The teacher's secret weapon
Published:Sunday | September 8, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
As teachers islandwide take on the new school year, there is a new secret weapon at their disposal - a 105-page book, A Teacher's Guide to Understanding the Disruptive Behaviour Disorders.
When clinical psychologist Dr Pearnel Bell walked into a number of classrooms islandwide (while doing her research), she found that most of the teachers were unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with the disruptive behaviours of their students.
Seven years after she penned the first chapter, Bell has completed a tool designed to help teachers confront disruptive behaviours in their classrooms.
A few weeks ago, the author, who specialises in child, adolescent and adult interventions, launched her book, which aims to help schools, teachers and parents better understand how to deal with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD).
The landmark publication was released to a packed room of educators and administrators ahead of the new school term at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Western Jamaica campus in Montego Bay.
Bell notes that many of the country's children, particularly boys, suffer from one of the three conditions, causing frustration to the teachers who admit that they are unable to carry out the teaching process in an effective manner as a result of these disruptive behaviours.
The former teacher, who has spent 34 years in the classroom and who is currently the regional clinical psychologist for the Northeast Regional Health Authority, has literally answered the call of teachers who often complain about being unprepared to deal with these illnesses.
"I believe that, for too long, many
teachers have used unfocused methods in dealing with children with
behavioural problems, which often exacerbates the problem," explains
Bell.
"The children were suspended or expelled from
school and the teachers are completely stressed from having to contend
with behavioural problems on a daily basis," she
adds.
Dr Bell notes that the current situation in
Jamaica is grossly undermining the ability of these students to succeed
in school.
Bell, who started writing the book in 2006,
said it was a difficult task, but admits that this was the best thing
she has ever done in her career. During the time she spent researching
teachers' attitudes towards children with these disorders, Bell findings
were shocking but not surprising.
The teachers she
interviewed admitted that teacher training colleges did not prepare them
to teach disruptive students. As a result, when confronted with these
behaviours, the teachers became frustrated, angry and
annoyed.
Dr Bell notes that 'frustration' was the word
most commonly used by teachers to describe their feelings about ODD and
CD or ADHD. Children with these conditions elicited a more intense
level of anger as the teachers used words such as 'irritating' and
'annoying' to describe their feelings about the ADHD
child.
Their frustration stemmed from lack of
knowledge about the disorder; lack of resources both from the school,
parents and the Ministry of Education, a lack of strategy to deal with
these children, and large class sizes that made it difficult to deal
with individual disruptive behaviour.
"Many teachers
often use ineffective interventions that inadvertently exacerbate the
problems when dealing with children who engage in disruptive
behaviours," argues Kay Osborne of Kay Osborne and Associates and a
friend of the author.
Osborne, who read the book and
gave the keynote address at the launch, lauded Bell for introducing a
guide that "provides clear, compelling guidelines on how to better
understand each of the described disorders, laying out useful strategies
that teachers and parents may use when children persistently act out
inappropriately at schools".
Osborne said Bell has
presented tested and proven strategies for dealing with disruptive
children to facilitate desirable outcomes.
"These
include providing information on how teachers can more successfully help
these children better manage their behaviour; help teachers learn
workable strategies on how to prevent disruptive children from
distracting other students, better maintain classroom order, and
guidelines on how to avoid becoming entangled in disruptive children's
'acting out'," she explained.
In addition, the book
helps parents and teachers better understand how and when to seek
professional interventions and provides information that will help
alleviate the stress levels among teachers and parents who interact with
disruptive children.
"We commend Dr Bell for caring
enough, for being sufficiently committed to the welfare of our children
and to the welfare of teachers and parents to make it her mission to
write this guide," noted Osborne, adding that Jamaica was indebted to
the psychologist for taking the time to write this valuable guide that
deals with issues that teachers, parents and caregivers struggle with
every day, and which, left unaddressed, have dire consequences for
individuals, families, communities and the nation.
"We
owe Dr Bell a debt of gratitude for her dedication and love that have
combined to produce this guide," she
said.
Photos
by Janet Silvera