The Importance of Taking a

Strength-Based Perspective
Mary Beth Hewitt

Why are some people successful with students although others have given up on them? This author
believes it is because they have a strength-based focus and an optimistic perspective. These educators
move "out of the problem and into the solution" by exhibiting eight behaviors of strength-based teachers.

any times when I am doing a consultation, staff members can tell me everything that a child does wrong. He
NEVER sits still. She's ALWAYS talking. He NEVER does any work. When I ask what
the child does right, I am frequently met with blank
stares. Along the same vein, adults can also tell me
what the child does not like. He's not interested in
reading, rewards, et cetera. However, when I inquire
as to what he/she does like, the blank stares return.
Do not get me wrong, I used to sit with consultants
and expand on all the problem behaviors of my students, too. It was easy to talk about the problems the
child created because they were so obvious. You
have probably heard that the squeaky wheel gets the
grease. Well, let's face it; you NOTICE when kids are
misbehaving. You also know what the child does not
like because he or she tells you, saying things like "I
don't care" or "this is stupid."
Although in some ways it is helpful to know what
the child cannot do and what he does not like, focusing on it does little to solve the problem. We have a
choice. We can stay stuck in the problem or we can
look for the solution. Talking about what the child
cannot do or does not like brings us no closer to finding out what he can do or what he does like. Nothing
is ever fixed by looking at it and bemoaning the fact
that it is broken or worthless.

Imagine that you are working with an individual

who has severe physical challenges, who can neither
speak nor move his arms or legs in a coordinated
matter. You are sitting with a consultant and say, "I
don't know what to do with him. He NEVER does
his work. He is ALWAYS disrupting the class by flailing around." Ridiculous, isn't it? I find it interesting
that when people look at individuals with extreme
physical challenges, the focus shifts from what they
cannot do, to what they can do. A person with cerebral palsy may not be able to speak or coordinate
his/her hand movements but perhaps is able to track
items with his/her eyes. A computer program is then
developed that allows communication via eye-movement tracking. The people working with individuals
with these types of disabilities are forced to focus on
the client's STRENGTHS rather than lamenting
about the person's weaknesses. They also focus on
the factors that they (the staff members) can control.
Furthermore, they look at how the environment can
adjust to meet the needs of the client rather than
expecting the client to adapt to the environment.
Many people have found that the same strengthbased approach can help educators program for students with learning, emotional, and/or behavioral
disabilities. A strength-based approach is an optimistic way of looking at a situation.

reclaiming children and youth 14:4 spring 2005
pp. 2326

23

If the child persists in activities we do not like, we dub

him obstinate, stubborn, hard-boiled, perverse, unruly
or headstrong. If he persists in actions which please us,
we speak of him as determined, strong-willed, resolute,
brave, unflinching.
-John J. B. Morgan (2005)

Beauty Is in the Eye of the

Beholder. So Is Misbehavior.
One day, I was observing in the classroom of a first
year teacher. Before the class began, I sat down with
her and she told me that her most pressing problem
was a particular student, whom she said never did
any work, was constantly seeking attention, was
rude and defiant. The school psychologist had given
her an observation checklist, which she wanted to
complete, but had not had the time. She asked if I
would watch the boy's behavior. In the thirty minutes I observed, he sat in his seat, did his work, and
paid attention for twenty-nine out of the thirty minutes. Once he got out of his seat to sharpen his pencil, and once he verbally stood up for a fellow classmate who was being teased, by saying, "Leave her
alone. That's not nice." I viewed both of these as positive actions. Sharpening his pencil allowed him to
keep working. Standing up for a classmate who was
being teased was an act of courage.
I also noticed the teacher's behavior. She stood at the
front of the room and read from a worksheet, which
the students were doing at their desks. In a thirtyminute period, she gave fifteen reprimands to various members of the group for off-task behavior and
gave no recognition for positive behavior. She made
three praise statements for right answers and seven
reprimands for wrong answers. Interestingly, four of
those reprimands for wrong answers were to one
boy who was the most well behaved student.
After the students had left the room to go to another
class, we had a chance to talk. "So, what do you
think?" she asked. Thinking that perhaps I had
observed the student in question on a particularly
good day, I inquired, "Was that pretty typical behavior for him?" "Yes," she replied, "I mean, sometimes
he can be worse, but that was pretty typical. See how
awful he is? He was off task, out of his seat, and was
yelling at other students."
24

reclaiming children and youth

You may wonder how two individuals can look at

the same student and have such very different perceptions. While she was gathering evidence on what
the student was doing to reinforce her belief that he
was behaving badly, I was looking at what the boy
was doing to reinforce my belief that he must be
doing something right. It all has to do with what you
focus on. If you focus on the negative, the negative
grows. If you focus on the positive, the positive
grows. This is the critical difference between optimism and pessimism.

Why Do We Need Optimism?

If you view something as broken, useless, and
beyond repair, you generally throw it away. It's not
worth your efforts to fix. However, if you view it as
precious and valuable, you will go to great lengths
to salvage it. We are talking about children here.
They are far too valuable to throw away. Although I
am writing about students with learning problems
as well as behavioral disorders, I like this quote from
Larry Brendtro and Arlin Ness, two leading experts
in the field of strength-based interventions:
Some might argue that optimism about antisocial youth is itself a thinking error, a
Pollyanna illusion that nasty kids are really
little cherubs. However, pessimism is seldom useful and often leads to feelings of
powerlessness, frustration, and depression.
In contrast, optimism feeds a sense of efficacy and motivates coping and adaptive
behavior, even in the face of difficult odds.
(1995, p. 3)
We need to assume an optimistic view in order for
us to feel like we can make a difference in the lives
of all of our children. Furthermore, if we want our
children to be resilient and optimistic, we need to
model it.
Going back to the teacher with whom I was consulting, I realized that I had to shift my focus from what
she was doing incorrectly to what she was doing
correctly. I will admit it is a lot easier to focus on
what she was doing incorrectly. However, I knew
that I could not help her if I only considered her
weaknesses, any more than I could expect her to
help her student if she focused on his. I had to shift
my focus to what she was doing right:
1. She allowed a perfect stranger to come into her
classroom;

2. She asked for help;

3. For 20 out of the 30 minutes, she did not issue any
reprimands;
4. She gave some praise statements;
5. She had materials prepared.
I said, "You really care about this boy." "I do," she
replied and continued, "He is homeless and doesn't
have much stability in his life. I really want him to
do well, and I'm very concerned about him. I don't
know what to do. I feel like I'm failing him. I'm constantly yelling at him." I said, "It must be awful for
you to care so much and yet the only way you know
how to get his attention is by yelling at him." "It is,"
she said as she broke into tears. "I wish I knew what
else to do." I asked, "Would you like some suggestions?" and she responded affirmatively. At this
point, she was willing to listen to my observations
about this boy and behavioral indications that he
was doing some things correctly. This was the beginning of a supportive relationship. Later that year, I
saw this teacher again and she was beaming. This
boy had now become her star pupil!
Because I chose to see this teacher as being committed, open-minded, caring, receptive, brave, and honest, I wanted to help her. I wonder if I had seen her
as being negative, rigid, and domineering if I would
have felt the same way. Taking an optimistic view
does not mean you do not address problems. It
means that you look for what you are able to nourish in order to overcome those problems.

The Power of Labels

The way you label something will make a big difference in the way you approach it. To paraphrase Ross
Greene (1990) in The Explosive Child, your interpretation will drive your intervention. This is particularly
important when it comes to describing students'
behaviors. Labels are evidence of our interpretation.
Our interpretation of the behavior can lead us to
either want to disconnect and discard or reconnect
and nurture.
There is a great deal of research on the dehumanizing and debilitating effects of negative labeling. As I
was doing some research in preparation for writing
this article, I came across a study about a woman

who taught her class about how discrimination and

prejudice starts (WGBH Educational Foundation,
1985). The class was divided into the "blue eyes" and
the "brown eyes." The students were told that blue
eyes were good and that brown eyes were inferior.
In less than one day, the performance level of the
students with brown eyes dropped. Although she
was trying to teach about racial prejudice, I couldn't
help but make the connection to all forms of prejudice. There is a great deal of prejudice against students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. I
think this was most evident to me when I was teaching a group of 2nd graders about students with emotional disabilities. One young boy raised his hand
and asked, "Are we talking about the handicapped
kids or the bad kids?"
Likewise, I hear the pessimism of adults working
with students with behavioral disorders in comments such as "The apple doesn't fall far from the
tree," "What do you expect? His father is in jail," "He
lives in a trailer park," "He's from a broken home."
These comments are not information sharing; they
are indictments. How do we expect kids to be hopeful and persistent, if the adults in their world are
mired in feelings of hopelessness?

Eight Behaviors of
Strength-Based Teachers
Why are some people successful working with kids
although others have given up on them? I believe it
is because they take an optimistic view and engage
in eight behaviors that go along with a strengthbased focus. As you read the examples that follow
each behavior in Figure 1 (See p. 26), note your attitude for each. Do you notice that when something is
phrased negatively, you feel depressed and defeated
while when the same situation is described positively you feel hopeful and energized? I truly believe
that all teachers start out wanting to and believing
they can make a positive difference in the lives of all
of their students. However, years of being exposed
to negative reports and focusing on a student's
weaknesses and misbehaviors have taken their toll.
You can recapture the feeling that you can make a
positive difference in the lives of ALL your students
by focusing on the positive.

volume 14, number 1 spring 2005

25

Figure 1. Flaw Focus vs. Strength Focus

Behavior

Flaw Focus

vs.

Strength Focus

Focus on what the student

can do.

He cannot attend to a task for

more than 5 minutes.

vs.

He can attend to a task for

5 minutes.

Make realistic appraisals.

He is always out of his seat.

vs.

He stayed in his seat for 28 out

of thirty minutes.

Avoid the use of

overgeneralization.

She never follows directions.

Look for and give credit for

evidence of progress. Don't
minimize or discount the
positive.

He must have been in a good

mood because he worked
longer today, but that wont
last.

vs.

He worked steadily for ten

minutes.

Positively reframe behavior.

She is constantly interfering in

issues that dont concern her.

vs.

She is aware of injustice and

stands up for those she
believes are being mistreated.

Look for the silver lining

in a students behavior and
start there.

He screams to get your

attention when something is
hard.

vs.

He recognizes when he needs

help and lets people know it.

Work with the factors that you

can control.

There arent enough aides to

help him when he needs a
scribe.

vs.

I can modify the activity so that

he can work in a cooperative
team and another student can
take the notes.

Look at the whole picture. It is

as important to focus on factors
that are present when the
misbehavior does not occur as
when it does.

When she is asked to read aloud

in the classroom she throws
her books.

vs.

When she is reading to

younger students she is calm
and attentive to their needs.

Be aware of the labels that you

use and the projections that you
make.

He is stubborn and hard-boiled.

Hell end up in jail. What do
you expect? He comes from a
bad neighborhood.

vs.

He is determined, resolute,
and courageous. He has
leadership potential.

He is a disruptive element in
the classroom. He never takes
anything seriously.

Mary Beth Hewitt, MS, holds a Certificate of Advanced

Student (C.A.S.) in Educational Administration and is the
CHOICES Coordinator for Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES in
Newark, New York. She can be reached at: 131 Drumlin Court,
Eisenhower Building, Newark, NY 14513-1863 or by phone:
315/332-7268 or e-mail: mbhewitt@att.net

26

reclaiming children and youth

She followed eight out of

ten directions.

He has a quick wit and a

sense of humor.

REFERENCES
Brendtro, L., & Ness, A. (1995). Fixing flaws or building strengths?
Reclaiming Children and Youth, 4(2), 2-7.
Greene, R. (1998). The explosive child. New York: HarperCollins.
Morgan, J. J. B. (2005). In L. Brendtro, A. Ness, & M. Mitchell.
No disposable kids, (p. 100). Bloomington, IN: National Educational
Service.
WGBH Educational Foundation. (1985). Frontline: A class divided. PBS
Video.