Consistency

When working with learners with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties, an educator needs self-confidence and well-thought-out strategies as well as a positive approach. There is definitely no room for impatience or a judgemental attitude. An educator needs to be sure of where his or her own boundaries are, as well as the behavioral boundaries for the learners. It is therefore important that within his or her own particular work context an educator can rely on something to provide some consistency. This can be supplied through a well-thought-out structure or framework for both solving problems and getting to a variety of solutions that suit the educator’s context. The concept of ‘therapeutic education’ can provide such a framework that is ethically acceptable to educators and workable in a variety of school contexts. This is where an educator can begin to look at the skills he or she might develop and the confidence generated by the thought that a well-considered, strategic and therapeutic approach is being followed. The consistency is achieved through the systemic steps approach, not the solutions being generated by the educator for him or herself and the learner(s) in his or her charge.