TBRI® Principles for the Classroom
My Introduction to TBRI® For Teachers
Nine years ago, I was a young mom who had just quit my public school teaching job so I could teach closer to home. My new school was a smaller private school specializing in students with learning challenges. As an AD/HD child, now adult, with a Master's degree in Special Education, I felt fairly confident in this new role. What I did not know was that I was about to be exposed to a modality that would change not only my teaching style, but literally the trajectory of my whole life.
As I started my new teaching job, I went to my first Empowered to Connect conference in Nashville, Kentucky, where I learned about the methods of TBRI®, Trust Based Relational Intervention*, created by Dr. David Cross and Dr. Karyn Purvis from Texas Christian University. I listened as Dr. Purvis and her colleagues spoke about how to engage with "kids from hard places" in a way that was both compassionate and structured. I left that weekend knowing that if we would just utilize these principles in schools, we could change the world!
A lot of time has passed since that moment, but I still feel exactly the same! The methodology of TBRI® has the ability to revolutionize the way a teacher's classroom looks and feels to the student. It also directly impacts the individual success of each student.
I can hear my teacher friends saying, "Yeah, but HOW!? It's all well and good to say it, but how does one practically do it?". I get it! I had to tweak this program, which was developed more for families, to work for me in the classroom setting. It didn't happen overnight, but through some really small changes, I was able to see huge results.
It all starts with knowing the three main pillars of TBRI®: Empower, Connect, and Correct.
Empowering Students in the Classroom
Empowering a child means that you help identify and meet the needs of that child. These can be physical needs (such as being hungry or tired) or emotional needs (like being lonely and unconnected).
The Empowering principle helps you, as the adult, find ways to help the child not only feel safe, or experience "felt safety", but also develop trust with you as the adult. This is a pre-emptive strategy to help predict and problem solve issues that a student may be facing when they walk in that door.
In my classroom, I do this in a variety of ways. I want every child to walk into a classroom that has already been arranged and decorated to promote"felt safety". First, I seek to meet the physical needs of my students. They have access to water at all times (water bottles or water jugs). Gum is available for students throughout the day (this meets a sensory need), in addition to weighted blankets, fidgets, and other sensory items.
I then examine the physical space of my room. Are my walls too cluttered or bright? Are the light levels appropriate? I rarely use the overhead lights in my room. When able, I use floor lamps or natural light. I arrange my desks and tables to provide added space for movement during work, but I also create comfy or quiet spaces for students to escape as needed.
Next, I want to create predictability in my room. Have I created a clear schedule that students can see at all times? Is there space in that schedule for water, bathroom, and movement breaks? Have I posted my classroom expectations? All of these preemptively help students know their boundaries, know how the room is kept safe, and remind them of those expectations without confusion or argument.
Another way to have consistency within the room is through the use of rituals and traditions. If a student knows that you will always start the day with "highs and lows"; always read a story after lunch; or always reward everyone with a treat when one of them succeeds—you build trust, communicating that you will always do what you say you will do.
Connection with Students in the Classroom
Many of these Empowering techniques seamlessly flow into Connection with our students. Connection happens when the relationship is prioritized over the task. Interaction, tone of voice, word choice, and body language are intentional and mindful of the particular needs of the student, communicating the preciousness of the child. This is also a preemptive strategy incorporated daily.
Create moments in the day when you look students in the eye, smile, and make them feel like you want them there. When a student knows that you have their back, even the hardest kiddo will be willing to fight with you for their own success! This doesn't mean all their behaviors melt away, but recovery happens more quickly when behavior issues arise. This can also be done through some of the rituals built into the day. When everyone has a unique handshake or a student's birthday is celebrated in a special way, these connections show care for them as individuals and as a whole.
Correction using TBRI® Principles in the Classroom
Students feel safe when you Empower them and Connect with them, while also protecting them from themselves or others through Correction.
Correction is utilizing a series of steps to help a child learn to do the right things, but not at the expense of the relationship between the adult and the child. This can be a proactive move done by an adult that is attuned to what is happening in and around their room, or it can be reactive due to a sudden situation. Both will happen, and that is okay as long as we are equipped with a plan.
As teachers, our primary goal should be to train our students to become better members of our community by growing in knowledge and character. When systems punish versus correct, shame and fear drive students toward obedience rather than having them practice toward the original goal. In TBRI®, students have alternative options to find success.
This approach cares about the whole child. As I have grown in using this program, my goals have shifted away from how to get my students to do the most academic work possible to how to get them to advocate, negotiate, and speak up for their social, emotional, physical, and academic needs. In our classroom, we don't just learn from textbooks. We learn from each other, from our feelings, and from our mistakes. We are allowed to be messy humans (even me!) and know that tomorrow we are going to try again! It is a privilege to be part of the journey with them.
* TBRI® has resources available on TCU's Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development's webpage, their YouTube channel, and through affiliated organizations such as Show Hope.
Jennie McKindles is the Director of Education at The Provision School & Family Counseling Center, Inc. located in Lexington, KY. The Provision focuses on a TBRI approach to learning as well as providing a therapeutic learning environment for students needing additional emotional support. The school specializes in students with adoption related trauma, but it also works with kids from a variety of backgrounds and needs.