Behavior in Out-of-School Time

Reflecting on a number of trainings on Promoting Positive Behavior, BOSTnet's approach to behavior in OST, there has been a number of trainees from all program levels who have asked, "what's up with kids today?"

It seems that many in the field claim that there has been a shift in difficult behaviors in the past five or ten years making them question what is happening with children these days and how can programs respond.

"I used to be able to call a parent," one site coordinator said, "[children] are like... go head, call my house I don't care!" Another training had people wondering whether there were more difficult children being placed in OST for a number of reasons (vouchers being given to children with special needs - many of these needs disabilities with a high behavioral component) or whether there was a change in how children act and how parents are raising their kids. These comments perhaps can be dismissed as an aging workforce looking to the past with nostalgia or getting weary of the repeating behaviors year after year as different children express challenging behaviors. It may also be that the supports - a challenge/strategy approach - is not able to address the issues since there are so many factors that make each individual situation different. A child likes to lick other children. This child seems to have a developmental issue that is not diagnosed. The staff have talked to the parent, met with teachers, reinforce positive behavior at the program, but still, Sally licks other children. "We've done so many interventions" the staff say. Now what? Listening to many staff talk about their solutions there were some situations that have been so complex that there is no "out of the box" solution (such as in a case where the strategy is clear but there is no staff available to follow this strategy because it takes time that the already stretched program does not have - how at a training can the trainer invent more time?). Perhaps this is because much of the materials for behavior are borrowed and "adapted" for out of school but they retain much of their original more formal approach to a youth environment - that of the day school. Is OST behavior different? Screaming and punching, no, that is still an issue, but is there a scope of acceptable noise and movement that may appear more messy? "I look for a healthy noise" one director remarked.

Another issue is that program staff want to create a different kind of relationship in their program between children and between staff and children. This is marked by informality, active discussion, and relying on strong relationships to promote a positive environment for youth. Many issues staff have with behavior seem to stem from their having to switch back and forth from caring adult to trying to recreate a classroom environment. With more programs working in school facilities or partnering with schools, what are the dynamics of being known as "Sue" inside the OST program room but "Ms. Watson" with the same children but in the hallway? There are challenges in maintaining each relationship - and perhaps many staff seeing even greater difficulty in achieving both.

Behavior support is one of the most popular BOSTnet trainings and consistently the highest attended Roundtable (in all locations). Some trainers have joked that they can make any training popular just by throwing in the word "behavior." In a previous post on BOSTnet's Inclusion Roundtable was the reflection that in the discussion on Inclusion, the issues raised was not so much how to include children of all needs but "what do I do with Johnny who throws things does not listen and may have ADD ADHD learning disabilities and has not been diagnosed and we are not provided the one-on-one he gets in school."

As programs are preparing to be judged or rated by various systems or departments, how can behavior be approached in a way where the apparent chaos may not be, in the context of an approach developed specifically for OST, anything other than positive noise?