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Case Studies

Freddie's Case

  Freddie had always struggled at school and consequently was always either in trouble or on his way to being in trouble. Not a day went past without Freddie either being told -off, losing a house point or ending up in detention. Freddie's behaviour fluctuated from bad to extremely bad. Freddie's teachers were mystified by his behaviour. Although not an angel at home his parents did describe him as a kind, caring boy - something his school teachers didn't recognise. Freddie was being managed at school as a "badly behaved" child although his school teachers did recognise that the management style didn't appear to be working that well. This management style consisted of detentions, sanctions, grounding and time-out all of which isolated him from the group.

The BUTLER PROFILE revealed that Freddie was a high FEELINGS personality, which is commonly mistaken as a high COMPETITIVE, hence the reason for Freddie's teacher adopting a tough stance. Freddie on the other hand needed a softer, more empathetic style. A style, which allowed for him to open up and express his feelings. Feelings which to-date were flooding his mind and causing him to feel restless, uncomfortable and not at ease. Once Freddie's teachers understood that he needed a softer style of management if he was to feel safe, secure and of value, the change in Freddie's behaviour was dramatic. He didn't need to misbehave in order to be sent out of the room to think things through. Instead, encouraged by his teachers he began to ask for what he needed in tricky or uncomfortable situations.

The thing about Freddie's case was that once his teachers began to understand what he been struggling to try and deal with on his own they were able to help him deal with it in a positive and constructive way .

Joshua's Case

  Joshua is a bright and intelligent child who openly reminds others of his unique and outstanding skills. He is a confident boy who literally seems to enjoy winding other children up, teasing them or telling them horrific tales or stories. In fact, Joshua actually seems to relish his ability to reduce a child to tears or send them away reeling with disgust. And just as his peers find him tricky to stomach so too do his teachers. Hence Joshua had been a pupil at a variety of schools in his area and almost seemed proud of the latest title "bully".

Joshua's parents argued that there was nothing wrong with Joshua and blamed his attitude on the incompetence of the teaching staff. In desperation Joshua's teacher filled in a Butler Profile on him and asked Classroom Spirits to advise her on how best handle him and get him to focus on his work and stop upsetting his classmates.

The profile proved fascinating. It was an unusual one because the trait of COMPETITIVENESS in Joshua's personality was very high (98% in fact) but the other three traits, CHATTINESS, FEELINGS and THOROUGHNESS were very low. Very clearly this explained Joshua's apparent lack of empathy towards other children or individuals.

In adult terms Joshua's profile could be negatively described as an autocratic profile. In positive terms his profile revealed incredibly high self-motivation, entrepreneurial spirit, drive and passion to get things done.

So, a new approach and management style was established and worked out to suit Joshua's personality. Above all he needed to be driven and pushed by his teachers in order to take the focus off his peers and their achievements and to put the focus firmly on him. Joshua therefore needed to be given tougher and tougher assignments and deadlines. He needed to work on his own or away from others. He needed also to develop his secondary personality trait, which was THOROUGHNESS. Emphasis needed to be placed on getting it right and following the set procedures and guidelines. Joshua also needed to be aware, in advance, of the sanctions if he did decide to step out of line. Joshua thrived under this style of management and turned his attention to "self" rather than picking at others. It worked for Joshua as he is now being managed as a high COMPETITIVE and shown how to develop the THOROUGH side of his personality. He is happy and focussed and no longer disrupts his class.

Charlotte's Case

  Charlotte is a bubbly, enthusiastic, positive child but her intense excitement and exuberance spills over on occasions and affects the children around her. Charlotte can, therefore, either cause intense excitement or misery in the children around her. In addition, Charlotte likes to manage the class or to "act out" being the teacher. She is quite able and confident enough to suddenly jump up front and issue instructions or commands. Managing her can become a full time job because it is easy for her to take the teacher on an emotional ride too as she can turn on the tears, the anger or even the sulks if she doesn't like what she hears. A profile was completed on Charlotte because her teachers wanted to be able to manage her interruptions and emotional swings in a more constructive way.

The BUTLER PROFILE revealed to no surprise that Charlotte had a high CHATTY primary trait. In addition it revealed a secondary high trait of FEELINGS which wouldn't have been evident without analysing the profile. The high FEELINGS trait was the most interesting of the two discoveries because it revealed that Charlotte got upset and hurt if she was asked to quieten down or to get on with her work. It also pointed out that she was liable to hold grudges for some time after a telling off and unless it was dealt with her performance or attention span could be affected. The FEELINGS trait also indicated that Charlotte could and would "build" her feelings if she felt "got at" which explained why she had the occasional outburst of emotion. Thus the strong FEELINGS trait explained Charlotte's empathy, understanding and caring attitude towards others but it also meant that she had to be able to "share" her feelings with others otherwise she could "boil" over.

The profile outlined all of Charlotte's needs and requirements. It suggested a management style which firstly gave her the praise and recognition which the CHATTY trait craves and developed a softer and empathetic approach to accommodate the FEELINGS trait. So, for example, if Charlotte was being noisy in class and hogging all the air time, it would in future be a better approach if her teachers praised and recognised her enthusiasm and were soft with the reprimand. "I can see you are excited Charlotte and I appreciate that, so let's listen to what the others have to say and then let's see if you need to add anything". It's softer and kinder but also firmer than saying, "Charlotte, let's give someone else a turn". For it gives Charlotte the recognition she craves and reminds her gently to give someone else a go. There is no need for her to build up resentment or frustration about being asked to keep quiet. She can now focus on the rest of the discussion or task rather than working out her revenge. This style of management helped Charlotte to improve the quality of her school work.

Victoria's Case

  Victoria is a hardworking girl. In fact Victoria just loves to work. Her head is constantly in a book, or trying to work out the logic behind what someone has just said. Victoria is not backward in coming forward in telling her friends, peers or teachers that they are "talking a load of rubbish". So, Victoria often finds it easier to talk in riddles or rhymes and sometimes comes across as a "know it all", which she often is of course. For if Victoria puts her mind to learning something, she does and she'll stick at it until she has learnt it off by heart. Consequently, Victoria can sometimes be a "handful" in class as she is quite at ease challenging the facts or arguments and may even ask her teacher to come back to the subject of the lesson! Victoria's teachers find her approach picky and somewhat threatening as they often start to question their own ideas, arguments or facts.

The BUTLER PROFILE revealed that Victoria has a high primary THOROUGH trait with a secondary FEELINGS trait. The high THOROUGH trait is the driving force behind the need to have more technical information. For Victoria likes to get it right, be accurate and precise and deliver quality work. However, Victoria has a huge concern about making a mistake so if she is feeling uncomfortable, unsure or nervy she'll have to check things through. The profile highlighted that the way to manage Victoria positively and to reduce the amount of pressure she put on the teacher, it was important to do the following:

• Give her as much information as possible
  
  
• Get her to start to check her own work rather than relying on asking the teacher. Using a spell-checker, the computer or a reference book were easy ways to start this process.
  
  
• Praise her when she makes a decision for herself.
  
  
• Encourage her to be more independent by asking her "What do you think you could do for yourself right now?"
  
  
• Get her to suggest how she could take responsibility for herself. "I like doing..."
  
  
• Help her to be less critical of her own performance, "What do you like about it?"

With the help of an understanding team of teachers Victoria is beginning to develop her skills in self-reliance. She has her setbacks from time to time but is growing in confidence.

With the BUTLER PROFILE is now possible to manage all children positively. Children respond favourable to those who like, appreciate and understand them and respect those who help them through tricky or challenging experiences.

Go to BUTLER PROFILE

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