by Jim Fay

e have found that the Recovery Process loses its effectiveness when used with stu-dents who are not doing their assignments. The Recovery Process is not designed to punish, but is used strictly to eliminate annoying or disruptive behaviors.

Students who are uninvolved in their lessons, but not bothering others, should remain in the classroom as long as their behavior is not interfering with the learning process. The fact that these students are not doing their assignment does not mean that they are not soaking up at least some of the teacher’s wisdom.

Unskilled teachers, or those who lack understanding of the brain’s role in learning, often fear that a student’s lack of involvement in the lesson will rub off on others, causing them to not want to learn. These teachers hold to the belief that kids don’t want to learn in the first place and must be forced to do so. However, off-task behavior has far more to do with unfulfilled basic needs and personal problems than a desire not to learn. It is a rare kid who has a goal of becoming a failure.

In the event that another student in the classroom asks, “Why do I have to do the assignment? He isn’t doing the work. Why can’t I do the same thing?” the skilled teacher simply replies,“Maybe you can do the same thing. All you need to do is bring a note from your parents telling me that you don’t need to learn anything in my classroom, and I will consider it.”

REMINDERS:

• The Recovery Process is not designed to force kids to do their assignments.
• The Recovery Process is not designed to cure kids of emotional problems.
• The Recovery Process is strictly used to minimize a student’s ability to interfere with learning and/or teaching.
• A student should not get personal attention from an adult while in Recovery. This time should be devoted to getting one’s self back together. Students should get time with adults when doing what is right, not when misbehaving.
• Do not send work with the student to do during Recovery.
• The attitude of the teacher should be: “You are wel-come to be with us for every good minute—this means every minute you are not making it difficult for me to teach or for others to learn. You are wel-come to use “Recovery” to get yourself back togeth-er. We want you in the classroom, so return just as soon as you know that you can be here without bothering anyone else.”

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©2004 Jim Fay • Permission granted for photocopy reproduction. Please do not alter or modify contents. For more information, call the Love and Logic Institute, Inc. at (800) 338-4065.