Journal assignment #1

1. Identifying and serving students with behavior problems:

The chapter focuses on demonstrating the challenges faced by the schools today to address the unique needs of increasingly diverse students. It stresses on meeting higher standards of student achievement, to create safe and competent learning environment. Therefore, it is acknowledged that the behavioral needs of the students cannot be ignored and schools must be prepared to serve the full range of student behavior. Provision in both IDEA and NCLB support community- based collaboration in designing appropriate educational services for students with special needs. ( Eber & Keenan, 2004). This provision undertakes the financial responsibility for services, and funds to support interdisciplinary staff training for addressing the needs of students with challenging behavior and their families. This urged to develop new approaches of: school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS)-includes use of effective host environment such as policies, structures, and routines through three different level of interventions; response to intervention (RtI)-identifies students who need more intensive levels of intervention based on the failure to responds successfully to previous level of intervention attempted’ and evidence-based practices- studies supported by scientific research in clinical psychology to address the student needs. The school team consistently works to serve these behavioral needs of the student but the challenge cannot be handled alone. Hence, the school staff forms a team with other professionals, parents, and representatives of local community in developing innovative strategies to direct the full range of behavior. Due to the law inclusion, teachers’ are expected to educate students with disabilities in the same classroom with their typical peers, which have increased the need for strategies that provide effective support for students’ and teachers as well. This chapter has open new horizons for my existing knowledge. I was a teacher back home; hence, I have stumble upon many students as Tracy and Rodney. I was the only teacher responsible for the class of 60 students. There wasn’t much that I could do to meet the unique needs of the student with behavioral disorder that obstructed their learning as well created unsafe environment for the peers too. I would often find myself helpless when one of the students who I can now recognize as having EBD would distract himself by running across the classroom when asked to work, not following the school rules, talking loudly in the class; and disturbing the whole class during the class time. I regret for that time, as there was no training or support available for the teachers or any provisions that would assist us in serving the needs of an EBD student. I can now use my current knowledge and awareness on the topic in identifying the needs of these behavioral challenge kids and would certainly work towards to reduce their vulnerability. All in all, I find the provisions under IDEA and NCLB as the main source in identifying the students special needs because if these would not exist than school personnel wouldn’t have interventions, plans and support to address the needs of the child. I wish government agencies in our country would also make an effort in putting up the programs and plan to help address those needs.

2. School wide positive behavior support (SWPBS).

SWPBS is an intense and precautionary approach in bringing desirable behavioral change in all the students and staff at school. It lays emphasis on supporting students’ social behavior. Three tiers of prevention and intervention are implemented which commits in applying universal positive strategies which involves- redesigning the environment (increasing prompts for appropriate behavior, minimizing triggers for problem behavior), (b) establishing a small number of positively stated