Dr. Gerald Wade Neal, Pfeiffer University
NC Middle School Association Conference, March 13-15, 2011
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Addressing Student Needs: The Foundation for Learning and
Development
The Doorway to Success
Classroom Arrangement and Atmosphere
The First 10 Minutes
Minimizing Disciplinary Action
Personalizing the Instructional Presentation: Introduction and
Extension
The Missing Link: Establishing a Sense of Belonging and Building
Self-Esteem
Student-Centered Approaches to High-Anxiety Assessment: End
of Course/Grade Test Anxiety Busters
Cooperation: Overcoming the Unseen yet Toxic Effects of
“Healthy” Competition
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4 children are killed by abuse or neglect
5 children, or teens, commit suicide
8 children are killed by firearms
181 children are arrested for violent crimes
383 children are arrested for drug abuse
2,383 children are reported abused or neglected
1,153 babies are born to teen mothers
2,411 babies are born into poverty
2,261 children drop out of high school
4,356 children are arrested
9,200,000 children are without health insurance
12,423,000 children live in poverty
Children's Defense Fund 2008.
BAGGAGE
All the children included in these
statistics (and more categories
not listed) come to school
carrying their burdens and issues
with them. By default our
schools have become the focus
of efforts to address multiple
issues. Schools readily admit they
are both inadequately informed
and inadequately prepared for
this immense task.
ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS THAT
INFLUENCE
PSYCHOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENT
Those directly related to
“CLASSROOM” are “FAMILY” &
“PEER GROUP”
http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/earlyyears/eresource/information-professionals/effective-practice/what-does-the-evidence-tell-us/
About 1 in 4 white children, 1 in 3 Hispanic children, & 2 of 3 black children
• Children in single-parent families score lower on
standardized tests and to receive lower grades in school.
•Children in single-parent families are nearly twice as
likely to drop out of school.
•Children living in single-parent homes or in stepfamilies report lower educational expectations, and less
social supervision.
•At least one-third of children experiencing a parental
separation "demonstrated a significant decline in
academic performance" persisting at least three years.
http://www.photius.com/feminocracy/facts_on_fatherless_kids.html
http://www.jointcenter.org/DB/factsheet/sigpatn.htm
Children from Fatherless
Homes Account for:
63% of youth suicides.
(Source: US Dept. of Health & Human Services, Bureau of the Census)
71% of pregnant teenagers. (Source: US Dept. of Health & Human Services)
90% of all homeless and runaway children (Source: US Dept. of Health
& Human Services)
Matthew Robinson, "What Causes School Violence?" Investor's Business Daily, November 12, 1997.
In 1995 The FBI reported 27% of
all violent crimes involves family on
family violence…These statistics
grossly underestimates the
violence in the home because it is
likely that fewer than 5% of
domestic violence is ever reported.
--Dr. Bruce Perry
A three year old child’s
drawing of his angry
father.
It is estimated that between 5% and 10% of all child
abuse is reported.
In NC, CPS investigates about half of all reported
cases (52% in 2002). Scotland County investigated 7%
in 2002.
In all cases, teachers report about 15%.
The victims report 0.6 %
(The parent of the child in the X-Ray told caseworkers that
he fell out of bed. The arm is broken in two places.)
•http://preilly.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/who-reports-child-abuse.jpg
Gerald Neal Quiet Desperation
27% of
females and
16% of males
claim to have
been sexually
abused.
Half of the females who reported rapes
were under the age of 18, 16% (1 in 6)
were under 12.
www.a-team.org/child_abuse_statistics.html
POVERTY
“One in six
children in
America lives
in poverty.”
-Save the Children
“The strongest predictor of student
achievement is parents' income.”
http://granby01033.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-poverty-stupid-education-academic.html
Compared to children whose families earned $30,000 or more, children in families with
annual incomes below $15,000 were:
•More than 25 times more likely to experience maltreatment
•More than 44 times more likely to be neglected
•Over 22 times more likely to be seriously injured
•60 times more likely to die from maltreatment
-Gerald Neal. Quiet Desperation
•8% of students miss 1 day of class per
month for fear of being BULLIED.
•43% fear harassment in the bathroom at
school.
•60% of those characterized as bullies in
grades 6-9 had at least one criminal
conviction by age 24.
•70% of middle school students feel that
there is a bullying problem in their schools.
25% of the teachers in those schools felt
bullying was a problem.
http://members.aol.com/kthynoll/schools.htm
•SEX
•DRUGS &
ALCOHOL
•GANGS
•CRIME
•BULLYING
•DISHONESTY
The Hippocampus: Memory and Learning
amygdala
Repeated stress appears to inhibit the development of neurons in one part
of the hippocampus and cause atrophy in another. These changes are
related to some of the observed functional problems with memory and
learning that accompany stress-related syndromes, including post-traumatic
stress disorder.
(PTSD: see Perry & Azad, 1999). (Sapolsky & Plotsky, 1990; Sapolsky et al., 1990).
The underdeveloped Corpus
Collosum makes it difficult for
one hemisphere of the brain to
communicate with the other.
This impedes or destroys:
creativity
problem solving
regulating emotions
cause and effect thinking
social abilities
communicating emotions
Neal, Quite Desperation, 2008
Healthy Brain
Traumatized
Brain
BLOOM’S
TAXONOMY
COGNITIVE LEARNING BEGINS
???MISSING LINK ???
HEALTH/SAFETY ENDS
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The many causes of stress and the
severity of its impact on student
behavior and achievement
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What the teacher can and cannot do;
what the teacher can and cannot be
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The importance of a simple greeting on
behavior, academic performance, and
meeting student needs
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That cognitive development is minimal
until basic needs are met
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The significance of Belonging and SelfEsteem in psychological development
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled
masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse
of your teeming shore. Send these homeless,
tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside that
golden door"
“I saw the Statue of Liberty. And I said to
myself, ‘Lady, you're such a beautiful! You
opened your arms and you get all the foreigners
here. Give me a chance to prove that I am worth
it, to do something, to be someone in America.’
And always that statue was on my mind.”
(Moreno, 2000, p. 65.)
THE STATUE OF
LIBERTY AS A
SYMBOL
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OPPORTUNITY
ACCEPTANCE
PROMISE / HOPE
SAFETY
KNOWLEDGE
JUSTICE
FREEDOM
HAPPINESS
The Torch symbolizes
that light (or
enlightenment) is the
key to achieving
freedom. Without
seeing that freedom
exists, one cannot
obtain it.
TEACHERS ARE
ALSO LIGHT
BEARERS.
The statue wears a crown with seven spikes. This
represents the 7 seas and 7 continents of the
world.
A TEACHER ALSO WELCOMES A DIVERSE
POPULATION
The Statue holds a tablet in her left hand, a book of
law based on the founding principles of this nation-
law.
TEACHERS ARE
AUTHORITY
FIGURES WHO
FOLLOW CODES
AND RULES BY
ENFORCING AN
ETHICAL
CONCEPT OF
JUSTICE.
The tablet's shape is called
a keystone. In architecture,
a keystone is the stone
which keeps the others
together. Without it
everything would fall apart.
THEREFORE,
TEACHERS ARE
KEYSTONES.
Body Language
Even though the Statue stands on a pedestal, she
is actually walking ahead moving forward. This
goddess is lighting the path for others to follow.
A TEACHER’S BODY LANGUAGE
SHOULD INVITE, ENCOURAGE, &
LEAD STUDENTS.
Located at the Statue's
feet symbolize the
freedom that Lady
Liberty has. It
demonstrates that the
Statue is free from
slavery and bondage.
TEACHERS ALSO MUST
ADVOCATE FOR THE
NEEDY IN TODAY’S
SCHOOLS.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse…the homeless, tempest-tost to me.”
Does this
describe
your
students?
WHAT DO YOU SYMBOLIZE
TO YOUR STUDENTS?
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Do you hold the torch of
enlightenment for them?
Does your crown embrace
diversity?
Do your arms protect the
keystone?
Do they celebrate the
freedoms you provide?
Do your students think
“such a beautiful!” when
they see you?
“Kind words can
be short and
easy to speak,
but their echoes
are truly
endless.”
-Mother Teresa
Wal-Mart has grown to become
the nation’s largest retailer
through customer service and
proactive leadership. The first
step in each of these two
components of their business
model is greeting the individual
customer at the door.
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From the Wal-Mart
Training Manual:
Provide superior customer
service to every customer
who walks in the store
Quickly evaluate a
customer’s needs upon
entering the store
Build rapport with new
and long-time customers
Acknowledge customer
concerns
Be proactive rather than
reactive
http://liblogs.albany.edu/library20/2006/11/wal-mart_greeters_in_the_library.html
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CHARACTERISTICS OF
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Listening
Dealing with
complaints/problems
Helpfulness
Concern for the
customer/valuing the
customer
Taking the extra step
 Attitudes
 Supplies
 Questions
 Illness
 Directives
“Rapport seems to
facilitate both student
motivation for learning
and their enjoyment of
the course, and
enhances student
receptivity to what is
being taught.”
http://www.socialpsychology.org
/rapport.htm
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Refer to students by name
Show interest in their interests and
abilities
Smile
Use humor on occasion
Interact with students
Be available
Be happy to see them
Believe each student will succeed.
Know that everyone want to be
needed, want to belong.
"One friend, one person
who is truly
understanding, who
takes the trouble to
listen to us as we
consider a problem,
can change our whole
outlook on the world."
— Dr. E. H. Mayo
Be Proactive: “The windshield is bigger
than the rearview mirror.” Tom Daschle
•To be proactive, ask
yourself what is likely to
happen, and act before it
happens.
•It takes energy to rise
above the difficulties of
the moment, to see the
big picture and to make
the changes you need to
make.
http://www.proactivechange.com/how/proactive-reactive.htm
In South Carolina in 2007, a
study was conducted to
determine the impact of
greeting middle school
students as they enter
the classroom.
Students who had a history
of off-task behavior
were monitored to see
how often they stayed
on task during the first
10 minutes of class.
http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/articles/2007/jaba-40-020317.pdf
First, they were
monitored
without teacher
greetings over an
extended period
of time.
http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/articles/2007/jaba-40-02-0317.pdf
Students who were NOT GREETED at the
doorway were on-task during the first 10
minutes of class under 46% of the time.
Then the teacher
started greeting
the students in
the study by
name as they
entered the
classroom,
complimenting
or welcoming
them very
briefly.
These “problem” students who were
on task less than 46% of the time
during the first 10 minutes of class
when the teacher did not greet the
students, were on task 73% of the
time during the first ten minutes of
class following a brief greeting at
the door as they entered the
classroom.
Students in introductory psychology courses who
received teachers' personal recognition before class
begins ("Hello, I am glad you're in class today.") did
significantly better on a class test than the same
students who did not receive such pre-class attention.
College Student Journal, June, 2009 , Lawrence Weinstein, Antonio Laverghetta, Ralph Alexander, Megan Stewart
Students want to belong.
Students appreciate being
appreciated.
Students thrive on positive
energy.
Students prosper in a
productive climate.
Students work harder for adults
they like.
Students will take interest in
someone who takes interest
in them.
Students are humans who feed
on positives.
Become the torchbearer with the power to
meet each student’s needs. Greet the
“tired,” “poor,” “wretched refuse,” and
“huddled masses” at the gateway to the
“land of opportunity” just beyond the
threshold of your door. Instill a sense of
belonging and create a climate of
exploration and discovery.
Associate Professor
Pfeiffer University
(704) 985-1681
(704) 224-6317
gerald.neal@fsmail.pfeiffer.edu
drgwneal@gmail.com
COVER: Quiet Desperation, Hamilton Books, 2008 >