Category: OC in the Class Room ¤ Author: Susan Smethurst ¤ Title: OC to Modify the Behavior of Colleagues ¤ I know I'm a little late jumping in on this thread (behind on my mail -- too much partying!) but you might find a recent experience of mine interesting. If not, just hit DELETE... Like Ann, I'm a special education teacher -- in my case,at a junior high. I was transferred there last year (NOT voluntarily, it was an administrative reorganization). Coming from a very co-operative work environment which really fostered teamwork, problem solving, etc. to this school was a big shock. I had been warned (about this place), but had never met such gratuitously nasty people as some of the teachers in this school. They were rude and abusive to each other, and especially to newcomers -- played a mean game of Get The New Person. I found the negative atmosphere incredibly depressing and found myself coming in the back door so as to avoid them. Then I remembered Karen Pryor's story in DSTD about a young newlywed whose husband and father-in-law were selfish, inconsiderate boors and how she developed civil behaviour in them (over time) using OC principles. In this vein I decided to target the three worst offenders, who were all on my wing. I decided, as a first step, to stop avoiding them and enter by the front door, passing these people in the halls etc. and greeting them with eye contact, warmth, and use of their name. If the response was a surly snarl, obscenity, or whatever I ignored it and continued on my way. If the response was neutral (a grunt) or vaguely civil, I followed it with full attention and an open-ended comment or question. Most teachers, even mediocre ones, are starved for recognition and appreciation for the work they do, the thought and time they put in above and beyond what is required -- I looked for things I could praise in these individuals. Had to be TRUE, and SPECIFIC. Comments like, "You sure put a lot of work into this unit" opened the floodgates! Over a period of two or three months, these grumpy and hostile people started smiling back, waving from a distance, inviting me into their rooms to share experiences or show off student work, asking my opinion on items, sharing jokes....unbelievable! (they still treated other people on staff the same old way). From this I learned that focused attention is an incredibly powerful reinforcer for most adults (note: it CANNOT be faked) -- I am not someone in authority who has other goodies to use as R+. But the (gradual) change in these people's behaviour was mind-boggling, and certainly made it a nicer place for me to work. The down side is when you look for the good in people to reinforce it, you start to like them! I realize these are rather limited individuals in many ways (or they wouldn't be wasting their time bullying other adults in the workplace) but now I see some real gifts that each one has and genuinely appreciate them. I only wish principals and supervisors were required to learn about OC -- imagine what a positive effect they could have on staff performance, overall school morale and achievement. When I tell people I learned more about teaching (thinking sequentially/incrementally, keep it short and interesting, vary the pace, keep the goal in mind...) from dog training than from graduate degrees in educational assessment and special education programming, they think I'm kidding. But it is so true! Susan S. & the quadrupeds Freelton, Ontario, Canada palisades@bigwave.ca Shelties & Burmese cats