This workshop is the first in AED’s “Understanding Student Behavior and Classroom Management in the Middle Grades” series. Staff from AED partner schools and students in Bank Street College of Education’s Middle Grades and Leadership programs may attend.

Perhaps the most basic choice for educators is whether to do things to students or to work with them. “Doing to” techniques include punitive consequences as well as rewards (including “positive reinforcement”). Unfortunately, this approach turns out to be ineffective in the long run and may even undermine students’ interest in learning, their concern for others, and their capacity to take responsibility.

By contrast, a “working with” approach building on what we know about young adolescent development involves the creation of a caring classroom community in which students actively participate in making decisions. The teacher’s first question is not “How do I control these kids?” but “What do these kids need – and how can I meet those needs?”

Working with renowned educational thinker Alfie Kohn, workshop participants will learn how to develop the mindsets and strategies for building communities of engaged and invested students.

Logistics

• Tuesday, September 22, 2009

• 4:00 – 6:30 pm (refreshments will be served after the event)

• The Lighthouse Conference Center
  111 East 59th Street
  New York, NY 10022-1202
  Tel: 212-821-9217
  http://www.lhiconferencecenter.com