Creating a Positive Atmosphere!

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Creating a Positive Atmosphere!

• Reaching, Relating to
• and Rejoicing in
• Those Terrible Teens
• Bobbie Henley, BCIVS Jo-Anne LaForty,
  OISE/UT
• 
  roberta.henley_at_granderie.ca
  jlaforty_at_utoronto.ca

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Agenda

• Who are Our Learners/Users/Clients?
• Preventative Practices
• Positive Responses
• Final Summary

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God created teenagers to punish us so we would
know what it felt like to have someone created in
our own image that denied our existence! -
Comedian Jeff Allen
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Behaviours that annoy

• Think about teenage behaviours that get under
  your skin.
• Share these with your neighbour
• Be prepared to share with the whole group

Think, Pair, Share
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Possible reasons for adolescent behaviours

• Brains are still developing
• Hormones are raging
• Bodies are growing
• Constantly hungry
• Often sleep deprived
• Attention seeking (showing off/love interest)
• Having a bad day/week/life

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The reality of our Libraries learning commons
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Creating a Positive Learning Atmosphere!

• TECHNIQUES

Visible
Invisible
All people will break some of the rules some of
the time.
All people should follow the rules all of the
time.
BELIEFS
THINKING
Proactive
Reactive
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Managing the Atmosphere

• Prevention

Response
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A Voice from the Field
What preventative strategies are provided? How
is a warm and welcoming environment created?
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Being Preventative...

• Be open and approachable
• Show an interest in students
• Greet at the door get to know their names
• Be polite
• Smile
• Set Expectations and Routines Early
• Be consistent
• Anticipate problems
• Involve teens in all aspects of program

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Being Preventative...

• Be pro-active
• Orient new students to the facilities
• Go out to the local schools (elementary or high
  schools) and talk to potential library users
• Understand the culture of youth
• Be with it
• Use hip, friendly language for signage
• Hear the students voices
• Be technologically savvy
• Adjust your attitude

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Managing the Atmosphere

• Prevention

Response
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The Less Effective Person

• Why you did not respect that person?
• no consistency
• no follow through
• lacked sense of humour
• did not really like being there
• rude, condescending
• unfair, played favourites
• disorganized

• How he/she responded to misbehaving students
• didnt respond, ignored
• yelled
• made disparaging comments
• always asked person to leave
• not consistent in response
• painted everyone with the same brush

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The More Effective Person

• Why you did respect that person?
• sense of humour
• enthusiastic
• cared about others
• polite, fair
• warm, welcoming
• seen to be human

• How did he/she respond to misbehaving students?
• appropriate intensity
• proximity, the look, gave choices, talked
  privately, made alternative suggestions
• very polite
• consistent in approach

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Managing the Atmosphere

• Escalation of behaviour
• is usually
• the choice of the students
• but
• You can either add
• water or gasoline
• to an explosive situation.

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RESPONSES

• 1. Low Key
• 2. Intensified low key
• 3. Repertoire of Responses
• 4. Either/Or Choices
• 5. Deescalating
• Based on the work of Barrie Bennett

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1.LOW KEY RESPONSES

• Proximity
• Facial expressions
• Minimal-verbal
• Eye Contact

• Gestures
• Signals
• Ignore

Think/Pair/Share
Why are these considered low key responses ?
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LOW KEY RESPONSES

• Barely noticeable to others
• Intervention is short
• Tone remains positive

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2. INTENSIFIED LOW KEY RESPONSES

• Pause or stop
• Turn body
• Intensify eye contact
• Use minimal verbal response
• Complete with thank you

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3. A REPERTOIRE OF RESPONSES

• Make eye contact
• Smile
• Avoid the word you
• Focus on problem not person
• Explain why the behaviour is problematic
• End with a thank you

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Know the Impact of You Messages

• You Message
• You people cant sit between the shelves. You
  have to move.

Not You Message Its not a good idea to sit
between the shelves as it blocks other students.
Lets find another spot. Thank you.
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Lets Practice!

• Think of a library situation that might
  create conflict.
• Use a you or confrontational statement to
  respond to the situation on the paper provided.
• Scrunch your paper into a snowball and throw
  it into the basket

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• Pick up one of the snowballs from the basket.
• Rephrase the statement into an I or
  positive message and tell it to the person
  beside you.
• Lets share some before and after statements.

Snowball Activity
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EITHER/OR CHOICES

• Task
• As a group, examine the list of choices
  on the sheet provided.
• Follow the directions included
• Record the characteristics of effective
  choices.
• Be prepared to share with the large group.

Concept Attainment
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Critical Attributes of Effective Choices

• The choice is
• related to the misbehavior.
• not seen as a punishment.
• given as immediately as possible.
• not an ultimatum.
• done in a positive or neutral tone.
• You can follow through on the choice.

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• Escalation of behaviour
• is usually
• the choice of the students
• but
• You can either add
• water or gasoline
• to an explosive situation.

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De-escalating the Situation

• Student refuses to put away food.
• Response Aw, come on Bill, its no big deal.
  All Im asking you to do is put away the food.
  Thank you. And move on.
• Student I dont care what you do.
• Response I care. We have a problem and I
  cant leave until its resolved.
• Student Other kids do it.
• Response Some might, but right now the problem
  is between us. So where do we go from here?

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Conclusion

• I am every emotion times ten, I conform yet I'm
  rebellious, always obeying but somehow still an
  outlaw, always talking but never heard, I am a
  teenager.Author Unknown
• Children today show no respect for their elders
  and tyrannize over their parents. Socrates
• There is nothing wrong with today's teenager that
  twenty years won't cure.  Author Unknown

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• Selected Resources
• Bennett, Barrie and Smilanich, Peter.
  (nd)Classroom management A thinking caring
  approach. Ajax, Ontario. Bookation.
• Gallaway, Beth. (2005) Pain in the brain Teen
  library behaviour 101. NMRLS Presentation.
• Harden, Susan and Higgins, Melanie. (2004) Here
  comes trouble A sure-fire approach that works
  with unruly teens. School Library Journal.
• Nunley, Kathy. Brain.org Practical classroom
  applications of current brain research.
  www.brain.org