Are Schools Really Prepared to Address Educators’ Biggest Behavioral Student Concerns? (Volume 2, Episode 14)

Angela and Davey discuss one of the most concerning topics in education today: Students' school and classroom behavior and interpersonal interactions. Anchored by Dr. Howie Knoff's July 27, 2024 blog, our Hosts analyze a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey revealing widespread student behavioral issues in U.S. schools, including lack of focus, classroom disruptions, disrespect, bullying, and substance abuse.  Angela and Davey caution that many schools are implementing ineffective interventions to address these issues, and they advocate for a data-driven, root-cause analysis approach to address these problems.  They also emphasize the need to explicitly teach students from preschool through high school social-emotional skills, arguing that this instruction requires the same rigor as literacy instruction.  Finally, they stress the importance of proactive, evidence-based strategies, rather than reactive, random interventions, to achieve lasting positive change in student behavior. Angela and Davey use three quotes from one of Dr. Howie's recent conference presentations to illustrate key points.