Dear Dr. Marshall,
I’d like to share with you how your Discipline without Stress system has worked for me.
I started my career in education as a substitute teacher. I thought that being tough and enforcing rules was the way to control a class. However, in my first year of full-time teaching I noticed I was only getting about 20 minutes of actual instruction time in a 55-minute instructional period. The rest of the time was spent telling students what to do, how to behave, lecturing, and even threatening with punishments. By the end of the day I was exhausted!
In my second year of teaching, I heard you speak at a conference, bought your book, and for the past eight (8) years, I have been using your method with tremendous success. My students get so much done in an instructional hour that we have time to do all the fun projects I’ve always wanted to do but thought I couldn’t. My relationship with my students became much stronger (they ask how it is that I never raise my voice), and perhaps most importantly by the end of the day I still have energy for the other people in my life who want my love and attention—my wife and two children.
My student Lexie (not her real name) serves as just one example of your system’s effectiveness. Lexie learned the Hierarchy of Social Development and took pride in aiming at Level D motivation. When she acted inappropriately, I simply asked her to reflect, “Lexie, on what level are you choosing now?” She simply looked down and said, “I’m sorry. . . . B. I’ll change it.” Lexie stood out as a natural leader who helped others learn and rise to Level D. I learned that in previous years, Lexie hated school, received poor grades, academically and behaviorally, and was considered a “trouble maker” who was sent to the office for disciplinary reasons numerous times. What a shame!
Using your system has not only improved my lifestyle and that of my family’s, but also that of my students. They have learned life-long lessons about making choices, responsibility, and internal motivation.
On behalf of myself, my family, and over 1000 students who have been in my classes over the years, thank you!
—Eli Kashman, M.Ed. – Los Angeles, California
