October 16, 2009
A dear friend and mentor of ours, Michael Grinder, has had a huge influence on both our personal and teaching lives. If you are familiar with his work, you've undoubtedly sensed his influence in ours. This is especially true when we are talking and brainstorming with students about behaviors. Michael was the first person to teach us about the power of wording behaviors in the way we want to see them elicited, rather than what we don't want to see.
For instance, when we are brainstorming with students about what it looks like, feels like and sounds like when they are Working on Writing independently, they are often inclined to suggest things such as, "Don't talk to your friends." "Don't get up to get a drink." "Don't waste paper." Michael has indicated that the brains of our most at risk learners tend to focus only on the end words, so what they hear is, "Talk to your friends." "Get up to get a drink" "Waste paper." It is hard at first for children to make the shift from stating undesirable behavior to articulating the most desired behaviors, yet the simple shift will make a profound difference in your classrooms.
If you are unfamiliar with Michael Grinder and his work, you might want to visit his website. http://www.michaelgrinder.com/