By Kim Doleatto, Sarasota Herald Tribune, October 27, 2019 -
In many elementary schools, it’s easy to know who the class clown is, because on a thermometer cutout on the wall, a clothespin with their name is clipped to the red zone. Likewise, it’s easy to see the names of the “good kids.”
But should it be?
Behavior charts are still widely used as discipline tools, and for teachers with at least 20 students to manage, they may be effective. But for students who have experienced trauma, it can be just the opposite.
“The belief is if we acknowledge positive behavior it will be increased. But it’s like a public shaming, and a child with trauma processes it differently,” said Amanda Small, a social worker at a charter school in Indiana where almost half of the students have a family member who has been or is incarcerated, or are living with a distant family member because of court-ordered separation.
Such circumstances are known as Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs.
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