positive behavior checklist
my son's school, but I never really described what it was.
The reason the positive behavior checklist is used is my son is one of
those ADHDers for whom discipline does nothing at all, but he does
respond well to goals and positive reinforcement. So getting hauled into
the principal's office was a good thing - he didn't have the chaos of his
classroom to deal with. And getting sent home from school was even
better - he got an afternoon off!
When I suggested they start tracking positive behaviors so that I could
reward him at home if he behaved appropriately a certain percent of the
time, at first they would send home daily notes with all the times he acted
out listed - lovely, and totally had the opposite effect - they just ticked
him off.
When I finally got the school on board, they came up with this elaborate
plan - I think on purpose, because they wanted it to fail. But guess what
- it worked!
He has a spreadsheet that he carries around with him all day. Every 1/2
hour is listed, and the teacher can judge his behavior on a score of 0 - 6.
6 means no reminders at all, 5 is one reminder in a half hour period,
down to 0, exhibiting unacceptable behaviors.
I saw two flaws in the system immediately. 1) I thought the teacher
would never do it. 2) I thought my son would never get a 6, so the
system would end up frustrating him. I was wrong on both counts.
Originally he was earning "weekend privileges" like going to the movies if
he got better than 80% positive behavior. And the change was just about
immediate. So the school said, hey, this is working, lets try it with
another kid. And it worked for the second kid.
But that kid wasn't getting a weekend reward. So they started awarding
stickers for any 5's or 6's they got - which took my worries about the
impossible dream of earning a 6 out of the picture. And if they got 50
stickers - which they could easily do in a week, they have the opportunity
to earn 11 per day - they could get a small toy from their treasure chest.
That really took off when they added Bakugon cards to the chest!
Then they added another wrinkle. The school has a Wii game that is used
for therapy for kids with mobility issues. If a child gets all 6's in a day,
they get 5 minutes on the Wii, or they can buy 5 minutes with 80 stickers.
On the other hand, if they get a 0 they have to sit at a table for 2
minutes, so they also have a built in immediate yet gentle punishment for
misbehaving.
My son's behavior issues have just about disappeared. And he doesn't
even trade in his stickers for his rewards. The positive behaviors are now
just a habit for him.
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