Question 1

William Glasser bases his management of children in the classroom on the meeting of their basic Drivers. Explain how you would act in a classroom to ensure that the 5 drivers in Year 9 students are met and thus allow effective learning to take place.

The five basic drivers are:

• Survival (food, clothing, shelter, breathing, personal safety and others)
• Belonging/connecting/love
• Power/significance
• Freedom/responsibility, and
• Fun/learning

Working in the classroom my approach is this:

• I ensure that students are physically and emotionally safe. Physical: In the workshop this means very clear and strict enforcement of safety standards. Emotional/Physical: in the classroom this means creating a safe space where bullying is less likely to occur, and dealing promptly and carefully with bullying when it does occur. I avoid at all costs getting hooked into power/control issues, but rather try to defuse them by using humour or giving other options.
• I ensure that students are welcomed and treated as individuals. As time permits I take a moment to speak to students by name and inquire about things that I know they are interested in. If I have an issue with a student I ensure that I never speak negatively about the student, but only refer to the students behaviour. (Belonging)
  
• Whenever I set an assessment task I return students marked work the next day which gives immediate and direct positive feedback. This also gives students the message that I value the work that they do, and value them. (Belonging, Significance, Love)
• If students do not complete assessment tasks I enforce consequences consistently and firmly (Responsibility)
  
• I ensure that wherever possible students have some choice about what they learn or how they learn. This gives the students some sense of power over their own education and also a sense of freedom. (Power, Freedom)
• I endeavor to find a way to make topics fun, by using some humor, making connections to historical or topical events or people, setting challenges, posing brain teasers or conundrums, by playing the devils advocate, and by including activities suited to different intelligences. (Fun, Freedom, Learning, Connecting)

I like Glasser's approach with Choice Therapy which states that the only behaviour we can control is our own. For me this is about letting go, and allowing students to be themselves. My hope is that by modelling some of the methods of Choice therapy in the classroom students will also pick up some of the tools and ideas and incorporate them into their own ways of working. If students understood that they cannot control their feelings, but can control how they think, and what they do then I believe they would be better able to deal with their world.

Glasser argues that unhappiness is usually the result of failed relationships. As a teacher this is a strong message to make sure that I maintain the quality of my relationships with all the students in the class. I am convinced that by making the effort to build good relationships I will circumvent or minimise instances of bad student behaviour.

The idea of doing prevention instead of a cure is a good one. If inappropriate behaviour is the result of unfulfilled needs then it is sensible to try to understand and meet the needs before the behaviour becomes evident. Thus I would act as a teacher as I have outlined above to try to meet the five driver needs through the regular teaching activities.