Increasing Positive Behavior (PBIS): A Talk With Dr. Horner

Last week, I had an opportunity to meet one-on-one with Dr. Rob Horner, renown for his work with Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support (PBIS) and a global expert on educational improvement by focusing on social culture.  His ideas as well as his demeanor, impressed me.  (If you want to know more about this work, go to www.pbis.org.)

While PBIS is decades in development, showing how social culture impacts academics and teaching outcomes, it is just now making big headway in the US.  Yet, most of the impetus remains on teaching everyone (all students and teachers) about a handful of values that are essential to sustaining a safe and respectful environ.  What is missing is the role of young influencers, those 2-4 students in each classroom who convey more influence than the rest.  They seem to be missing from the research.  Yet, when you look at social reform among adults throughout history, you always note the leaders (Lincoln, King, Chavez, Ghandi).  This blind spot is a cultural norm of not perceiving children and youth as leaders, merely future leaders. Our work the last 8 years has shown us that by identifying and developing the 10-20% with an aptitude for leading, you see positive behaviors increase, but it's more laser-like than floodlight-like.  Yet, we applaud Dr. Horner's and others' work in this field and are thrilled to see how KidLead will merge into this burgeoning movement.