Nese Lab

We want to teach behavior in the same way we teach academics. If students are having behavioral errors, instead of just giving them some form of a consequence, we want to make sure they’re learning something. We want to teach them a new skill, have them practice that new skill, and then get them back to class when they are ready.

As an administrator, it’s always a privilege to hold space for students in my office and to be able to let them sit down, take some deep breaths, be away from the situation and go into a place of introspection and calm so that they can rationally talk about what happened and reflect. For me, having that chance to converse and get a student to a place of understanding what happened and what they’re going to try next time—that’s where we begin to build esteem and agency for students.