This week I came across an article in Psychology Today which asked the question... What is your why?
This caused me to reflect on 'Why' I started to write my blog.
When I decided to start blogging about behaviour it was through frustration. The frustration arose from my experiences of observing how challenging behaviour was being approached. I found that I believed in a different approach and I saw that I needed to have an outlet for my opinions and thoughts. The birth of my blog and the establishing of myself as a Graduate Behaviour Mentor.
I became frustrated with the institutional prioritisation of academic skills over the so-called 'soft skills', where 'soft skills' is the description given to social emotional skills. I feel that the name 'soft skills' itself suggests a lack of recognition of the importance that these skills deserve.
I had identified my 'Why?'
I had recognised the purpose for my studies, the purpose for my research and the purpose for my blogging... and this idea of having 'purpose' is rewarding. It helps me to find positive meaning in my daily interactions with the students in my care and to champion an alternative approach to behaviour management.
The challenging behaviours which are exhibited by students due to their lagging social and emotional skills is the focus of my weekly blog. I identify an area that interests me each week through the reading of relevant books, papers and articles. I wish to open the discussion on my website where I ask others to comment, like and share my post. My hope is that by posting my ideas I can highlight the need for understanding and to reframe the approach to challenging behaviour in the future.
You can read about social and emotional skills in my previous posts 'It's Not About Being... Bad!' and 'Self Regulation: Easy To Say?... Easy To Do?...' amongst others.
Thank you for taking the time to help me champion the needs of these students and affect change in the approach to behavioural difficulties.
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