Shame on You: How the Shame Response Interrupts Connections with Students
Format
Poster Presentation
Location
Harborside Center East and West
Strand #1
Social & Emotional Skills
Relevance
This workshop connects directly with “HEART”: SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL SKILLS, as it will illustrate how teachers can unconsciously be activating shame responses in students, and provides tools for teachers and students to form more effective patterns of communication and motivation.
Brief Program Description
Human beings react to stimuli in various biological ways. Our students’ primary response may well be shame. As educators, in our attempts to motivate students, we may well be exacerbating the situation for our students without even knowing it. Understanding Affect Theory, building tools for more open and fruitful communication, and better understanding ourselves and our students’ emotional responses can help us provide for stronger outcomes for our kids and our classrooms.
Summary
Affect theory is a branch of psychology which proposes that much of what we experience in life brings about a shame response. When we're working with young people, in high-stress situations, this can be as true for us as it is for them. Come and learn about the shame response, how we accidentally trigger it, and how we can learn to move past it. We'll examine texts about the shame, affect theory and biological response to stimuli. Participants will share experiences in and out of the classroom around shame in dyads, and we'll look at video of behavior and discipline, analyzing effective strategies for working around and through shame. Participants will develop a strong understanding of affect theory, shame responses and how different discipline approaches fit into these systems. They will develop a toolkit for mitigating shame and making it more transparent in their work.
Evidence
Affect Theory, coined by psychologist Sylvan Tompkins in the 1960’s, is a foundational theory in Restorative Practices. Current researchers like Brene Brown have built stronger understandings of personality and stimulus-emotional response, based upon Tomkins’ work.
Biographical Sketch
Jennifer has done consulting, training, research and writing work for Big Picture Learning since 2005, and continues to coordinate data collection, resource development, school design work, and a regional critical friends group. She has also been a founding staff member/coach in several small, progressive programs for at-risk young people in Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, PA.
A non-traditional student and leader, Jennifer believes that systems should be built around students instead of vice-versa. Her current areas of focus include change management, community-building and examining how schools can create learning experiences that support long-term life success.
Keyword Descriptors
Shame, Restorative Practices, Emotional Resiliency, Relationships
Presentation Year
2015
Start Date
3-3-2015 4:00 PM
End Date
3-3-2015 5:30 PM
Recommended Citation
Ghidiu, Jennifer L., "Shame on You: How the Shame Response Interrupts Connections with Students" (2015). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 118.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2015/2015/118
Shame on You: How the Shame Response Interrupts Connections with Students
Harborside Center East and West
Human beings react to stimuli in various biological ways. Our students’ primary response may well be shame. As educators, in our attempts to motivate students, we may well be exacerbating the situation for our students without even knowing it. Understanding Affect Theory, building tools for more open and fruitful communication, and better understanding ourselves and our students’ emotional responses can help us provide for stronger outcomes for our kids and our classrooms.
