Photo by Kevin Dooley
Most of us are familiar with scaffolding, it’s the stuff construction crews put up next to buildings as they work so as to make the construction possible. Without scaffolding, it would be impossible to successfully complete the building.
In education we also use scaffolding, but not the metal sort. A man by the name of Lev Vygotsky developed this theory called “The zone of proximal development” ZPD. I’ll describe what this is, then quit using complicated language. I want this to be an easy discourse, not a college lecture.
The ZPD is the distance between what a child, any child, can do on his own with no help, and the next increment of learning that would require some assistance. For example, we have a child that is trying to put on her shoes independently. She can get the shoes on, and she can get the laces pulled tight, but she just can’t get the rest of the tying done without some help. That is the zone of proximal distance, that little gap in ability between needing help, and being independent.
So scaffolding in teaching, much like scaffolding in construction, is the support offered to the little girl so that she can tie her shoes. It’s any support necessary for her to accomplish the task. With children who are visually impaired, we often do “hand over hand” or “hand under hand” where they can ride on the backs of our hands going through the motions, or I can guide their hands through the motions. This is scaffolding.
Most people have no problems with scaffolding, and with many children without disabilities they quickly tell, us the parents or teachers, when they do not want that support anymore. They essentially kick the scaffolding over and say, “I can do it myself!”
This is not often the case with children with disabilities. Children with disabilities are notorious for not saying, “I can do it myself”, instead allowing us to continue supporting the activity, and they seem perfectly happy to let us keep doing this until the end of time. This becomes a problem when we aren’t paying attention.
So much of parenting and teaching happens below the surface, deep down in our minds, the part that’s not even a “mind” anymore, but an instinct driven collection of neurons. We unconsciously respond to the cues given us by our children. When they push for independence, we give them a little more, removing a little more scaffolding. Eventually that child is a “completed” construction project, all scaffolding removed, and standing there all new and shiny, a newly minted adult. I’ve over simplified this process, I realize that, but you get the idea.
With our kids that have disabilities, they don’t fight for independence. Which is what typical kids do instinctively, instead they allow our support, forever. When they don’t fight for independence, that animal brain deep inside our minds, does not get the cues it needs to allow us to back off. It’s a very sneaky, unconscious process.
So what happens when the animal brain doesn’t get the cues it needs? We keep giving the support, and the child never learns to be independent and stand on her own. They NEED the scaffolding forever, and we have a teenager that has the potential to independently brush her teeth now at 17, still having mommy do it for her. That’s the danger. Now, is this young lady on track for entering society in the most independent way possible for her? Our goal as teachers and parents is to create a fully functioning, successful member of society, or as close to that ideal as is within our children’s true potential, not the one society would force on them.
We as parents and teachers must be mindful of this process with our kids. We have to ask ourselves in every interaction we have with our children, “How can I make Sally more independent here?” If you are still giving Sally a bath at 12 years old, could she do anything to add more independence on her part? Instead of tilting her head back for her as you dump water on her head, could you ask her to tilt her head back? Could Sally squeeze out some body wash on the wash cloth for you? Could she even lift her arms so you can wash under her arm pits, rather than you picking her arm up for her?
There are MANY parents that still do this when they have a child entirely capable of bathing themselves. It’s REALLY tough to move what is so much an unconscious process into our mind, I get it, but the consequences of doing it are profound.
Using our hypothetical friend Sally, she could very well be fully bathing herself within a couple of weeks, or months, slowly adding in more pieces that she’s doing for herself. Before you know it, you are sitting on the edge of the tub and she’s doing most of it herself, if not all of it. Then, you are getting the water started and leaving her to it, then you are letting her get the water started, and before you know it, Sally has private bath time, and Mom has private Mom time. You both win. Sounds glorious doesn’t it? It can be that way with a constant question, repeated throughout parenthood so often it becomes a motto. “What can I do to help her be more independent in this instance?” Ask it every day, every moment, every interaction. Sure, time gets in the way sometimes, but if you are always asking yourself that question, you will capitalize on opportunities that would have been just a habit in the past.
You can add scaffolding and remove it when your child really needs it slowly taking as many of those supports away as you can, while your child continues to be successful. Your child can be the beautiful building, the member of society she is meant to be, fulfilling her true potential. Buildings always look better when the scaffolds come down, be mindful of how you use them, and when to remove them, and your child’s independence WILL increase, guaranteed.
I look forward to your comments and questions, lets start a discussion.
~Mickey
My Kid Can 