The Raise Responsibilty System

Primary Book – “Hooway for Wodney Wat”


Cover Illustration

Hooway for Wodney Rat by Helen Lester is a great read-aloud, especially if you like taking on different voices!!

Camilla Capybara is a perfect character for introducing the concept of Level B of the DWS Hierarchy.  Once the kids have correctly identified Camilla’s level of operation, the illustrations really lend themselves to discussing the outcomes and natural consequences of operating on Level B.

  • Look at the picture where Camilla is screaming out the answers.  How are the others reacting?
  • Discuss the picture where she runs out over top of everyone to get to recess first.  How do the others feel about Camilla?  Will they be seeking her out to play on the playground?  Not likely!  They’re scared of her!
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What level is an accident?

QUESTION:
What if a child trips and accidentally hurts another student? Is this Level A behavior according to the RRSystem of discipline?

RESPONSE:
When teaching the Discipline without Stress Hierarchy, it is important to ensure that students understand that with regard to Level A, we are discussing deliberate actions that result in damage or injury, not accidents. Accidents are unrelated to discipline.… >>>

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I have an ADHD student who is very disruptive!

QUESTION:

I have an ADHD student in my class who takes up at least a third of my time.I’m not sure if this would be part of the DwStress approach, but I have decided that from now on he will go to the In-School Discipline Room whenever he is disrupting my class. I feel that the essays and self-referrals are not working and that the best thing for the rest of my students is to get this child out of the room when he is disruptive.

DR. MARSHALL’S RESPONSE:

EXACTLY!  It is simply not fair to other students or parents to allow this student to disrupt everyone else’s learning. His staying in your class is CONTINGENT upon his acting on >>>

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Is Discipline without Stress ever implemented in high school?

QUESTION:

Does anyone know if Discipline without Stress is ever implemented in high school? I teach high school Leadership classes and I think high schoolers need these things even more immediately than little ones. The real world is going to require self-discipline of them, real soon! Raising their responsibility is exactly what high school kids need. Most of the discussions I hear about the system seemed aimed at younger children, though presumably they should be applicable to older students as well. I would like any tips, or even encouragement for using this discipline approach in high school.

RESPONSE:

Discipline without Stress was developed when the author, Dr. Marvin Marshall, was teaching in a high school setting. It’s been adapted for >>>

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Can you give me some examples of reflective questions?

QUESTION:

Language is my biggest stumbling block. I know what I want to say but on the spur of the moment I often find it hard to put into words. As I develop new habits with this discipline approach, I sometimes feel a bit tongue-tied. Can you give me some examples of questions that don’t sound manipulative or coercive.

RESPONSE:

Developing new habits can be a challenge at first, but remember that any skill gets easier with practice! There are many questions in Dr. Marshall’s book that can be used to prompt reflection (pages 19-20.)

It’s important to remember that tone of voice is very important when asking questions, so as to avoid any sense of sarcasm or coercion.

Here … >>>

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Tell me how procedures are used in a discipline situation.

QUESTION:
I don’t understand how the teaching of procedures can be used in a discipline situation.  Can you give me an example?

RESPONSE:

Having used Discipline without Stress for several years now, I understand the importance of teaching procedures at the start of the school year. Even so, I still find that I sometimes forget this important step in my teaching and then suffer the consequences. Luckily though, I also know how Dr. Marshall would suggest remedying such a situation. He would suggest backtracking–to teach the procedures that I should have taught in the first place! Here is an example of one such impromptu “lesson” which turned out to be extremely helpful for the remainder of the school year.

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I’ve come up with my own names for the levels of development

QUESTION:

Although I use Marshall’s Levels of Development, I’m a bit put off by 
the “reverse A-D system,” with D being the best. It goes opposite to how we typically think of grades or levels.

I’ve finally come up with my own labels. I think they have the
same meaning but in reverse order.
 Any comments?

Lowest Level D = Deliberate misbehavior
Level C = Can’t control self
Level B = Behaves for rewards
Highest Level A = Automatic self-control

RESPONSE:

As you implied, the key to success with this approach lies in conveying the understandings of the concepts at each level. The specific name attached to each level is not as important as the concepts that describe and … >>>

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How can I make the Discipline without Stress levels meaningful to students?

QUESTION:

I am still waiting for my Discipline without Stress book to arrive, but this morning I introduced the system to my class anyway. Even though it’s almost the end of the year, I have such big behavior problems that I decided I had nothing to lose and everything to gain! However, I must have done something wrong because the very students who need this system most, were the ones who didn’t pay attention to the discussion and mocked the levels right from the very start. Any suggestions for making this system real to kids who don’t pay much attention to things like this?

RESPONSE:

Here is an example of just one small discussion I have had with my own >>>

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Should I start introducing the Levels of Development from A or D?

First Question:

When introducing the Levels of Development, I assume that I should focus on one level at a time. Do I start with Level A or Level D?

Response:

To me, it makes sense to begin with Level A and end with D; I want to end on a positive and inspiring note!

Second Question:

Would it be best to introduce one new level each week, or one new level each  day, while revisiting the previous levels?

Response:

There are many ways to introduce the Levels of Development. The number of lessons used for introducing the four levels would depend on your own preference and might vary with the age of your students. High school teachers typically … >>>

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Are the level letters confusing to students?

QUESTION:

I was wondering if the behavior standards listed by Marshall (A = anarchy, etc.) are confusing 
to students. When we give them behavior grades, we say “A” is the best. I want to put up 
the Hierarchy chart as described in the book, but I wondered if it was going to confuse the kids.

RESPONSE:

The symbols “ABCD” have no particular meaning in and of themselves, it’s only in context that these symbols hold particular meanings.

For example, in a multiple choice question, A,B,C,D identify four possible answers.

In First Aid situations, ABC refers to Check AIRWAYS, Check BREATHING, Check CIRCULATION.

When discussing “patterning” as a concept in math, ABCD might refer to a pattern of four repeating shapes … >>>

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I’m a bit put off by the “reverse A-D system.”

Question:
I teach Marvin Marshall’s Discipline without Stress levels but I’m a bit put off by 
the “reverse A-D system.” D being the best goes so opposite to how we usually think of grades or levels.

Response:
Although it’s true that school letter grades and the Discipline without Stress Hierarchy levels are arranged in opposite orders, at my K-6 school we have never experienced any 
confusion with this. I think that’s because we purposely 
do everything we can to keep grades separate from discussion of the Discipline without Stress Hierarchy. The 
two are not connected. Certainly, both provide tools of evaluation, but one is a 
tool of EXternal evaluation and one is a tool of INternal evaluation.

The Hierarchy is … >>>

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Can the levels be renamed in opposite order?

QUESTION:

Just wondering–could the levels be renamed to go in the opposite order? The younger kiddies have been so programmed to think that A is the best and what they should be striving for. To them, D means needing improvement. I’m afraid my kids will get confused when I tell them Level A is the worst level.

RESPONSE:

From a primary teacher on the Disicpline without Stress mailring:

I thought the same thing until I taught it to my children. My second grade class learned the terms the first day of school. I had a harder time with getting my mind around it than they did! Their minds are remarkably resilient and flexible.

As a reminder for me, … >>>

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How can I explain “anarchy?” in the context of this discipline approach?

QUESTION:
Some of my youngsters are struggling with the word “anarchy.” How can I explain what it means in a simple way?

DR. MARSHALL’S RESPONSE:
Remember that young people’s brains are like sponges. They can absorb anything. The trick is to make meaning of what is absorbed. This will enhance learning and memory.

For older children:
Break “an/archy” up by teaching that the prefix “an” means “not,” “without,” or “lacking”– in this case, “without rule.” Compare this with other prefixes such as “mono,” which means “one,” and “olig” which means “a few.”

Explain that:
• Monarchy is rule by one person (like a king).
• Oligarchy means rule by a few people.
• Anarchy means that there is no … >>>

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I need concrete examples of each level of this discipline system.

QUESTION:
I am confused about the specifics of the Discipline without Stress Hierarchy. I need concrete examples of behaviors for each level so that I can correctly explain them to my students.

RESPONSE:
Below are some examples of behaviors on each of the four levels as well as the most important understandings to convey to your students.

Level A – Anarchy
• displaying out-of-control behavior of any type
• showing a complete lack of concern for the feelings of others
• destroying or vandalizing property intentionally
• stealing
• putting oneself or others in danger

Behavior on this lowest level is always unacceptable. Students should understand that by choosing to act on Level A, they are automatically inviting the use … >>>

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How can I get all my students to Level D?

QUESTION:
I’ve been using Discipline without Stress for a few months now and my students seem to understand about the four levels of behavior. Generally their behavior is acceptable, but they aren’t operating on Level D all the time yet. What can I do about this?

RESPONSE:
Surprising as it might seem, having all students operate on Level D is not the goal for the teacher in this discipline system. Although the world would certainly be a better place if everyone chose to operate at Level D, it’s probably not realistic to expect that students will be able to reach that high level of conduct on a consistent basis. Rather, the teacher’s goal is to have all students operating at … >>>

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I have some parents who don’t like that “D” behavior is better than “A.”

QUESTION:
I have some parents who don’t like that “D” behavior is better behavior than “A” when it comes to talking about discipline.  My students get letter grades for conduct and a few parents have a difficult time with D being good in the classroom but not on the report card. Can you help me with this?

DR. MARSHALL’S RESPONSE:
This is a common question and a natural assumption, yet the assumption that students get confused is very often not an accurate one. The proof would be to ask the students.

Much of our language–and much of what we do in life–depends on context. Here are some examples:

• When do we use “to” or “too” or “two”? It … >>>

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Can you give me an overview of how this discipline approach works?

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 … >>>

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Developing Positive Teaching Habits in Discipline Situations

Recently I was glancing through a book from the public library: THE BOOK OF NURTURING–Nine Natural Laws for Enriching Your Family Life by Linda and Richard Eyre.

In the chapter on discipline, a little story caught my eye because it contained a very PROACTIVE and POSITIVE suggestion that could be used by anyone who wanted to make changes in their life or wanted to develop new habits.

I find that many people are first attracted to the DWS Teaching Model because they like the idea of acting positively in discipline situations with young people, yet initially they find that the habit of positivity doesn’t come to them either naturally or automatically. Most people find that it’s something they must consciously … >>>

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