Nothing For Us, Without Us!

When I was reading through the BC Counsellor magazine, I came across a phrase I have seen quite a bit recently: Nothing for us, without us! It seems like such a simple idea, but is so profound at its core. Teachers and parents, not to mention governments and institutions, are universally guilty of designing practices that we think will help people, and then doing them...without really asking the people involved if that’s what they want! In the school system we are currently on a mission to engage students more actively in their education. Our new BC curriculum is focused on helping kids develop the skills to think creatively and critically, to problem solve, to communicate, and to have a well-developed sense of self. But we still run the risk of school being something done “to” them if we don’t actively talk to kids about why they are learning what they are learning! My son, in grade nine, was required to fill out a self-assessment at the end of this past year on the Core Competencies. At least, I knew that that is what he was doing; all he knew was they they were called into a room and asked to answer several questions about their skills in communication, thinking, and problem solving! He didn’t even know the purpose, so how could he use the self-assessment in any sort of meaningful way? Clearly we have a ways to go.

As someone who works with many students struggling to demonstrate safe and appropriate behaviours, I feel that this notion of including students’ voice in decisions should be paramount. In her book entitled ConnectZone.org: Building Connectedness in Schools, Bev Ogilvie encourages educators to look at the concept of crisis intervention and problem-solving approaches through a child’s eyes. Is there trust between student and adult? Has the adult taken the time to build a relationship before jumping to the “punishment”? Does the adult believe that kids will be good and do the right thing when they can, but sometimes their fear or anger or hurt gets in the way? With this lens, Bev encourages educators to think of the difference between a traditional Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) system and a more collaborative problem solving approach. Both, she says, address challenging behaviours as a real issue, but “PBS does not adequately emphasize collaboration between adult and child. PBS is primarily adult-driven and emphasis is placed on adult concerns.” We should instead be focusing on the child’s needs: Nothing for us, without us!

My earlier encounter with this phrase was regarding Aboriginal education. Again, so often policies are put in place to try to address the needs of a particular group; but if the policies aren’t created with the input of the group in question, how valuable can they really be? At their worst, they can cause real damage through misinformation and misrepresentation. Really, one could argue that the same caution applies to any diverse culture! The takeaway, as always, is to show respect to all people. Find out what they really need, and understand that with so many ways of knowing the world, we hardly have the right to dictate to anyone the best way for them to learn and grow.