Forms and Administrative Backing

I received a communication from a school that was implementing my approach and queried about (1) the use of forms and (2) administrative back up.

1) Use of forms:

I explained that when I first developed the Raise Responsibility System, I used the essay and self-diagnostic forms.

I used the essay form to have a student reflect:
(1) What did I do? (Acknowledgment),
(2) What can I do to prevent it from happening again? (Choice), and
(3) What will I do? (Commitment) (page 274 in the book)
(Forms were never used in primary grades.)

If misbehavior continued, then the Self-Diagnostic Referral would be used
(page 275 or 276–depending upon the grade level).

Every day was treated as a new day, and if the student acted on level A/B on a second day, then an essay would be assigned to stop the lesson interruption and again have the student reflect. The essay was always given before a Self-Diagnostic Referral was used.

I relied on the forms less often as I started to elicit a procedure to help students help themselves.

2) Administrative back up:

As the person in charge of discipline in an elementary school, middle school and high school, my philosophy was different from that when I was classroom teacher (elemntary, middle, and high school).

When a teacher sent a student to the office, I would be sure never to send the student back the same day in a middle school or high school situation, and only after a long respite on the elementary level. I believed that both the teacher and student needed a break from each other.

However, when a student was sent to my office, the teacher was communicating to me that the teacher had done all that was possible and needed administrative assistance. I then used my knowledge of the student and of the family to enforce both school standards and assist the student not to repeat the inappropriate or irresponsible behavior. Here is the main point: I did not see my role as doing the classroom teacher’s bidding.

In my mind, administrative back up seeks to resolve a situation that assists the teacher to help the student become more responsible.

More information on this topic is available at http://marvinmarshall.com.

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