MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Explaining how the brain works: it’s no easy feat.
But for Stanton Lodge head of program Kevin Butler, doing just that with at-risk students from around North Queensland is making a huge difference for the better.
Mr Butler has been named as a finalist for the Queensland College of Teachers TEACHX inaugural Merline Muldoon Award for Innovation in Teaching for his work educating kids about how their brain works, mindfulness and neuroplasticity.
Working with kids from Prep to Year 8, with an average of 50 students a week on part-time programs, Mr Butler has been involved with Stanton Lodge since it was first established about six years ago.
”I was approached to start a program working with at-risk students to improve their outcomes at school,” he said.
”The best way to describe what we do is we teach how the brain works, what it actually does ... and teach how to work with the brain to control emotions better, have better relationships, problem-solve better – a whole range of things with regard to emotional intelligence and resilience.
“Once the students, and I believe adults as well, have a greater understanding of how their brain is working, then they have a better ability to modify what it’s doing. We teach them about their amygdala, which is the emotional centre of the brain. Even the Preppies walk out knowing about their ‘myg’.”
The program has resulted in close to 90 per cent of participants returning to school fulltime with a significant reduction in suspensions and increase in attendance rates, including eight in 10 students recording fewer behavioural incidents.
A number of Mr Butler’s students have suffered traumatic experiences, have disabilities or mental health difficulties or face other challenges, and he uses practical learning, anecdotes, calming strategies and more to connect with the children.
“What a lot of people can’t appreciate is where some of our kids come from,” he said.
“A lot of things have happened to them in their lives, and some of the choices that these kids didn’t have a chance to make, through no fault of their own, have influenced their lives negatively. They can’t change that and that’s had an impact on their brain development.
“Every person here must feel safe, and when they know they’re important and they’re included, their sense of self-value goes up, which changes how their brain works and what it’s doing and why it’s doing those things, and they see improvement in themselves.”
Stanton Lodge was also last week nominated for a Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Giving all our Children a Great Start category, and Mr Butler said he was even more excited to see the school as a whole receive recognition for their good work.
”We are certainly very excited about being selected as a finalist for this very prestigious award,” he said.
”It’s recognition for the whole school, the work that we’re doing and the outcomes we’re achieving for our students. Most importantly, it’s recognition of the students’ outcomes, their achievements, once they’ve been through the program, and how it helps impact on their lives and gives them a chance to improve.”
Having been a teacher for three decades, Mr Butler said helping students with Stanton Lodge’s unique program was very rewarding.
“Teachers often talk about the ‘ah-ha, I get it’ moments that the kids have. It makes you feel good, and I’ve certainly had my share of those in the last 30 years,” he said.
“I probably gain more enjoyment out of a student ‘taking a breath’, whatever that might be. You can see them starting to become escalated, whether that be angry or upset, but they take that breath, take a moment, think about it and then respond, rather than reacting like they used to do.
”They’re the moments that mean a lot to me. When a student does that, they’re the moments I really enjoy now.”
Winners of the TEACHX awards will be revealed on October 24, and the Premier’s Awards for Excellence will be announced in Brisbane on November 6.