Discipline

Restorative Justice in Schools

On July 2, 2015   /   Discipline  

Restorative Justice is a discipline program that is gaining support in urban schools across the nation. The reason it is gaining acceptance is that a disproportionate number of minority students are being punished for inappropriate and irresponsible school behaviors—and federal guidelines are attempting to reduce the problem. 

Although the approach has good intentions, significant problems have developed because teachers across the country are at their wit’s end to conduct their classes without an increasing number of disruptions. A prime reason is that students are not being held accountable for inappropriate behaviors. Restorative Justice can encourage misbehavior by lavishing attention on students for committing infractions. Where this approach has been tried, it has backfired.

As a high school counselor in an … >>>

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Classroom Management Procedures

On July 1, 2015   /   Discipline, Learning  

Classroom management procedures make instruction efficient. Here are some from the Discipline Without Stress Resource Guide:

  1. How to enter the classroom and then what to do (Students should always have something that raises curiosity, interest, or reinforces/reviews as soon they enter the classroom. Dead time is deadly time.)
  2. How to get attention and what students should do 
  3. How to quiet the class when it gets too noisy
  4. How to take roll while students are occupied in learning
  5. How to handle lunch tickets
  6. What to do when the fire alarm sounds
  7. When and how to sharpen pencils
  8. What to do when it is necessary to use the restroom
  9. What to do when an assignment is finished early
  10. How to find directions
… >>> READ MORE >>> →
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Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports vs. Internal Motivation

On June 30, 2015   /   Discipline  

Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) is based on external motivation. It asks adults to find some behavior that they wish young people to do and then rewards them for doing it. The theory is that, if a reward is given, the person will repeat what the addult desires. In essence, the purpose is to use rewards to control behavior.

The concept of behaviorism originated with Ivan Pavlov and is referred to as classical conditioning. Ring a bell and give a dog food. Soon you can just ring a bell and the dog will salivate. Pavlov did not experiment with a cat. Cats are much more independent. B.F. Skinner, the famed former psychologist, used this approach to train pigeons and … >>>

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Classroom Discipline Is Not Classroom Management

On June 26, 2015   /   Discipline, Learning  

Discipline is often confused with classroom management. Many textbooks used in teacher education courses discuss classroom management as if it were synonymous with classroom discipline.

This confusion muddles understanding so much that the vast majority of new teachers walk into their classroom unprepared to that which is required of excellent teaching, namely, commend respect of their students and establish relationships so students WANT to do what the teacher wants them to do.

Too many schools—especially urban ones—are having difficulty with discipline because teachers do not know how to use authority without coercion. The reason is that they are taught discipline approaches that do not work with today’s students. Coercion and aiming at obedience are counterproductive to motivating students and having … >>>

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Classroom Management Strategies

On June 24, 2015   /   Discipline  

Years ago as I was preparing to enter the teaching profession, I was taught that classroom management was about discipline. A college professor once told me that he didn’t like the word, “discipline,” so he used “classroom management” instead. When I returned to the classroom years later, I began to reflect on the differences between these two concepts and found them so great that just understanding the differences significantly reduced behavior problems as well as my stress levels.

All classroom management strategies have to do with making instruction efficient. This is the teacher’s responsibility.

Unfortunately, too many classroom management strategies refer to behavior or discipline problems. These have to do with behavior—which is the student’s responsibility.

The sooner teachers refer … >>>

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Positive Discipline by Discipline Without Stress

On June 23, 2015   /   Discipline  

People who use Discipline Without Stress® find it life-changing because they use many of the techniques in both their personal and professional lives. This 4-hour program—divided into 54 short modules—teaches how to influence others to do what you would like them to do because they want to do it. It is the most positive discipline system because it shows how to use authority without force or coercion. The coercive punishment culture prevalent in many schools and homes is significantly reduced because adults serve as developers of good character rather than as police officers enforcing rules. Want to really use a positive discipline approach? Learn more.… >>>

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Discipline Online

On June 17, 2015   /   Classroom Management, Discipline, Effectiveness, Learning, Parenting, Responsibility  

Discipline Online is now available for teachers, parents, and anyone working with young people. 

If you are at a school, home, or youth setting where discipline and behavior are out of control and where young people are not acting responsibly, then Discipline Online will be of great assistance. If you are a leader, teacher, or parent that imposes punishments, lectures, nags, or uses time-outs or detention, then Discipline Online is for you. If you are still rewarding young people for things they should be doing anyway, learn a better way.

You owe it to yourself—and to the people with whom you work—to use a more effective approach than any of those mentioned above. Learn how to deal with behavior challenges … >>>

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Belief and Discipline

On June 9, 2015   /   Discipline, Relationships  

All adults have the opportunity to influence children’s lives. And the greatest influence you can give is your belief in the young person. When children know that an adult in their life believes in them, their discipline issues will decrease.

When I was a teacher, a poster I had in my classroom read: “I would rather try and fail than not try and succeed.”

If you instill the PERCEPTION THAT SUCCESS IS ATTAINABLE, people will try and will have the self-discipline needed for success. If they do not believe success is possible, regardless of how easy the task or how smart the person, the goal will not be attained.

One of the most enduring comments people say about others who … >>>

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Detention is Ineffective Discipline

On June 2, 2015   /   Discipline  

Schools use detention as a form of discipline in an attempt to promote responsible behavior. The premise is that punishment redirects irresponsibility.

When giving public seminars, I often ask how many of the attendees were in schools that had detention. Most attendees raise their hands. I then ask how many find that very often the same students are serving detention.

Inevitably, the same hands go up. I then comment, “Doesn’t that say something about the ineffectiveness of detention?”

Perhaps the best paragraph I have read on the issue is from LouAnne Johnson in her book, “The Queen of Education.”

Using detention as a catchall cure for student misbehaviors is like using one medicine for every physical ailment. We would not

… >>> READ MORE >>> →
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Teens and Parents

On May 21, 2015   /   Discipline, Parenting  

A teenager recently contacted me with the following comments:

“I am a 17 year old with ‘determined they are good at parenting’ parents. I tried to encourage my parents to read your book and they refused. So I brought up the fact that they ‘try to teach me with imposed consequences rather than contingencies.’ I was then ridiculed and belittled by my dad. (How’s that for “good parenting”?) He said that if I were mature enough I would not have said that statement. He said that consequences and contingencies are the same thing. I am now going to prove to him the difference between the two.”

I replied to the teen with the following:

The father is of the old … >>>

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Teaching Essentials

On April 28, 2015   /   Discipline  

Curriculum, Instruction, Classroom Management, and Discipline
Join successful teachers who understand the differences to pinpoint a problem.

Curriculum refers to what is taught.
Instruction has two parts: teaching and learning
(1) what the teacher does and (2) what the students do.
Classroom Management deals with how things are done. It’s about practicing procedures until they become routines. Classroom management is enhanced when procedures are explained, modeled for students, practiced, and periodically (when necessary) reinforced by practicing again. Classroom management is the teacher’s responsibility.
Discipline is the student’s responsibility. It deals with how they behave. It’s about impulse management and self-control.

If you have an unsuccessful lesson, ask yourself:
Was it the curriculum? I just didn’t make … >>>

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Options and Discipline

On April 7, 2015   /   Discipline  

Giving three options works wonders in just about any situation.

For example, let’s assume your airline flight has been delayed and you finally get to your hotel room at midnight. But because it is so late, the hotel clerk informs you that your hotel room has been given to another guest.

Rather than get angry, tell the clerk that the hotel has three options: (1) give you one of the suites they reserve for their special guests at the rate originally given you, (2) pay for the transportation AND room charges for another hotel that they arrange, or (3) call the general manager of the hotel. The result: You will be given one of the hotel’s special rooms for the … >>>

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Advanced Concepts for Using the Raise Responsibility System

On April 2, 2015   /   Discipline  

Here are some advanced concepts for using the Raise Responsibility System (RRSystem) for discipline, for encouragement, and for promoting learning and academic achievement.

RRSystem for Discipline:
After teachers are well into the mode of ASKING students (instead of telling them) to identify a level of chosen behavior, asking for a response may seem coercive. At this point, teachers can then shift to SUGGESTING that students SIMPLY REFLECT on their chosen level.

Remember that the hierarchy is NOT an assessment tool for someone on the outside looking in. Also understand that no one can know the motivation of another person with complete accuracy, and since rewards can change motivation, rewarding Level D behavior can be counterproductive. The reward-giver will never know … >>>

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Classroom Discipline with a Student

On March 7, 2015   /   Discipline  

I was asked by a third/fourth grade teacher, “What do you say to a student who thinks his answers are ALWAYS correct even when I prove he is wrong by giving examples of the correct math solutions and by other students demonstrating the correct answers by their methods?”

I responded:
ALWAYS keep in mind that the person who asks the question controls the situation.

The only way this child will change is by having him continually reflect. The skill required to resolve classroom discipline and learning challenges with a student is in asking questions that will have the student reflect.

So what reflective question(s) can you ask?
Here are a few that immediately come to my mind:
– How do … >>>

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Fundamental Truths about the Discipline Without Stress Approach

On March 5, 2015   /   Discipline, Responsibility  

Over the years I’ve done much research into discipline, classroom management, and the education field in general. As such, I know of no other discipline program that is proactive, creates a DESIRE for change, and places total responsibility on the other person—rather than on the teacher or parent.

There are a few underlying, fundamental truths to my approach.

• A person can be controlled, but only temporarily, and no one can control how another person thinks or WANTS to behave.

• Although you can influence people, you cannot change them. People change themselves.
The least effective approach to influence a person is by using coercion.

• Obedience does not create desire.

• Two requirements are necessary for long-term change: (a) … >>>

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Why Discipline is Different Today

On February 24, 2015   /   Discipline, Responsibility  

Manufacturing—building tangibles—led and fed the economies in the 19th and 20th centuries. There were a few originators, but most people were followers. Obedience, implementation of rules, and top-down management were the orders of the day.

What drives our 21st century? The creation and distribution of information. Rather than compliance, initiative is required.

People rarely will work for one company all their lives. Increasingly, many people are now working as independent contractors instead of working for others. The number of individual entrepreneurs is continually growing. People in their twenties are planning their retirements forty years in advance because they no longer believe that traditional retirements will suffice in their older years. The society of the 21st century requires initiative—not merely following … >>>

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The Best Discipline Phrase

On February 19, 2015   /   Discipline  

When it comes to discipline, many teachers (and parents) believe that if they spell out consequences before the child misbehaves, then there will be no need for discipline later. For example, a teacher may say, “If you don’t finish your work, then you can’t go out for recess” or “If you talk during the lesson, then you’ll have extra homework questions.” These “if/then” consequence statements do little to curb behavior problems.

A better approach is to walk over to the misbehaving student and say, “Don’t worry what will happen later. We’ll talk about it after class.”

When it comes to changing behavior, not knowing what will happen is far more effective than knowing what will happen. Young people (really, most … >>>

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3 Questions to Ask All Youth

On February 17, 2015   /   Discipline, Effectiveness  

You don’t necessarily like someone because who the person is; you like the person because of the person’s effect on you. What kind of effect are you having on the children in your life?

Following are three questions that any parent can ask their children on a regular basis (or any teacher can ask students in a class meeting).

1. What did you learn this week that’s valuable enough for a lifetime? (Remember: we find what we look for.)

2. Do you have an issue, problem, or a concern you would like to discuss?

3. What do you feel good about or proud of that you’ve done this week?

(Note: If you are a parent or teacher asking a BOY, … >>>

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