Lost at School
Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them
Table of Contents
About The Book
Frequent visits to the principal's office. Detentions. Suspensions. Expulsions. These are the established tools of school discipline for kids who don't abide by school rules, have a hard time getting along with other kids, don't seem to respect authority, don't seem interested in learning, and are disrupting the learning of their classmates. But there's a big problem with these strategies: They are ineffective for most of the students to whom they are applied.
It's time for a change in course.
Here, Dr. Ross W. Greene presents an enlightened, clear-cut, and practical alternative. Relying on research from the neurosciences, Dr. Greene offers a new conceptual framework for understanding the difficulties of kids with behavioral challenges and explains why traditional discipline isn't effective at addressing these difficulties. Emphasizing the revolutionarily simple and positive notion that kids do well if they can, he persuasively argues that kids with behavioral challenges are not attention-seeking, manipulative, limit-testing, coercive, or unmotivated, but that they lack the skills to behave adaptively. And when adults recognize the true factors underlying difficult behavior and teach kids the skills in increments they can handle, the results are astounding: The kids overcome their obstacles; the frustration of teachers, parents, and classmates diminishes; and the well-being and learning of all students are enhanced.
In Lost at School, Dr. Greene describes how his road-tested, evidence-based approach -- called Collaborative Problem Solving -- can help challenging kids at school.
His lively, compelling narrative includes:
tools to identify the triggers and lagging skills underlying challenging behavior.
explicit guidance on how to radically improve interactions with challenging kids -- along with many examples showing how it's done.
dialogues, Q & A's, and the story, which runs through the book, of one child and his teachers, parents, and school.
practical guidance for successful planning and collaboration among teachers, parents, administrations, and kids.
Backed by years of experience and research, and written with a powerful sense of hope and achievable change, Lost at School gives teachers and parents the realistic strategies and information to impact the classroom experience of every challenging kid.
Reading Group Guide
Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them
By Ross W. Greene (Scribner, 2008)
Book Group Questions from The Main Idea
The Story of Joey
1. What was your reaction to the incident involving Joey introduced in the first chapter? Who seems to be suffering in this narrative? Why?
Do you believe anyone was at fault for what happened? Do you think any of the staff members could have reacted differently to Joey?
The Basic Premise of the Book
2. What is the basic premise of the book – what does Dr. Greene believe to be the main problem facing kids with behavioral challenges? Why are they not behaving themselves according to Dr. Greene?
The Disciplinary System
3. What does the author say about the current state of our discipline system? How does it or doesn’t it serve students who behave well? What about students with behavioral challenges? Why or why not? Do you agree/disagree and why or why not? What do you think works and doesn’t work with your current disciplinary system?
Philosophy of Children
4. How is Dr. Greene’s philosophy of children (“Kids do well if they can”) different from the prevailing view (“Kids do well if they want to”)? How do these differing views affect the way adults approach behavioral issues? Does you school seem to favor the former or latter view? How do your school policies or practices reflect the prevailing view about children? What can you tell about the teacher’s (Mrs. Woods) philosophy and the other staff member’s philosophies about challenging kids based on their reactions to Joey’s incident?
Life Skills
5. Dr. Greene proposes a long list of life skills that kids with challenging behavior are lacking. What is your response to this list? Which items stand out or resonate for you and your experience with challenging students? Would you add any life skills to this list that seem to be missing? Are any of the items confusing?
Pills and Skills
6. Looking at the list of possible lagging skills. How does this compare to the diagnoses we are used to seeing in kids with challenging behavior (ADHD, bipolar disorder, etc.)? Why does the author prefer not to use these diagnoses? Can you explain the following quote from the book -- “pills don’t teach skills.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems
7. Dr. Greene describes two culprits of children’s challenging behavior -- lagging skills and unsolved problems. What is the difference between them? What does the author believe should be the first step in addressing challenging behavior and how can the ALSUP tool help?
Plan A
8. When teachers’ expectations are unmet, they often respond with Plan A. What exactly is this plan? Even if teachers have been successful with this plan, why does Dr. Greene say this approach still contains flaws? What has been your personal experience with Plan A – do you use it frequently? Do you consider yourself to use it “nicely”? How is Plan A different from simply communicating an expectation?
Plan B
9. What are some of the benefits of using Plan B to address problems with kids? What are the three steps involved in Plan B? How do these differ from approaches you’ve used (even casually) or read about? What do you anticipate might be some obstacles to doing the three steps involved in Plan B? What are the most important benefits of the Empathy step? What might make this step hard to implement?
Plan B and Joey
10. In the continuation of the Joey story from pp.92-108 we see some of Plan B taking place. What were the actions and words in the narrative that you think will contribute to making this a successful plan? Is there anything else you think the staff members should have said or done? What concerns do you have about the new plan?
Using Plan B with a Group
11. On p. 208 Mrs. Woods attempts to use Plan B with her entire class to address a class issue. If you want to use Plan B with a group, what groundwork needs to be in place to make sure it’s successful? What is your reaction to how Plan B plays out with her entire class? Do you think this would work with any age group? Would it need to be modified? If you were to ask the same open-ended question as Mrs. Woods does about the kids in her class not getting along, what types of issues do you imagine would surface in your class?
Concluding Thoughts
12. Overall, how did you feel about the resolution of Joey’s challenging behavior? Does it seem realistic? Does it seem translatable to other kids in other situations?
13. How can you imagine Collaborative Problem Solving/Plan B working in your school? What would have to happen for your school to implement this? What obstacles would have to be overcome? Which students can you think of right now who would benefit?
About The Author
Dr. Ross W. Greene is the author of Raising Human Beings, Lost and Found, Lost at School, and The Explosive Child. Dr. Greene was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over twenty years, and is now founding director of the nonprofit organization Lives in the Balance (LivesintheBalance.org), through which he disseminates the model of care—now called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions—described in his books. Dr. Greene’s research has been funded by the US Department of Education, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Stanley Medical Research Institute, and the Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group. He speaks widely throughout the world.
Product Details
- Publisher: Scribner (October 21, 2008)
- Length: 304 pages
- ISBN13: 9781416583677
Raves and Reviews
"No one in America has thought more deeply about the problems of disruptive children in school than Ross Greene. In his brilliant new book, he goes inside the minds of children and school personnel to explain why old-fashioned school discipline and Zero Tolerance policies have failed. Then he offers original and tested new strategies for working with the most behaviorally challenging children. Every teacher and administrator who has ever felt that traditional discipline isn't working should read Lost in School." -- Dr. Michael Thompson, school consultant, co-author, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys and author, Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social World of Children
"We cannot ignore difficult student behaviors any longer. Dr. Greene's book is a timely contribution to the literature on how schools must support ALL students, and his approach fits well with Response to Intervention (RTI)." -- Rachel Brown-Chidsey, Ph.D., NCSP Associate Professor, School Psychology Program, University of Southern Maine, coauthor, Response to Intervention: Principles and Strategies for Effective Practice
"In his new and dynamic book Dr. Ross Greene presents an innovative and field-tested approach to understanding and guiding troubled students. He encourages and challenges the reader to recognize that the child HAS a problem as opposed to the widely-held view that the child IS a problem. Dr. Greene gives a voice to a group of children who are often misunderstood and miseducated. He provides invaluable information and insights that will enable you to give challenging kids the care that they need and deserve. Those kids -- and the adults who care for them -- are in Dr. Greene's debt." -- Richard D. Lavoie, M.A., M.Ed., author, It's So Much Work To Be Your Friend: Helping the Child with Learning Disabilities Find Social Success and The Motivation Breakthrough: 6 Secrets to Turning On the Tuned-out Kid
"Dr. Greene removes all doubt: Even with challenging kids, rewards and punitive 'consequences' can (and should) be replaced with collaborative problem-solving. Lost at School is a detailed and immensely practical guide whose approach makes much more sense than behavior management plans and other tactics of control. It's hard to imagine any educators, counselors, or parents who wouldn't benefit from reading this book. And their kids will benefit even more." -- Alfie Kohn, author of Beyond Discipline and Punished by Rewards
"A positive and practical approach for teachers who want to work to redemptively with kids whose classroom behavior is an impediment to academic and social success." -- Carol Ann Tomlinson, Ed.D., Curry School of Education, University of Virginia
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Lost at School eBook 9781416583677
- Author Photo (jpg): Ross W. Greene Photograph by Jon Sachs(0.1 MB)
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