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Perhaps the most respected, influential, and most cited journal in the field of education is the PHI DELTA KAPPAN. The publisher, Phi Delta Kappa International (PDK), is an international association whose mission is to promote high quality education, in particular publicly supported education, as essential to the development and maintenance of a democratic way of life. This mission is accomplished through leadership, research, and service in education.

PDK has established a new category of membership designed to serve non-educators—parents and others interested in education. Subscription to the PHI DELTA KAPPAN is included in the membership.

If you are interested in keeping informed of educational practices, theories, and controversies, you are invited to join Phi Delta Kappa International. For information, contact … >>>

On this day, February 12, a few years after speaking to a school district in New Jersey, I asked the school principal (who convinced the district to have me present) how she originally found out about Discipline Without Stress. She told me that she heard me at a conference of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and had asked someone who was assisting with handouts about his reaction to the program. The Arizona principal told her, “Those teachers who implement the system are sad when school ends; those who do not are glad when school is over.”

The New Jersey principal has been implementing the system for the past number of years and has convinced the entire … >>>

QUESTION:

The Raise Responsibility System discipline approach is referred to as simple-to-implement. I find that I continually have to be aware of being positive, offering choices, and asking reflective-type questions. I wonder if others find using these three practices and implementation of the system “simple.”

RESPONSE:

SIMPLE does not mean EASY (at first). It is simple in that ONLY THREE principles—not a dozen or so—need to be practiced. In addition, the Raise Responsibility System has only three parts; TEACHING the concepts, ASKING reflective questions, and ELICITING a procedure to redirect impulses.

Learning how to drive an automobile is SIMPLE, but it only becomes EASY after you have driven for awhile.

Deciding ahead of time not to eat dessert at a … >>>

QUESTION:

After a presentation in Bermuda, the question was asked whether I am a traditionalist or a progressive.

RESPONSE:

Interesting question! I had never been asked this before.

My guiding mission is to foster responsibility. This is the foundational characteristic of those values and practices necessary for a civil, enlightened, and democratic society. Therefore, if you desire to label me, you would call me a traditionalist. But then consider the following.

W. Edwards Deming was the American who brought quality to manufacturing while simultaneously reducing costs. The most prestigious manufacturing award given in Japan is the Deming Award. Yet, Dr. Deming used a nontraditional approach—collaboration, rather than domination.

In this regard, traditional approaches for promoting responsibility are not successful enough … >>>

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About the Book,

"DISCIPLINE WITHOUT STRESS, PUNISHMENTS OR REWARDS
How Teachers and parents Promote Responsibility & Learning"
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"This book should be required reading for student as well as credentialed teachers."

Dr. Don Brann, Superintendent
Wiseburn School District, Hawthorne, CA
Co-Founder, California Small School Districts Association

A descriptive table of contents, three selected sections, and additional items of interest are posted at Sample Chapters.… >>>

Kerry continues her post:

Teachers DO make a difference. THE TRICK IS TO BECOME MORE CONSCIOUS OF THE THINGS WE SAY AND DO IN EACH NEW MOMENT BECAUSE WE NEVER TRULY KNOW WHICH OF OUR “SEEDS” ARE TAKING ROOT.

Several times now I have had the privilege of teaching some of the children of the children I taught myself as a beginning teacher. This has been a wonderful “lesson” for me in terms of letting go of worry and simply concentrating o the moment at hand.

As it turns out, these particular parents who have returned to me now were children that caused me endless worry twenty years ago—ones that I felt I just couldn’t help, ones that I felt … >>>

The Raise Responsibility System is not a magic strategy and you won’t necessarily see dramatic improvements occurring overnight in the more challenging children, but I do believe there is always a “response” inside the child. It’s just that we don’t always see that response.

Kerry continued by sharing several passages from a particular chapter in the book, “Gentle Roads to Survival” by Andre Auw. The chapter most encouraging is Chapter Six entitled, “Seed-Planting and Harvesting.” The main idea is about the importance of maintaining a “seed-planting mindset” in any work with people, as opposed to always being on the lookout for “the harvest.” Although this book is not about teaching, the thoughts expressed can be applied very well to … >>>

The Raise Responsibility System will work with anyone who has achieved enough cognitive development to reason. Asking a student for assistance because you need that person’s help, or asking, “What would an extraordinary person do in this situation?” or employing any of the other techniques described in the book prompt changes in behavior for those who are behavioral challenges.

QUESTION:
There will always be the one student (or more) who will not respond to the Raise Responsibility System . Is there something different that should be done to encourage that student to understand the system? Will time and persistence take care of the problem?

KERRY RESPONDED:
I think that the answer to this question you have asked is very much … >>>