If genuine whole learning is to occur in other educational settings these foundational guidelines, wisely extrapolated, will provide a tremendous service to our youth. Understand that student misbehavior is not a personal attack. Make an effort to create success rather than failure since in the majority of cases a student has experienced an intensification of the latter. Front load efforts on building significance and competence which involves both public praise of the work and personal encouragement of the student's effort. Demonstrate unconditional positive regard by deeply caring, understanding, showing enthusiasm, and modeling appropriate behavior.
Positive regard builds significance in children.
Use a hierarchy of classroom management styles. This list is obviously not exhaustive, but it does give a sampling of practical ideas we employ daily in the education of socially and emotionally disturbed children. These same ideas can be used in other settings such as regular and alternative education programs where whole learning is being welcomed. The emotional support classroom offers a paradigm of what genuine whole learning is all about. Hopefully others in the education community will learn from the example and incorporate the philosophy by making it their own.