Teaching Character Education To A Unique Audience

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Teaching Character Education To A Unique Audience

• By Jennifer E. Chavez
• Special Education Teacher
• Specializing in
• Emotional Disturbances Learning Disabilities
• Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Overview

• The information I provide via this presentation
  is based on my experience as a Special Education
  Teacher, Behavior Management Specialist, Pupil
  Advocacy Liaison, Program Manager, Author or
  Childrens Literature, and Youth Program
  Development Specialist.

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Presentation Goal

• To help individuals understand the relationship
  between childhood trauma such as domestic
  violence or child abuse, the eligibility of
  emotionally disturbed, the term at-risk and how
  it all relates to character education.

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Objectives

• To identify three ways to help integrate
  at-risk youth into society while understanding
  the existing disparity and perception.
• To identify four methods for integrating
  Character Education when working with at-risk
  youth.
• To effectively describe the three most important
  factors in working with at-risk youth biology,
  experiences and needs of at-risk adolescents.

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The Concept of At-Risk

• At Risk for what?
• Experiencing Teen Pregnancy
• More prone to engage in abusive relationships
  (teen-dating violence
• Dropping out of school
• Involvement with gangs
• Prone to criminal activity and the juvenile
  justice system
• Higher incidence of bullying or being victimized
• Depression Suicide

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Emotional Disturbance

• Many terms are used to describe emotional,
  behavioral or mental disorders. Currently,
  students with such disorders are categorized as
  having an emotional disturbance, which is defined
  under the Individuals with Disabilities Education
  Act as follows"...a condition exhibiting one
  or more of the following characteristics over a
  long period of time and to a marked degree that
  adversely affects a child's educational
  performance--
• (A) An inability to learn that cannot be
  explained by intellectual, sensory, or health
  factors.(B) An inability to build or maintain
  satisfactory interpersonal relationships with
  peers and teachers.(C) Inappropriate types of
  behavior or feelings under normal
  circumstances.(D) A general pervasive mood of
  unhappiness or depression.(E) A tendency to
  develop physical symptoms or fears associated
  with personal or school problems." Code of
  Federal Regulations, Title 34, Section
  300.7(c)(4)(i)
• As defined by the IDEA, emotional disturbance
  includes schizophrenia but does not apply to
  children who are socially maladjusted, unless it
  is determined that they have an emotional
  disturbance. Code of Federal Regulation, Title
  34, Section 300.7(c)(4)(ii)

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What is Character Education?

• The Definition of Character Education
• According to ASCDEducation Topics
  (www.ascd.org), character education involves
  teaching children about basic human values
  including honesty, kindness, generosity, courage,
  freedom, equality, and respect.
• .The goal is to raise children to become morally
  responsible, self-disciplined citizens. Problem
  solving, decision making, and conflict resolution
  are important parts of developing moral
  character. Through role playing and discussions,
  students can see that their decisions affect
  other people and things.
• Source From The Language of Learning A Guide to
  Education Terms, by J. L. McBrien R. S. Brandt,
  pp. 17-18, 1997, Alexandria, VA Association for
  Supervision and Curriculum Development. 

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Character Can Be More

• Through my experiences, I have developed the
  following opinion in regard to character
• Character is more than simply something we are
  working towards or are to become, it is also what
  we already are. It is the unique nature of all
  of us. It is how we see the world, how we relate
  to others, and how we show the world who we are.
  The definition of characterwhat we work towards
  might be the same for all of us, but the concept
  of characterwhat we already areis what makes us
  unique. We all have our own sense of
  characterwho we are in the world, what we have
  to offer, and the steps we take towards growth,
  which happens individually and at the pace it
  needs to.

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Destination vs. Journey

• Character Education is the destination
• Focus on the journey, which looks different to
  all of us
• We do not all have to arrive to the same place in
  the same way
• We all have different experiences that shape our
  perception
• Our goal as educators is to help young people on
  their journey
• We do not necessarily have to tell them but
  rather show them

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There are People with Differences Among us
Everywhere

• Reflect for a moment on the following question
• How is a student with an Emotional Disturbance
  (ED) or a Behavior Disorder (BD) different from
  what most consider as the traditional or
  average student?

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To Better Understand the concept of Character
Education as it relates to students with special
needs, we must understand the following

• How to honor differences
• Overcoming trauma in order to develop citizenship
  and character
• Perceived stigma of having a disability
• A feeling of disconnectedness
• A desire to belong
• A fear of judgment
• Understanding mental illness and learning
  disabilities
• Kids with Emotional Disturbances see the world
  through a different lens

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Seeing the World Through A Different Lens

• We all see the world through a different lens,
  but kids with disabilities and emotional
  disturbances (mental illness), see the world in a
  unique way. Statistics tell us that social
  skills are a problem for kids that have a
  disability.

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SOCIAL SKILLS DEFICIT

• Social skills are the most problematic for all
  categories of youth about 6 in 10 youth with
  disabilities have moderate social skills scores,
  with about 1 in 6 having high skills and 1 in 5
  having low skills. Low social skills ratings are
  particularly prevalent for youth with emotional
  disturbances. (National Longitudinal Transition
  Study 2)

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Honoring Differences

• Understand that differences exist
• A one size fits all approach will not work
• Conflict resolution looks different to different
  people
• Lack of impulse control
• Sensory overload
• Highly reactive due to personal experience
• Learning Functions of Behavior
• Difficulty with delayed responses or gratification

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Dr. Northrops View on The Age of Reason

• In one of Dr. Christine Northrops recent books,
  Mother-Daughter Wisdom, she discusses in
  Chapter 11The Age of ReasonDeveloping a Moral
  Compass, the concept of moral understanding in
  relationship to early childhood experiences, the
  developing brain, the concept of morality and
  moral conflicts.

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Words of Wisdom from Dr. Northrop

• Moral Understanding Here Comes The Judge
• The growth spurt of a childs brain at latency
  is accompanied by a change in his/her moral
  understanding. Before the age of seven, a
  childs moral world is concrete and can be
  divided into me versus you, right versus wrong,
  and black versus white. But now he/she has the
  capacity to understand not only abstract
  conceptslike the fact that twenty-five pennies
  is not better than a quarterbut also shades of
  gray between what is absolutely right and
  absolutely wrong. Now it is the time for a child
  to develop an internally consistent moral
  structure so that she can successfully negotiate
  the many choices that he/she will be faced with
  in life.
• (Northrop, P. 293)

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AGE OF REASON
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First Stage Pre-Conventional Morality

• Age Three Months to Four to Seven Years
• According to Dr. Northrop, the first stage of
  morality is egocentric. The child is focused on
  his/her own needs, period. They dont yet have
  the brain development necessary to appreciate
  both their needs and those of another at the same
  time. The right of others are irrelevant. In
  the later years of pre-conventional morality, a
  child may acknowledge that other people have
  interests too, but their own needs take
  precedence in almost any situation. (Northrop,
  Page. 295)

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Second Stage Conventional Morality

• Ages Four to SevenThrough Puberty
• According to Dr. Northrop, during the second
  stage of morality, the child experiences being
  good as living up to what others expect of them.
  The highest level of morality is embodied in the
  rules and regulations put forth by institutions
  such as the legal system, religious institutions,
  schools and the government. For example, a
  child at the conventional stage will often be
  very vocal when they see rules being broken.

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Third Stage Post-Conventional Morality

• Ages Twelve to Fourteen into Adulthood
• According to Dr. Northrop, as a child leaves the
  innocence of middle childhood and nears puberty,
  his/her brain will increasingly be open to shades
  of gray between absolute right and absolute
  wrong in a given situation. Individuals at
  this level will consider both moral and legal
  points of view in a given situation and recognize
  that these may be in conflict. They may make
  their decision about what is right based on the
  principle of the greatest good for all concerned,
  and they are willing to make exceptions to the
  rules in individual cases. At this stage of
  development, their frontal executive brain
  function and orbito-frontal brains operate in
  partnership. Along with this comes mental
  flexibility The capacity to know when to be
  conservatively law-abiding and when to be more
  liberal in applying a rule. (Northrop, P. 297)

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EMOTIONALLY DISURBED STUDENT THE AGE OF REASON

• What have I observed over the years?
• Kids with emotional disturbances or those
  at-risk tend to spend the majority of their
  time in the first stage
• Age is irrelevant (incorrect perception regarding
  the old saying ofact your age)
• Experience is everything
• An emotional need often hasnt or isnt being met
• Sometimes a physical need isnt being met
• Sometimes brain development has been stunted due
  to trauma
• Understanding the emotional brain vs. the
  executive brain
• Getting stuck in latency

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More Essentials From Dr. Northrop..

• A childs early bonding experiences set the
  stage for his/her later moral development,
  because morality is built upon the ability to
  bond with and have empathy for others. Without
  these qualities, individuals become amoral and
  sociopathic they dont care about others and
  feel as though the rules dont apply to them.
  (Northrop, P. 294)

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Overcoming Trauma In Order To Potentially Develop
Citizenship Character

• When discussing Trauma, I am referring to the
  following
• Witnessing domestic violence
• Experiencing physical abuse
• The victim of sexual abuse
• Witnessing a murder or rape of a relative
• Enduring emotional abuse
• Physical and emotional needs not being met
  (neglect)
• Abandonment
• Separation from relatives or loved ones
• Apathy surrounding worth as a person

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Mikas Story

• Early Childhood Trauma Leads to Acting Out in
  Adolescent Years
• YES OR NO?

Anger Aggression
Repressed Memories-possibly impaired cognitive
function
Difficulty Bonding
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Dr. Northrops Love Maps

• What are love maps?
• According to Dr. Northrop, love maps are how we
  encode mood and relationships as established
  through our early experiences.
• Love Maps are about what we believe love and
  acceptance should look like.

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Danger of Deflation

• What does this mean?
• According to research as described by Dr.
  Northrop, it has been shown that at fifteen to
  sixteen months of age, a child is particularly
  vulnerable to what is known as the danger of
  deflationcaused by the mothers lack of
  interest or inability to mirror her childs
  excitement back.

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Example of Deflation

• If a mother doesnt smile back to her when
  her child gets excited about something, the
  childs mood deflates. When children feel
  something, they naturally look around to see if
  others mirror their feelings. If they dont, the
  child feels ridiculous and ashamed for feeling
  joy or a positive emotion. (Northrop, P. 264)

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Causes of Distorted Love Maps
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The Perceived Stigma of Having A Disability

• Students are well aware of societys perception
  regarding differences and view it as negative
• A feeling of not being good enough
• I dont feel accepted
• Most kids try to hide their disability, which
  increases shame
• Reliving abandonment and rejection
• Fear of rejection begets anger
• Feeling overwhelmedan energy leak

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Toms Story

Tom is caught between the honoring his basic
needs, which are in search of love and acceptance
and his journey towards self-actualization and
self-acceptance. Can he honor who he really
is or does he feel he has to be something he
isnt?
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What can WE Do to help Tom, Mika and others like
them?

• Fortunately, there is a lot we can do. I
  suggest
• We can learn to better understand the student
• How do we do this?
• WE LISTEN! ACTIVELY LISTEN
• WE CANT PRETEND TO CARE

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What else can we do?

• Attempt to gain prior knowledge
• Place emphasis on building relationships
• Help primarily concrete thinkers understand more
  abstract concepts
• Determine how they view the worldwhat does
  character mean to them?
• Learn more about societys expectations regarding
  character and responsibility
• Create an unconditional environment where
  acceptance is the priority
• Help meet basic needs
• Demonstrate trustfollow through
• Have a visible and known teaching philosophy
• Model the behaviors you desire to see
• Communicate interdependency
• Learn more about emotional programminghabits and
  how to work with them.
• Honor choicedont expect to change anybody and
  dont force a concept upon somebody attempting to
  change perceptions
• The difference between a bad person and a bad
  action. Remembering that these students
  internalize and personalize
• Dont personalize emotional comments and abuse
• Practice patienceone may need to model and
  display something ten times squared
• Dont expect to see a quick turnaround in regard
  to behavior. You are planting a seed that you
  may never see bloom, but you must have faith that
  it will.
• You must remain calm. Even if we dont like
  their response, we need to honor their perception
• Never shamea consequence and a negative response
  are different

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Remember.

• According to Northrop, a child whose primal
  emotion is despair and sadness is apt to bond
  with people who are happy, and as a result will
  use another persons upbeat mood to regulate his
  or her own sadness. This is referred to as a
  hyperbond.

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Integration Into Society

• We are all aware of societies expectations
  regarding character and integrity
• Know that these youth are also aware
• Honor their frustration level and fear in regard
  to this
• Know that it will not be easyhard work will be
  involved
• Teach youth about real-life consequences
• Help the student to increase their own
  self-esteem
• Know your own limitations
• Teach tolerance by displaying tolerance
• Be aware of your own biases and judgments because
  they will stand in the way when not aware
• Be critically reflectiveremember nobody is
  perfect
• Do not personalize
• Dont lose energy by trying to change societys
  perception. That has to happen over time. Focus
  on the task at hand
• Focus on successes and not on failures
• The past is the pastwe can learn from it but we
  cant change it

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Contact Information

• Jennifer E. Chavez
• Teacher, Grant Writer, Youth Program Development
  Specialist
• 1505 Marron NE
• Albuquerque, NM 87112
• jenechavez0511_at_yahoo.com
• [phone]