General Instructional Guidelines
Beliefs and Assumptions
Social
1. All
individuals thrive within supportive communities or, in the words of
Alfred Adler, feel drawn to "belong and contribute" to the group.
2. Students need to develop
- the interpersonal skills necessary to maintain membership and to become an integral member of the group
- the self-esteem necessary to optimally function, and to feel good about their contribution to the group
- the ability to develop meaningful and respectful relationships with others
Emotional
1. Behavior is often reflective of emotional issues or illnesses.
2. While it may appear that a student is "choosing to misbehave" in a
given situation, there may well be underlying factors over which the
student has no true control.
3. Emotional illnesses are as real and powerful as any physical
illnesses, and though they may be manifested inwardly, can be just as
devastating to the individual.
Behavior
1. All behavior is meaningful. It serves a function, reveals a need, and can be internally or externally influenced.
2. Behavior can affect the individual's quality of life, relationships,
reputation, ability to learn, and access to less restrictive living and
learning environments.
3. All students have the right to be treated with dignity, empathy, and
genuine respect for their individual personalities, cultural/ethnic
differences, and learning styles/abilities.
4. Our role as educators is to meet the students where they are, to
address the need, to understand the purpose, and to replace the
behavior with one equally effective yet less negative in its
manifestation.
5. We support the concept of a functional assessment because it allows
us to understand the meaning of the behavior and to choose the most
appropriate intervention.