Behaviour Management:

THE COW PRINCIPLE OF BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT

By David Koutsoukis

What cows can teach us about managing student behaviour

I can hear you asking, “What on earth do cows have to do with managing student behaviour?”If you’re in the mood to find out more, don’t be a coward, read on. This article will show you how to moove your students towards positive behaviour, and how to encourage them to have respect for udders.

The Cow Principle is a fun metaphor I have developed to help teachers, students and parents understand the ethos and frameworks behind behaviour management systems in schools. It gets its name from the comparison it draws between a cow paddock and the school environment. It tells the story of two cows and their life in the paddock, and gives students and teachers key messages to reflect upon. The use of cows not only lightens up an otherwise dry topic, but also provides a useful "picture" when explaining the concept of behaviour management to students, staff and parents. It is especially useful for explaining concepts to students in the early years of schooling.

To use the cow principle with students, staff or parents, read them the Cow Principle Story and then discuss the key messages at the end.

The Cow Principle Story

The cow paddock

Once upon a time there was a nice, clean cow paddock set amongrolling hills with a big steep hill at one end. It’s a wonderful place full of juicy, green, nutritious grass.Towards the lower end of the paddock is a lovely pondwith cool, fresh water.The paddock provides any cow that might live there with all the nourishment they need. The paddock is bordered by a clearly visible andsign posted electric fence.At the top of the steep hill is an orchard of trees laden withall types of lovely fruit ready to be eaten. All the while the sun is shining brightly over this beautiful green paddock.

  • The clean, green paddock represents a positive school environment.
  • The pond and the juicy, nutritious, green grass represent the information that students learn.
  • The fence represents boundaries of acceptable behaviour (rules), and is there to protect the rights of others.
  • The signs on the fence specify rules and outline whatwill happen if they are broken. That is, don’t touch this fence or you’ll get zapped.
  • The sun represents the responsibilities that we all have.

The inhabitants

A farmer lets two cows into thepaddock named Daisy and Crazy who graze in the paddock under his supervision. He tends to their individual needs throughout the day. The sun is quite bright so they both have hats to wear. They know that if they don't wear their hat the sunshine will drain their energy. Both cows are aware of, and understand the signs on the electric fence, and the consequences of pushing against it. If they push against the fence they get zapped and it drains their energy. The harder they push, the bigger the zap. They both know that there is "good stuff" at the top of the paddock and that they need a lot of energy to get there.

  • Wearing the hat represents facing up to our responsibilities.
  • The cows energy levels represent their attitudes towards school.
  • The fruit trees at the top of the paddock represent the extra stuff that happens in schools. That is, things that teachers do on top of the normal curriculum to make school fun such as class games, fun time, socials, camps, reward days, incursions and excursions.
  • The farmer represents the teacher.

Patterns of behaviour

Although the conditions are the same for both cows they behave quite differently. Daisy wears her hat, does not push against the electric fence and cooperates with the farmer.

Crazy’s behaviour is quite different. He often bumps into the electric fence and gets zapped. Some times it is because he is trying to eat the neighbour's grass on the other side of the fence. Other times he just doesn’t think about the consequences.He has been zapped so often that his energy levels are quite low. Crazy doesn’t like wearing his hateither,so his exposure to the bright sun has drained his energy levels even further.At times,Crazyisuncooperative with the farmerand won’tdo what the farmer asks him to.

The cowboys…

The farmer realises that some cows like Crazy have trouble resisting what's on the other side of the fence or keeping their hats on, so hehas some cowboys around to help.

  • The cowboys represent school support staff such as teachers aids, education assistants, school psychologists and chaplains.

Life in the paddock

Daisy who does "the right thing",is having agreat time in the paddock. She wanders all over the place looking atlots of different things, and becauseshe has plenty of energy she even gets up to the top of the paddock to the fruit trees and “the good stuff”. She literally enjoys the fruits of her decisions and is having a good time in the paddock.

Now because Crazy doesn’t wear his hat his energy levels are low to start with. Once he started getting zapped by the electric fence his energy levels were drained even further. Not only is he unable to get to the top of the hill to enjoy the “good stuff”, he doesn’t feel like doing much at all. He becomes even more uncooperative. He finds life in the paddock frustrating and occasionally even head butts Daisy. At one time Crazy caused so much trouble that the farmer had to remove him from the paddock. The farmer really likes Crazy, but is concerned about what he is doing in the paddock.Every now and then the farmer gets the cowboys to spend some time with Crazy.

The end (for students and parents)

At the end of the day Crazy sat down. He was exhausted.

“I hate that fence! I hate that sun! I hate those cowboys hanging around me?Why can’t I get to have some “good stuff?”I hate this paddock!”

In the meantime, Daisy was wandering down the hill after spending some time in the “good stuff”. She was happy and feeling good. “I love this paddock!” she said to herself.

The end (for teachers)

At the end ofthe day the farmer sat on a gate chewing a piece of wheat.He was contemplating what has gone on during the day. He thought about things like:

“Why does Crazy push into the fence? Maybe the boundaries need to be clearer or the consequences more effective?

“Why doesn’t he wear his hat – maybe I need to remind him of his responsibilities?

“Why does he misbehave and how can I help him change his behaviour?”

A little bit later the cowboys lead Crazy back to the barn for the night, and as they walked past the farmer said “I like that cow, he’s got potential.”

Key messageswe can learn from the Cow Principle of Behaviour Management

For students

  1. The great news is that you get to choose what life will be like in the cow paddock.
  2. If you make good choices,school will be a pleasant experience with plenty of time enjoying the “good stuff.”
  3. If you make poor choices,expect to suffer consequences that will cause discomfort, lost opportunities and will mean you miss out on the “good stuff.”

For teachers

  1. Do you provide a nice, clean, grassy paddock? Do you have a positive learning environment?
  2. Do you provide a deep pond full of clear, fresh water and juicy, nutritious grass? Do you have relevant and engaging learning programs?
  3. Do you provide opportunities for the farmer and the cows to get used to each other? Do you do relationship building activities?
  4. Are your fences strong and clear? Do you have clear guidelines of expected behaviour and consequences that are known by all stakeholders.
  5. Do you know the steps to follow to remove the naughty cow from the paddock. Do you have clear routines for disciplining students?
  6. Do you have enough resources to run the farm such as fencing materials, water supply, farm hands etc. Do you allocate adequate resources towards managing student behaviour? (staffing, money, PD).
  7. Do you have cowboys and cowgirls to assist recalicitrant cows? Do you have support systems to help students change their behaviour?
  8. Do you chew a piece of straw every now and then? Do you take time out to reflect on how you might improve behaviour management processes in your classroom and or school?

These eight pointers represent eight dimensions of behaviour management as outlined in my book the Behaviour Management Toolkit. How does your classroom or school rate?

Well, there it is, the Cow Principle of Behaviour Management. I hope you enjoyed this different look at behaviour management and trust that you found some elements that will help you fine tune your own behaviour management skills. In fact, I hope you were able to milkthis article for all that it’s worth! In closing, I would like to wish you every success in all your classroom endeavours and leave you with this message: Never lose your sense of humour and don’t forget to have some fun!

About the author: David Koutsoukis is an educator with over 20 years experience. He is the author of the Behaviour Management Toolkit and Poster Set, the Values Education Toolkit Series and Poster Set, and the Daily Dose of Fun Series of books. He is now a full time presenter and consultant who works with schools helping them build positive and productive school cultures. David conducts professional development programs for educators on ‘How to Manage Student Behaviour and Keep Yourself Sane!’ and does a values oriented motivational program for students called ‘Make the Six Kinds of Best Your Personal Quest!’.You can visit his website at