Behaviorism

YMTP²  values the psychological approach of behaviorism, that focuses on the scientific study of observable behaviors that result due to stimulus and response, and states that all behaviors are a learned through interaction with the environment. John Watson introduced this theory and initiated this psychological movement in 1913. B.F Skinner continued to build upon this body of work, and introduced operant conditioning and the concept of shaping. Operant conditioning describes a particular type of learning that occurs through rewards and punishment, in which an individual makes an association between a particular behavior and a consequence. Shaping describes the manipulation of preexisting responses that are gradually changes over time to elicit a desired response.

Our current system of education is built upon these basic principles of behaviorism, in particular the conditioning of student behavior through a series of stimuli and responses to elicit a desired outcome. Examples of this stimulus and response patterns can be seen in the way we schedule a student’s day, the bell system that governs their ability to manage time in the school environment, A-B-C charts used as behavior management tools and in Functional Behavioral Analysis reports contained in a student’s Individualized Education Plan, and in grading policies and procedures. All of these systems work to contain student behavior and shape outcomes to best fit the needs of goals of the adults in a school building.

In contrast, yoga and mindfulness are tools that inspire opportunities for internal reflection and agency, as students become increasingly self-aware and able to make more adaptive decisions for themselves. It is our hope that through engaging students to be more active participants in constructing these patterns of stimulus and response, they may become change agents in shifting the culture and climates and structural organizations, and more in control of their education and lives as a result.