Use of positive reinforcement turns school around

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Glasser created the approach to deal with children who had attention deficit hyperactivity and attention deficit disorders without using medication. When kids are medicated, they are at the mercy of the drugs, he said. “And the worst-case scenario is the kid starts believing in the drug, not in himself.” He knows what he’s talking about: He was one of those kids.</p>

<p>What educators found was the praising technique worked equally well on children who didn’t have attention disorders.</p>

<p>And it all but wiped out the use of medication for the disorders in Tolson students.</p>

<p>“Here, teachers are more likely to refer challenging students to GATE programs than to special education programs,” Figueroa said referring to Gifted and Talented Education. “We have seven kids in special ed now and 59 in GATE. That’s a complete reversal from a few years ago.”

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