They were able to able to establish a valuing relationship with Sue and decrease the frequency of her aggressive outbursts. In addition, the amount of time spent in positive interaction after the workshop.
Some concerns and questions arose during the workshop. A few people were concerned that we were pushing Sue beyond the limits of her endurance. Initially the valuing was too animated and therefore seemed artificial. The energy required to bring about participation was too great. In addition, the group asked: how meaningful were the activities? Had we eliminated her aggression to the degree hoped for? How would we do Gentle Teaching in the classrom?
The Transition to the Classroom
We had worked with Sue in a setting separate from the classroom, using
normal voices and plenty of activity and enthusiasm. Some participants
thought that using Gentle Teaching in the classroom would be disruptive
and intrusive.
However, others argued that past behaviour-management programs, such as
taking Sue to time-out, had been disruptive.
Despite the doubts, most participants felt that working preventively to
establish relationships would, over the long term, lessen the likelihood
of disruptions, as opposed to simply reacting and trying to control her
outbursts.
Some attention was paid to the setup of the classroom. If classrooms were going to be controlled environments where students sat in rows facing the teacher and were quiet most of the time, than any intervention was going to be a distraction to the class. If classrooms were places where students interacted with each other, then disruption would be less obvious.
Activities during the workshop were geared to Sue’s interests and abilities. After the workshop these or similar activities were adapted and used in the daily routine in class. The materials and methods in the training sessions were only a starting point for participation; novel and more complex materials needed to be introduced as soon as meaningful interactions were established.
