Have a Go Spaghettio! and the 'Verbal Pollution Free Zone’ of General Semantics

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 Catastrophe Scale to reinforce the idea that thinking, feeling and acting are connected. Things happen but do they make us feel and act as we do? Or is something else at work. Ms. Smithers applies these discourse rules to herself, thinking out loud, modelling to her children that she is practicing what they are all talking about, she walks the Have a Go Spaghettio! talk!

Ms. Smithers has been doing some research about General Semantics theory. Albert Ellis said his REBT is heavily influenced by the work of GS creator Alfred Korzybski. He put forward the idea of the ‘verbal pollution free zone.’ What is it and what has this got to do with Have a Go Spaghettio! and early childhood teaching and learning?

Ms Smithers has reached a level of understanding of REBT principles, and she is growing in her confidence to teach them and apply them in her teaching practice. The Have a Go Spaghettio! pedagogy is based on REBT and GS theories, designed to acquaint her students with the idea that thinking, feeling and behaving are inter connected.

She is keen that her classroom becomes a place where every opportunity is used to help students become confident young learners, confident and motivated and able to manage the challenges that daily life presents to them.

Ms Smithers says, “I’ve been doing some research about General Semantics theory. Albert Ellis said his REBT is heavily influenced by the work of GS creator Alfred Korzybski. He put forward the idea of the ‘verbal pollution free zone.’ What is it and what has this got to do with Have a Go Spaghettio! and early childhood teaching and learning?”

Busy Bee says

“The Verbal Pollution Free Zone consists of the following questions:

1. What do you mean? (Forces the speaker to clarify the exact definitions of the words they are using).

2. How do you know? (Requires the speaker to provide evidence or cite the source of their information).

3. What have you left out? (Encourages considering alternative perspectives and prevents jumping to incomplete conclusions).

It’s a conscious communication technique designed to reduce ambiguity, subjective judgments, and emotional reactions by asking specific questions.”

Ms Smithers will use these questions to challenge her children to explain what they mean, and how they know what they mean is accurate, and to consider what they have missed or forgotten or left out that could change how they think about things. She will use the Have a Go Spaghettio! pedagogy to teach children that how we think, might not be informed by the evidence and Ms Smithers will train her students how to think about what they say and think. She will encourage children to recognise Brain Bully thinking when they feel sad, angry, anxious. She will use the Emotional Thermometer and Catastrophe Scale to help them with their thinking. Way to go Spaghettio!

Ms Smithers applies her learning in her teaching practice, and her goal is to become more proficient in applying the REBT/GS principles in her work so that her children will have the skills and knowledge to think about their thinking when they are older.

“I’m wondering how I might teach this to my students. I’ll make it part of my daily chat, the classroom discourse. I’ll ask these questions in relation to the Franklin’s Bad Day story. Thanks Ms. Buzzy! I’m onto it!”

“Franklin wanted things to stay the same and Brain Bully was saying ‘it’s not fair. This should not happen. I’ll never be happy again.’  But Franklin’s dad helped him to think about things differently. What do you think girls and boys? Did Otter return?”

“No but Franklin changed his thinking from BB to BF, SS to SH. He could still be friends with Otter but in a different way. Sometimes we don’t get what we want but we can use BF thinking to help ourselves,” the children reply.”

Franklins father said:

What do you mean?

How do you know?

What have you left out or forgotten?

“Well done everyone! We’re learning how we feel and act is connected to how we think. Give it a try banana pie!” says Ms.  Buzzy. Have a Go Spaghettio! everyone says.