There’s a shift playing out in classrooms across the country in how teachers manage and address student behavior. That was the takeaway of a presentation for Peoria Public School teachers in preparation for the start of class on Wednesday.
Regional Superintendent of Schools for Macon-Piatt Matthew Snyder is an author on the subject -- and he’s dealt with it on a personal level in raising his adopted son from Haiti.
Snyder says teachers need to consider the underlying cause of a student’s behavior, like fear or anxiety, often caused by traumatic situations at home:
“With the knowledge that’s out there, and the brain studies, and all of this information, we’ve just got to make people aware of it," Snyder said. "And I think if they’re aware of what these kids are dealing with and how it impacts their brain, it will definitely impact the way they deal with the kids.”
Studies show that punitive punishment, like suspensions and expulsions, don’t improve a school’s safety or academic achievement, Snyder said.
The training is part of the District’s increased efforts to address students with behavioral issues. It also comes nearly a month before Senate Bill 100 takes effect in school districts across Illinois. The bill limits the use of reactionary methods for discipline, like suspensions and expulsions. It instead forces districts to address the underlying reasons for behavior problems, like emotional trauma or psychological issues.
“I don’t think we want to get in the habit of looking at schools as rehabilitation centers, we want to look at them as prevention centers. That’s what social emotional learning does, that preventative mechanism that we can work with students on their level, before we read about them in the paper for something negative,” Derrick Booth, Peoria District 150’s director of the new office for Social Emotional learning, said.
Booth previously coached for 12 years and was a counselor for 8 years. He’s also a Manual High School graduate.