The School of Thoughts

An innovative programme is teaching kids about the human brain to help them manage their own behaviour

Learning about the inner workings of the brain is teaching students how to focus and take control.

As a topic taught in school, the human brain, and all its inner workings, is more likely to be on the curriculum of a senior high school biology course than it would be in a class focused on helping kids with behavioural or emotional challenges. But that is exactly what a unique programme at Stanton Lodge in Townville, Queensland, is teaching – and it’s having outstanding results on the kids involved.

“We teach the students about their brains and how they work, so they can then understand how to work with what their brains are doing to achieve the goal they’re

after,” explains Kevin Butler, the programme’s creator and head. He says the goal is to improve personal and social capabilities, and to build resilience and emotional intelligence. “The kids need to be able to control what their brain is doing, to understand that their amygdala is lighting up when they’re very upset, and how to calm themselves down, so they can use their pre-frontal cortex and think of responses rather than simply reacting.”

PERFECT MAN FOR THE JOB

When 52-year-old Kevin was asked to develop a programme at Stanton Lodge for at-risk students, it followed three decades’ experience of teaching and working with kids, largely in the area of behaviour. “I found out early on in my career that I was able to build relationships very quickly with children, particularly those at risk or exhibiting significant behaviours at school,” he says, admitting his affinity comes in part from experiencing his own adversities early in life which he overcame.

“I don’t take their behaviours personally and never have,” he says. “Ninety-nine per cent of the time their behaviours are more a result of what the kids have lived themselves and the circumstances they find themselves in and they’re just exhibiting how they feel in those situations.” For Kevin, it’s not about holding grudges towards students, rather it means helping the youngsters under his care recognise why cer tain unpleasant behaviours towards others aren’t acceptable.

When kids first arrive at Stanton Lodge, nine out of ten of them are very apprehensive. They may suffer from anxiety as they don’t know the staff or other participants, and this leads to feelings of nervousness.

The staff all work very hard to make the kids feel safe, valued and important, by sharing details about their own lives and encouraging the kids to do the same. By the end of their first session, Kevin says almost all the kids feel at ease and ‘can’t wait to come back the next week’, allowing them to get stuck into his favourite topic – the inner workings of the human brain.

“The kids need to be able to control what their brain is doing ... so they can use their pre-frontal cortex to think of responses”

Stanton Lodge in Townsville (right) and Kevin Butler (far right)

A COMPLEX SUBJECT MADE SIMPLE

While the brain and its elaborate processes are not straightforward subject matter, the programme has been devised to make it easy for kids to understand. It incorporates everything from practical learning, to YouTube videos on topics such as the Marshmallow Experiment – which teaches about delayed gratification – TED talks, apps and activities that use drums as part of a wellbeing programme. Working in small groups, the welcoming classroom becomes increasingly filled with colourful artworks and projects created by the kids as the term goes on.

Anecdotes are another mechanism loved by both teachers and students.

“I’ll have a Pepsi can and I’ll say, for example, ‘I didn’t get to sleep early enough last night because I was on Facebook’ and I’ll shake the can,” says Kevin. “‘I woke up late as a result and didn’t get a warm shower because my kids used up all the hot water’ and I’ll shake the can again. It’s basically demonstrating how pressure builds up within your head, and eventually, you get too much pressure and it might only be one little thing that pops it at the end. Everyone thinks you’ve popped at that one little thing, but it’s all the pressure that’s built up leading to that.”

When it comes to teaching kids about neuroplasticity, Kevin says what they need to know is simple. “Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to develop new pathways, but we need to give it the opportunity to do that,” he explains. “I use a resource called Brain Talk Therapy, an animated programme that helps them

see what’s going on in their brain, using a mouse as an example.”

According to Kevin, the main thing for kids to learn is that their brain is working correctly and doing what it’s supposed to do. “They often have no control over their situation, they’ve been born into it or have a medical diagnosis or a verified disability,” he says. “It’s important for them to realise their brain is doing what it’s supposed to do, but we can teach it new pathways.”

OUTSTANDING RESULTS

It’s a bold and groundbreaking approach to helping at-risk kids, but its changed the behaviour of around three-quarters of the students at Stanton Lodge. Many parents and carers even notice significant changes almost straight away.

“When I first started the programme, I walked up to the first little fellow that ever came in the room and said ‘G’day mate, how are you?’ recalls Kevin. “His introduction to me was to kick me in the shins. We worked with him for the full term and three years later I received an email from his carers, saying he is now an outstanding student and having no problems at school and is also going really well at home.”

Last year, the Stanton Lodge programme lead by Kevin was awarded the winner of the 2019 Queensland Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Giving All Our Children a Great Start category. Kevin was also nominated as a finalist for the Queensland College of Teachers TEACHX Awards for Innovation in Teaching.

While Kevin says these public accolades are great – and help spread the word about the programme and the success it’s having – for him, the true reward is the work, however challenging it might be. And it might be something as small as watching one of his students take a breath and calm themselves down using the techniques they’ve learnt. “When

First taking a breath, thinking, and only then responding, helps in a stressful situation

you see a student starting to escalate who’d normally explode, in whatever form their explosions take, if that student then stops, takes a minute, then comes back to you without having any negative impact, that’s outstanding for me.”

It shows that the techniques the kids are learning are working, that they’ve learnt to identify when they need to step away and take a moment to calm down.

This simple skill is something Kevin believes every family can learn – both children and adults. “If you’re in your amygdala – your ‘flight, fight or freeze’ response – you’re not thinking,” he says. “You’re just reacting. It would be great for parents to understand that kids just need a situation where they feel safe and calm so they can relax and then thinking can occur.”

First taking a breath, thinking, and only then responding, helps if you are in a stressful situation, he says.

Aside from the sat isfact ion of watching his young students develop strength, resilience and emotional intel l igence, Kevin has also learned a lot about himself along the way. “The biggest thing I’ve learnt is that the more strings you can add to your bow and the bigger your tool kit is, the more you can help people and the more options you have to be able to make a difference.”