ABSTRACT
As described in Chapter 5, good behaviour can be taught (see ‘teaching new skills’). Behaviour is learned, and can be ‘unlearned’ if ‘good’ behaviours are substituted for ‘bad’. It is important to hold on to the fact that behaviour can change although on a bad day it sometimes seems hard to imagine this! So what particular behaviours and skills might we want to teach the children we work with? We discussed earlier in the book how rules and routines can be learned. As an assistant you will be working to help the pupil conform to normally expected standards of behaviour in the classroom. What is meant by ‘normally expected’ can vary from teacher to teacher but in most cases it means that the pupil comes into school with a good attitude, follows the directions of the teacher and generally does not cause any serious disruption. Of course all children misbehave from time to time and may have to be redirected from talking or socialising when they should be working. But it can be quite a challenge to change some of the more persistent behaviours which cause problems especially in adolescence.
