A very interesting article. I teach junior and senior high, and when I read the article, I immediately picture a few students who might benefit from an approach like this--but the issue, as always, is spending the time necessary to help that one kid while the rest of the class twiddles their thumbs. I already spend a far higher amount of time with students like these than I do with the students on the other end of the spectrum, kids who need to be pushed because they're extremely bright and find the "average" work too easy. I also work in a school with zero classroom support for exceptional students (those on either end of the spectrum). I'd love to hear how classroom modification can work for explosive students without sacrificing the needs of the rest of the class. My own children are in the system, and I don't want their education compromised because they have peers who, quite frankly, aren't able to handle a normal classroom situation. (Does that make me a horrible person? I have a sneaking suspicion that it does...)
I agree. This article espouses the exact management approach my wife and I take with our son, 7, and daughter, 5. I find that it works in both theory and practice. In practice it works just fine at home when I am helping my son and daughter manage their own behaviors. Where I teach though, as a middle school teacher in a class of 30-34 students, I'm afraid that this management system works only in theory. I agree with you that I can take time out to reason, when I have time, with students that are having difficulty. I practice a reasoned approach whenever possible. When I do this, management of the larger group can get very messy. My attention can be focused on one particular student out of 30 or so, for a limited time before ther rest of the group goes wayward.