Learning

The Common Core Standards are Not So Common

On August 22, 2013   /   Learning  

According to a Gallup poll released this week, nearly two-thirds of Americans don’t know what the Common Core State Standards are. As many readers of this blog are aware, the Common Core State Standards are a set of learning standards that are supposed to prepare students for a 21st-century economy by emphasizing critical thinking skills and informational texts in reading, and depth in important math concepts.

Interestingly, while the Common Core Standards were designed to make American students more competitive in the global marketplace, the Gallup poll also showed that only four in ten of those familiar with the initiative think it can actually accomplish that goal.

Currently, 45 states and the District of Columbia are revamping their curricula to … >>>

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Discipline and Expectations

On August 21, 2013   /   Discipline, Learning  

The greater danger
for most of us
is not that our aim is
too high
and we miss it,
but that it is
too low
and we make it.
— Michelangelo (1475 – 1564)

Ask the key to success in real estate and you will hear, “location, location, location.”

Ask the key to appropriate behavior and learning and you will hear, “expectation, expectation, expectation.”

Questioning why some cultures and subcultures produce citizens who have developed the characteristics of behaving appropriately, perseverance, and those requirements necessary for a civil society and you will soon conclude that the key has to do with expectations.

My way of communicating  Michelangelo’s message is concluding my presentations with two words: EXTEND YOURSELF! … >>>

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A Conversation with a Finnish Parent about the U.S. Education System

On August 20, 2013   /   Learning  

I recently met with a gentleman who relocated his family from Finland to the United States this summer due to a work assignment. He and his wife have three children, ages 9, 12, and 15, so getting them enrolled and settled into their new school was a top priority for them.

I asked him what he thought of the U.S. schools and how they compared to what his children attended in Finland. His answer didn’t surprise me.

“The teachers at the schools seem very nice, but why is everyone so focused on test scores here?” he replied. “I understand that the schools want to place my children in the correct learning environment, but don’t they realize that test scores aren’t … >>>

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A Boat Analogy for Decisions

On August 14, 2013   /   Effectiveness, Learning  

 “The moving finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on; nor all thy piety nor wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.”
—From The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

One of life’s greatest illusions is the belief that the past is responsible for the condition of your life.

One way to understand this fallacy that the past determines your life is to imagine your body is a speedboat that is cruising through the water at 40 knots per hour. You look from the stern peering down at the water. What you would see in this imaginary scene is the wake, the “V” shape of turbulence in the water left … >>>

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Encouragement vs. Praise

On August 9, 2013   /   Learning, Responsibility  

Giving children specific feedback and encouraging them to evaluate their own work is a form of encouragement.

If we think of praise as a general statement, such as, “You did a good job” or “I like what you did,” we have not given the youngsters feedback for a basis to evaluate or improve. We have also given a personal opinion. 

In contrast, if we think of encouragement as giving specific feedback, such as “You filled the whole page with color,” or “You wrote your whole name,” then we are removing personal opinion. We are stating our observation.

When we encourage by giving feedback, we gently push the child to do … >>>

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Learning and Business

On August 5, 2013   /   Learning  

Learning should not be compared to business. Business is a poor model for learning.

Business leaders are out of their expertise when they suggest that competition in learning is comparable to competition in business. The examples where businesses display poor practices are so numerous that they could fill an entire book. 

Business is so different from education that in my education book the only place I use the term “work” is in the index where the word “homework” is referred to as “home tasks” or “home assignments.” This is a deliberate attempt to differentiate effort in learning from effort in employment.

The entire epilogue of my education book, Discipline without Stress, is about how business is so different from learning … >>>

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Rewards, Employment, and Responsibility

On August 2, 2013   /   Effectiveness, Learning, Responsibility  

I was asked, “Why do adults work?”

The inquirer continued, “If not primarily for monetary reasons! We have a need and work is a means to achieve that end. Yes, there may be other drives but financial gain is the primary one. Why isn’t it the same with children? Find something else that motivates the child. I simply don’t believe that appealing to a 6-year-old’s sense of ‘what’s right’ will do the job. This might seem jaded but I’ve tested both ways and I see what works.”

The following was my response: 

If a youngster likes chocolate, for example, and if receiving the reward is contingent on performing the requirement, then of course this incentive works. If the youngster, on … >>>

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Benefits of the Raise Responsibility System

On July 30, 2013   /   Effectiveness, Learning  

Practitioners of the Raise Responsibility System move into a stress reducing mode, and young people become more responsible because:

  • The youngster self-evaluates
  • The youngster acknowledges inappropriate behavior
  • The youngster takes ownership
  • The youngster develops a plan
  • The youngster develops a procedure to implement the plan

The system is so effective because:

  1. Positivity is a more constructive teacher than negativity.
  2. Choice empowers.
  3. Self-evaluation is essential for lasting improvement.
  4. People choose their own behaviors.
  5. Self-correction is the most effective approach for changing behavior.
  6. Acting responsibly is the most satisfying of rewards.
  7. Growth is greater when authority is used without punishment.
… >>> READ MORE >>> →
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Why Rewards for Homework Don’t Work

On July 25, 2013   /   Learning, Responsibility  

Here’s yet another example of why rewarding children for doing something that’s expected of them is counterproductive.

I was talking with a 7-year-old girl who is about to enter the second grade about her experience in the previous grade. She explained to me that every night the first grade students had a short book to read for homework. The procedure was that they had to bring the book home, read it, complete a short worksheet about what they read, and return both the book and the completed worksheet to class the next day.

She, however, often forgot to take her book home, forgot to read it, forgot to fill out the worksheet, or forgot to bring both items back to … >>>

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A Democratic Classroom Is An Oxymoron

On July 22, 2013   /   Learning  

Teachers have a responsibility to teach in a way that students learn. If students do not learn what has been taught, then the teaching is simply entertainment.

I often read the term “democratic classroom.” Democracy, by definition, means that the authority rests with the people. But this is not the situation in a classroom. Authority always rests with the person responsible for the teaching and learning—the teacher. Successful teachers engage students in activities and involve them in the process, but the teacher always retains responsibility.

Democracy does not mean running a class in a democratic fashion. A teacher does not run a democracy. A teacher runs a classroom.… >>>

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Coolidge, Persistence, McDonald’s, and Discipline

On July 19, 2013   /   Discipline, Learning  

Ray Kroc sold malted milk machines in Southern California. Two brothers owned a drive-in restaurant, and they were his best customers. Kroc believed that the brothers’ business model was a good one. Their place was well-lit and clean, had a wholesome family atmosphere, offered uniform quality at a fair price, and sustained a volume that outstripped all of Kroc’s other customers.

Kroc was able to have the brothers sell their drive-in restaurant to him, but he retained the company’s name: McDonald’s.

The new owner found a Calvin Coolidge quote that expressed his business philosophy and posted it on the wall of every McDonald’s. It read:

“Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; … >>>

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Evaluating Teachers

On July 15, 2013   /   Learning  

The Los Angles Times today (June 15, 2013) carried an extensive article indicating that California is resisting the federal government’s insistence that standardized test results be used for evaluating teachers. Such resistance should not only be applauded but should also be followed by other states.

Using standardized tests to evaluate teacher performance is a political, not an educational, decision. No research justifies the use of such tests for this purpose. In fact, using any standardized test for this purpose is invalid and unreliable. There are just too many extraneous factors.

If we really want to improve teaching, we should look to develop models of effective evaluation rather than pursuing problematic schemes that measure teachers, create disincentives for teaching hi-need students, … >>>

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Listening by Using Rapid Repeat

On July 12, 2013   /   Effectiveness, Learning  

Some scientists say that about every 11 seconds our minds talk to us. When we’re listening to someone else speak to us about 250 words a minute, our minds, which are capable of dealing with thousands of words per minute, go wandering off, as in, “Did I turn off the coffee maker this morning?” “Do I remember where I parked the car in the parking structure?” “What shall I wear for the event tonight?”  

One way to tie up our self-talk or to continually focus on the speaker is to use the rapid repeat technique. Like anything new, it takes some practice. Here’s how it works: As you’re listening to someone, … >>>

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Learning and Collaboration

On July 10, 2013   /   Learning  

One day a salesman driving on a two-lane country road got stuck in the ditch. He asked a farmer for help. The farmer hitched up Elmo, the blind mule, to the salesman’s car. The farmer grabbed a switch, snapped it in the air, and yelled, “Go, Sam, go!” Nothing happened. He snapped it again. “Go, Jackson, go!” Still nothing. Then he flicked Elmo. “Go, Elmo, go!” And Elmo pulled the car out of the ditch.

“Hey, what’s with the ‘Sam’ and the ‘Jackson’?” asked the driver.

“Look, if he didn’t think he had any help, he wouldn’t even try!”

We all need help, and this is one reason that collaboration is far more effective in promoting learning than competition. Competition … >>>

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Discipline and Internal Motivation

On July 8, 2013   /   Discipline, Learning  

A prime reason that the discipline and learning system (Discipline Without Stress) is so successful is that it teaches young people to understand differences between internal and external motivation.

In the research book, Intrinsic Motivation and Self Determination in Human Behavior by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, they conclude, “In other words, verbal rewards (i.e. cognitive feedback) left intrinsic motivation unchanged in a situation where tangible rewards undermine it.” (p. 60)

The Discipline Without Stress system promotes giving positive feedback, especially recognition, but does not suggest giving tangible rewards. One reason is that once a tangible reward is given, motivation inevitably changes. Will the incentive be pursuing the objective … >>>

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Self-Discipline and the Theatre of the Mind

On July 5, 2013   /   Discipline, Effectiveness, Learning  

The concept of a “Theatre of the Mind” was described by Maxwell Maltz, a cosmetic surgeon and author of Psycho-Cybernetics. It is a system of ideas that could improve a person’s self-image. His self-discipline system was developed after he discovered that people who had cosmetic surgery to improve their self-esteem failed to do so. Maltz concluded that in order to improve one’s “outer image,” the “inner image” must also be addressed. In essence, if one’s self-image is unhealthy or negative, all cosmetic efforts will be to no avail.

His ideas focus on visualizing as the cornerstone of change.  His “Theatre of the Mind” is constructed in a person’s imagination, as in a real motion picture house. It is a … >>>

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Discipline and a Repair Room

On July 3, 2013   /   Discipline, Learning  

The idea of using a repair room for discipline challenges was sent to me by Cathy Rogers, a National Board Certified Teacher in Verona, Kentucky. 

—–

I began using the Raise Responsibility System in my classroom of 7 and 8-year-olds.

After learning the different levels, the students and I discussed that our class, when working in levels C and D, was a “learning machine.”  When someone was behaving on level A or  level B, our learning machine became like a bicycle with a broken piece; the piece needed to be fixed, and the machine could not work correctly until that was done. 

We need everyone’s contributions to be a whole. We decided to call our area of the room … >>>

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Discipline, PBIS, and Behaviorism

On July 2, 2013   /   Discipline, Effectiveness, Learning  

Positive Behavioral  Intervention and Supports (PBIS) is based upon using external approaches to promote responsible behavior and discipline.  A little history is in order.

B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) was the famed Harvard University psychologist who became popular with his practice of behaviorism, which is an extension of classical conditioning that is identified with Pavlov’s dog. The dog smells food and salivates. By pairing an artificial stimulus with a natural one—such as ringing a bell when the food appears—the dog associates the two. Ring the bell; the dog salivates. (Pavlov was smart enough not to use a cat; cats, like humans, are too independent.)

Operant conditioning, commonly referred to today as behaviorism is concerned with how an action may be controlled … >>>

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