Mark Anderson reviewed Lost at school by Ross W. Greene
Review of 'Lost at school' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
An important book. Essential for educators to read. Greene boils down a therapeutic approach to dealing with challenging students that he calls collaborative problem solving, or Plan B. He models for the reader what this process can look at one-on-one with a student, as a whole class, and as a whole school by constructing an ongoing narrative based on the stories of a couple of fictional challenging students. Given that he's got a point to make, the narrative is somewhat artificial of course, but it's remarkably realistic nonetheless and well-crafted for its target audience.
What I found interesting about his collaborative problem solving process is that it's essentially a simplified version of the Life Space Interview conducted as a part of Life Space Crisis Intervention. However, his version can be seen as serving a broader and more proactive purpose, as opposed to dealing crises after they have occurred (though this …
An important book. Essential for educators to read. Greene boils down a therapeutic approach to dealing with challenging students that he calls collaborative problem solving, or Plan B. He models for the reader what this process can look at one-on-one with a student, as a whole class, and as a whole school by constructing an ongoing narrative based on the stories of a couple of fictional challenging students. Given that he's got a point to make, the narrative is somewhat artificial of course, but it's remarkably realistic nonetheless and well-crafted for its target audience.
What I found interesting about his collaborative problem solving process is that it's essentially a simplified version of the Life Space Interview conducted as a part of Life Space Crisis Intervention. However, his version can be seen as serving a broader and more proactive purpose, as opposed to dealing crises after they have occurred (though this is a disservice to LSCI -- it's purpose is ultimately preventative, not reactive). I bring this up not to denigrate his model at all, I think it's actually far more practical and relevant to real classroom application, as opposed to the admittedly involved series of the I-ESCAPE steps during LSI. So I found it incredibly useful as building on the training and perspective I've gained from LSI. I also like that the collaborative problem solving process is simplified enough to be generalized for different purposes -- it's useful not only for dealing one on one with challenging students, but in any situation in dealing with confrontation, even at a systems level of decision-making and communication.
Well worth reading and operationalizing in daily practice.
