ELOs and PLCs, SATs and ACTs, IEPs, DD, ELL, and SPED.  We went from NCLB to ESSA, and even our organizations become acronyms; NAfME and ASCD for instance.  It’s like  texting – you have to speak another language to be an educator.  There are still times when some acronym is used during a conversation in a staff meeting and I have to ask what it is.

We’ve completely stopped speaking, reading and writing in complete sentences which is a bit ironic in a world where almost nothing else is taught.  What’s the point if these students are going to end up texting and writing nothing but consonants?  This is not something that has happened overnight, acronyms have been taking over our language for decades.

This afternoon I learned a new acronym, VDP which stands for Vulnerable Decision Point.  I know.  Anyway, it has to do with how teachers deal with students, especially those who are struggling with inappropriate or perhaps repetitive behaviors that may trigger a reaction that if we allow it, may cause us to react in a way that is harmful to students.  This assumes that that if we’re not careful,  there’s a point where we are no longer in control. I’ve always called this being a professional adult, who, despite the insanity that occurs in the classroom can continue to be the professional adult.  Have behaviors become so bad in the classroom that it’s necessary to make teachers aware of the VDP to keep them from harming children, verbally or otherwise?

I was watching a Gerry Brooks video where he was explaining how education is different today than it was when he was a kid and how much those on the outside assume nothing has changed.  One of the examples he used was that back in the old days, when a child become frustrated, he or she might become angry and or frown/pout. Now a student becomes frustrated and they might toss a table or chair, bang their head against a wall or floor, kick things or attack the teacher.  Perhaps that’s the reason we need to learn about our VDP?  Or perhaps we need to look for a better way to figure out why children are behaving this way and what to do about it.

I believe that some of this behavior is beyond our expertise, to the point that we just don’t know how to respond.  As a music educator, I never had a “class” in behavior management.  My examples were my cooperating teachers and teachers I observed in school, the rest has been on the job training.  Over the years, I have watched behavior deteriorate to the point where I find myself at that VDP more and more often and it becomes harder and harder to maintain that professionalism.  I just never thought it would be reduced to an acronym.  Like many other things in education, if we just create some new terminology and an acronym, it will look like we doing something terribly intellectual.  Maybe, maybe not.

So maybe we ditch the acronyms instead and have some serious discussions about why and how we’ve gotten to this point.    I truly believe that kids are still kids, but the system and adults running the systems have changed and not for the better.  More acronyms and programs are not the answer.  I believe love and honesty with parents and children IS the answer.  Maybe if I make an acronym, someone will take it seriously.  Love and Honesty – LAH!!