UEA - Changing the Future

There are so many things that educators in Utah do that make sense. To me, the annual Utah Educators Association conference isn't one of them. Most likely it's because I've never been that it doesn't make sense, but I have no desire to go when people I know go and complain about it. I really enjoy the Friday off it provides, though. The school where I work plans a teacher development day on the Thursday before, so that's what we did yesterday. We had a presentor come and talk about the Glenn Latham approach to student behavior. This approach is fascinating and makes so much sense. To make the presentation more real it was followed by a 'success story in progress' in our own school. It's amazing what a positive influence can do to a child. I was told once that the people who have the power to change the future are the teachers of the children; I wonder what we are teaching them. Yesterday, my roommate and I had a discussion about the adverse effects that a bad environment can have on a kid. What kind of a person does a kid who is either ignored or verbally abused at home grow up to be? How can we give this kid a chance to change, to become more than what others in his life want him to become? Glenn Latham has a good answer - be positive with him. My experience with Dr. Latham's approach has taught me that in the process of positively managing behavoir that one begins to care about the student. The postive reinforcement changes the behavior; the care changes the kid.