Jim Farmelant wrote:
> Having said that,
>I would agree with Nick that it is likely that the sorts
>of behavioral controls experienced by
>poor people in such insitutions as the public
>schools, juvenile detention centers, the military,
>jails etc. have much to do with shaping the
>behavioral orientations of the poor, including
>the development of predilections towards impulsivity
>and reactive thinking.
>
So, I would appreciate it (without the slightest tint of irony) if
someone explained to me how behavioral training results in impulsivity
and reactive thinking. I just don't follow this.
I can, however, give a counter example. My daughter's ballet teacher is a deep believer that the best discipline and the best education happens from the inside out -- it can be imposed from the outside, but the results are far inferior from what can happen if growth happens from within. I have been watching his theory in action for the last four years: I sit in his class and watch about fifteen hours a week.
The results have been nothing short of miraculous. I have seen kids who I would have bet could never dance, develop into exceptional dancers. All this, being the result of their 1) showing up to class 2) attempting to follow the teacher's descriptions of what figures should look like 3) rinse, lather, repeat ...4) do all this in an extremely supportive and yes, loving environment.
This teacher never enjoins the students to "be good," his only request is that they "surprise" him. Most of them do. It is a deep and abiding faith, coupled with a complete and perfect patience, resulting in great dancing.
Some of you will argue that these are self-motivated middle class kids, but this is not entirely the case. First, this teacher charges almost nothing for lessons. Second, a lot of these kids come from broken homes and some clearly come to class more for the "father" figure than for the dancing. Third, his studio is pretty close to the hood -- so much so that the mothers of the middle class kids are visibly nervous about their kids being there.
Joanna