dictate content, the creative teacher may find ways of integrating that content within a constructivist approach to
instruction. Classroom instruction within the constructivist framework promises to bridge the gap between
teacher and students, eventually making schooling and learning synonymous. The teacher of challenging
students might approach state standards with the understanding that "we're all in this together," which
enhances group process and esprit de corps. The teacher could explore standards with students, discuss with
students how best to meet these standards, and arrange cooperative undertakings to accomplish the necessary
tasks. Such an educational approach shows students that they are respected and valued, fosters individual and
group responsibility, and facilitates student bonding with teachers and the school program (McNamara, 1996).
We can no longer afford to ignore those students who turn away from educators who devalue their
understanding of the world, and, because of their negative experiences, reject schooling as it has evolved. We
must find ways of drawing them out, as well as methods that encourage them to examine their life experience
and apply it to the problems they face. The constructivist approach holds promise for disenchanted and
disenfranchised students with emotional and behavioral problems. Not only does constructivism provide an
avenue for changing students' jaundiced views of the instructional process, but it also provides means for
transforming school into a place where knowledge is truly created, not just transmitted from teacher to student.
References
REFERENCES
Brooks, J. G., &Brooks, M. G. (1993). The case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Glatthorn, A. A., &Jailall, J. (2000). Curriculum for the new millennium. In R. S. Brandt (Ed.), Education in a nciv
era. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Hanley, S. (1994). On constructivism. College Park, MD: Maryland Cooperative for Teacher Preparation.
Katz, L. G. (1985). Dispositions in early childhood education. ERIC/EECE Bulletin, 18, 2. Urbana, IL: ERIC
Clearinghouse of Elementary and Early Childhood Education.
McNamara, K. (1996). Bonding to school and the development of responsibility. Reclniminq Children and Youth,
4(4), 33-35.
Ruenzel, D. (1999). Let it be. Teacher Maqazine, 11, 32-37.
AuthorAffiliation
Charles Chrystal, PhD, is director of special programs for Royalton-Hartland Central School District, Middleport,
NY. He is a licensed psychologist and former teacher of special education. He has worked with students with
emotional and behavioral disabilities for more than 25 years. Dr. Chrystal earned his doctorate at the University
of Michigan under Professor William C. Morse. The author can be contacted by e-mail:
chas_c@mindspring.com
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Subject: Classroom management; Curriculum development; Classroom discussion; Teachers; At risk students;
Publication title: Reclaiming Children and Youth
Volume: 11
Issue: 1
Pages: 23-25
Number of pages: 3
Publication year: 2002
Publication date: Spring 2002
Year: 2002
Publisher: Starr Global Learning Network (dba Reclaiming Youth International)
Place of publication: Bloomington
Country of publication: United States
Publication subject: Children And Youth - About, Psychology
ISSN: 10895701
CODEN: RCYOFU
Source type: Scholarly Journals
Language of publication: English
Document type: Commentary
Document feature: References
ProQuest document ID: 214195590
Document URL: http://0-search.proquest.com.topcat.switchinc.org/docview/214195590?accountid=9367
Copyright: Copyright Reclaiming Children & Youth Spring 2002
Last updated: 2011-09-19
Database: ProQuest Education Journals
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