REBTOZ

Angus’ experience to date had taught him that he was inherently stupid and along with other associated self-generated conditions he decided he was in essence a no hoper. How did he ‘know’ this? Because the information he received from others and the meanings he made of  it, led him to conclude he was a hopeless case. Therefore, he anticipated failure and rejection. And he expected that the world would ‘be’ unfair and if anything good came his way, it was an accident, fate. He had constructed a predominantly Brain Bully sense of who he was, an irrational assessment of his nature, his capabilities; he had a bad self, and he deserved failure and the derision of others. His anger, depression and anxiety were attached to a belief construction that was informed by messages received which he deemed were true and correct. His significant adult mentors and others informed his belief constructions and his take on reality was set, and it was not a very healthy one. Angus didn’t get some ...

Ms Smithers is a Rational Emotive Behaviour Educator. She teaches to the Have a Go Spaghettio! pedagogy based on Albert Ellis’ Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. She teaches her junior primary students that they are constructivists, they make or build the beliefs that inform how they perceive events in their lives. Epictetus said: "It is not the things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance."  This in turn connects to the persons behavioural and emotional responses to those events i.e., thinking, feeling and behaving are all connected. Ms Smithers knows that if her students understand this, they can learn to regulate how they feel and behave by monitoring how they think about themselves, others and life in general. "As we think so are we." Suzy is one of her students and she believes she can do stuff, and through persistence she can achieve her goals and if she doesn’t, she strives to work out how to solve problems. She doesn’t believe in fai...

As a student of the Islamic World View I have become acquainted with the concept of ‘tarbiyah.’ Tarbiyah encourages us to look beyond narrow definitions of what a ‘learner’ is and to consider the many facets of being a person. Students are not just anonymous clients in a system, potential units of production, conditioned to service the needs of society. There are ‘physical, spiritual, and intellectual dimensions of the human being’ to consider and in a school system, the teachers and school leaders are charged with the responsibility to address a child’s development in a holistic way.  Where do we begin? If we are, as educators and leaders, to optimise our ability to develop the child in a holistic manner, Islamic wisdom encourages us to address the tarbiyah of the self. How do we develop all the dimensions of our humanity so that we can become a model (Murabbi) of what we are in a total sense, so that our students see us walk our talk? The process of ‘inner transformation’ is...

Let me introduce you to Mr. Chin. He is married to Mrs. Chin. They live in a lovely cottage in a little village called ChiniChinChin. They are the Chins from ChiniChinChin! But they have a problem. When jobs get tricky, Mr. Chin gives in!           Mr. Chin would start jobs around the cottage, and he would get tired and not finish them.   He would say ‘I give up’ and he would have a rest and fall asleep in his favourite chair. Snooze, snooze, snore, and snooze! He dug half a hole in the garden and built half a shed. He mowed half the lawn. He washed half the dog. And shaved half of his beard! He did look funny! Mrs. Chin said, ‘Have you finished your jobs Mr. Chin?’ But Mr. Chin was fast asleep. Guess where he was? Yes, he was sleeping in his favourite chair . He was snooze, snooze, snoozing in his favourite chair, again!! Snooze, snooze, snore, and snooze! Mr. Chin went to the doctor and said, ‘I give in when I have t...

  Ms Smithers is determined to teach her young constructivist learners that habits of thinking can be healthy and helpful or unhealthy and unhelpful. She want’s to focus on the D part of the ABC DE of REBT counselling paradigm that she is learning about. This is the part where we ask the question How do you know? And what have you left out? What do we mean when we say, ‘My friend is mean!’ How do you know? And what have you missed out. Ms Smithers has compiled a list of expressions, utterances made by children in her class. Here are some: He’s dumb! I can’t do this! No one likes me. These are discussed and referred to often as Ms Smithers wants to promote a discourse that points to examining what we mean, explaining how we justify our meanings and exploring how what’s left out can challenge what we mean and form new and more accurate meanings. That’s the Have a Go Spaghettio! Way! Ms Smithers says, “When children present with behaviours and emotions that suggest t...

This is the script of the video. Ms Smithers is a Have a Go Spaghettio – ist! She is well versed in the basic principles of REBT and GS theories. She knows the language of feedback can be helpful, meaning she is making sure it is effort focussed and never person specific. She tells her students that making a mistake does not make us a mistake. She refers to the Have a Go Spaghettio! visual at the start of each day and sings the Have a Go song with the children. They anticipate having a successful day, and they will work through the inevitable challenges that crop up now and then. Ms Smithers greets her children as they arrive at school. She has done her homework, and her goal is to apply Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy and General Semantics principles in daily teaching practice. Another principle uppermost in her mind is to promote classroom discourse based on questioning, enquiry, problem solving and self – monitoring; referring to the classroom Emotional Thermometer and the Ca...