Behaviorism in the Schools

According to "Education, the Practice and Profession of Teaching" by Robert F. McNergney and Joanne M. Mcnergney, behaviorism is the "philosophical orientation based on the belief that human behavior is determined by forces in the environment that are beyond human control rather than by the exercise of free will." Is it a crazy idea for teachers to believe in behaviorism? Better yet, is it a good idea to base your methods of teaching around the idea of behaviorism?

In my opinion, because behaviorism helps students learn efficiently and helps them reach their full potential, behaviorism is not such a bad idea. I believe that we all work and learn to achieve the goals in our lives, whether it be earning money, learning at school, be successful, etc. Behaviorism helps us achieve these goals by providing a strict environment in which people are forced to learn from their mistakes. Students should not be given repercussions and should not be allowed multiple chances. In life when you make a mistake, you often don't get too many chances before there are serious consequences. I believe that same idea should apply in schools too. Students should have to become reliant on themselves and not solely on their teachers. The teachers should also be able to rely on their students that they will get their work done in a timely and proper manner. Behaviorism helps "manipulate the learning environment and present stimuli, using conditioning and social learning to shape student behavior" which in my mind is a good thing because it pushes the students to do their best.

Using the teaching methods listed in the book, things like "programmed instruction that provides feedback on their performance, behavioral contracts, reinforcement, etc" are good ways of helping the students achieve their goals and learn to their best ability. If a teacher helps them along the way, encouraging them and basically doing the work for them, the student will never learn. Having things like a behavioral contract can help give the student the extra boost or push they may need to succeed. When I was in high school, I was a pretty poor student. I never really did my work, goofed off, often missed classes. I believe that my teachers were just a little too caring and empathetic, rather than being a little harsher and strict. If I had had someone who enforced behaviorism, I may have been able to succeed on my own. Instead I relied on the teacher to give me extensions on things, help me and give me answers, etc. which was not beneficial to me. I only saw positive results in the grades I began getting, not because I was actually putting in the effort. I scraped by and was able to pass high school because my teachers let me coast and just basically gave me the grades I needed to pass. Looking back, I am not only extremely disappointed in myself but also in my teachers. I can understand wanting your students to do well and succeed, but I feel as though if they had pushed me and maybe given be a behavioral contract or something similar, I would have taken school more seriously. However, obviously I do not blame my teachers because in the long run it is the students decision whether or not they buckle down and learn in order to succeed.