Olin Levitt, Ph.D.
Oquirrh Elementary School
Jordan School District

Olie's story

Here at Oquirrh Elementary School in Jordan School District, Salt Lake City, Utah, I'm a school psychologist and one of two RTC teachers we have at Oquirrh School. This is our first year of using Ed Ford's Responsible Thinking Process (RTP), a program that asks teachers to radically restructure the way discipline problems are perceived and dealt with. There have been many challenges (and frustrations) for all of us here a Oquirrh in implementing such a novel program. The stories I want to share with you are intended to serve as a sign of hope that RTP is, in fact, leading us where traditional discipline programs fail to go.

On a chilly day in December, while working with a student in RTC, I noticed out of the corner of my eye some movement at the door. I looked up and saw Bobby, one of our "frequent flyers", enter the room. Bobby is a second grader here at Oquirrh, typically sent to RTC for disrupting classroom activities and violating playground rules. I could see by the look on his face that he was upset about something.

On this particular day, Bobby walked into RTC without a referral form in hand, and so I asked him to come over and tell me what he needed. He responded "I had a problem out at recess". I then asked "What kind of problem, Bobby?" He replied: "I was pushing and being mean to some other kids". Having noticed that he came in empty handed I asked, "Where's your referral form?" He replied, "I don't have one". Slightly annoyed, I proceeded to ask Bobby "Well, who sent you here?" To my surprise he answered "Nobody. I sent myself here". Somewhat taken aback at this response I said "You sent yourself here! Bobby, I don't understand what you mean. Could you explain it to me?" Bobby then said:

"I did something wrong at recess. I was pushing and hurting. I don't like doing those things, so I walked away from it and came here to fix my problem."

After a moment's pause I said "So, you came to RTC to make a plan - to fix the problem you had at recess?" He responded, "Yes". I then said "You seem upset, Bobby. Are you mad at someone?" He replied "Yes, at myself!" I then asked Bobby if he wanted to sit in the beanbag for some "chill time". I indicated to him that he could stay there as long as he needed to. At this, Bobby turned, marched over to "the beans", and sat down. After about ten minutes of quiet contemplation he calmly walked back to me said "I'm ready to work on my plan now".

Since that December day with Bobby, other children have referred themselves to RTC for problems they were having at school. Nessie, a fifth grader, caught herself throwing snowballs at some friends at recess. Realizing she broke a rule, she ran in to the building and asked the school secretary if she could talk about what happened with an RTC teacher.

A week later, Jack and David, both "frequent fliers" in RTC walked in to the room reporting that they had gotten into a fight. I asked who sent them in, to which Jack responded, "We came in here on our own. We knew we'd be sent in by the aide anyway and we didn't want to have to be told".

Next, Rachael, a first grader, came to RTC very distraught with a most unusual disclosure. She began by saying "I was thinking about doing bad things at recess". I then asked" So did you break a rule, Rachael?" She responded "No, but I was having some very mean thoughts and I don't like having them". I then asked if she needed to talk about it and she said "Yes, that's why I came to RTC".

Just a few days ago we had another student self-refer. Sean, a fifth grader, entered the room and said "I just asked my teacher if I could come to RTC for being irresponsible and disrespectful". I asked him to explain. He said "I did something wrong and I want to make a plan to settle it". He went on to say: "I went after a student for making fun of me". I chased him down and grabbed his legs. When I realized what I was doing I let him go and walked away. But I started feeling bad about it so I asked my teacher if I could go to RTC because I wanted to take the blame and the responsibility". I then asked: "Did your teacher suggest that you come down here?" He answered "No, I asked if I could come. If I didn't do this I don't know how I'd live with myself".

In the fifteen years prior to our implementation of the Responsible Thinking Process, I had not seen a single child refer him or herself to an adult for breaking a rule. It is even more unusual to see childlren express the desire to think through and solve problems they are having. This year I've seen six children do this, all in just the past few weeks. There must be something in RTP that teaches children to self-reflect and take on more responsibility. This is what we were hoping for when we initiated RTP at our school.

Olin Levitt, Ph.D.
Oquirrh Elementary School
Jordan School District
Salt Lake City, Utah