QUESTION:
Can you give me an overview of how The Raise Responsibility System is implemented in a classroom? I understand that it is part of the Discipline without Stress Teaching Model and that a teacher uses it to guide themselves through a discipline situation.
RESPONSE:
As you mentioned, The Raise Responsibility System is the third part of the Teaching Model in this discipline approach. The first two parts of the Model which are critical to the success of the program are Classroom Management and the using the Three Principles (Positivity, Choice and Reflection.)
The Raise Responsibility System has three phases:
1. Teaching the Hierarchy,
2. Checking for Understanding, and;
3. Guided Choices.
Phase 1 – TEACHING THE HIERARCHY
Dr. Marshall encourages teachers to be proactive rather than reactive. He points out that typically, teachers wait until a student misbehaves and then they react to the situation. Dr. Marshall suggests that instead, it is more effective for a teacher to be proactive. He recommends that at the beginning of a year or term, teachers should begin by teaching their students about discipline.
The “teaching tool” of this discipline approach is The Hierarchy of Social Development. The first phase of The Raise Responsibility System involves teaching the students about the four levels of personal/social behaviour, with the express purpose of giving them the information they need to be able to assess their own level of behavior in any particular situation.
THE HIERARCHY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
(A tool for teaching young people about discipline.)
Level D: Democracy (Motivation is internal.)
- Develops self-discipline
- Shows kindness to others
- Develops self-reliance
- Does good because it is the right thing to do
Level C: Cooperation/Conformity (Motivation is external.)
- Listens
- Cooperates
- Does what is expected
Level B: Bossing/Bullying (Needs to be bossed to behave.)
- Bosses others
- Bothers others
- Bullies others
- Breaks classroom standards
Level A: Anarchy
- Noisy
- Out of control
- Unsafe
Phase 2 -CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING
In the second phase of this discipline system, the teacher asks the student to identify the level of his/her behavior according to the Hierarchy. The teacher’s job is to guide this process with questions that prompt the young person to think carefully about what he/she is doing, and to ensure that the student is accurate in their assessment.
The questions that Marshall suggests can be used to help students reflect on both inappropriate and appropriate behavior. It can help them to decide that it would be in their own best interests to move to operation at a higher level of the Hierarchy or it can help them realize that they are already operating at a high level and so be encouraged to continue what they are doing.
Phase 3 – GUIDED CHOICES
The third phase of The Raise Responsibility System is used for dealing with inappropriate behavior only. This phase is implemented only if a student chooses to continue misbehaving after he/she has already acknowledged an unacceptable level of operation. With the large majority of students, this step is never needed or used. Most young people decide to raise the level of their behavior once they acknowledge to themselves that they have been operating on a low/unacceptable level.
If misbehavior does continue, after a student has acknowledged Level B/ A behavior, then Guided Choices come into play. Ideally, the teacher helps the student develop a procedure for dealing with similar situations in the future. Choices are elicited from the young person and agreed to by the adult. Occasionally, the teacher will provide the choices. If consequences are deemed necessary, once again they are elicited from the student, rather than imposed by the teacher.
