Volume 5 Number 11
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Welcome
2. Promoting Responsibility
3. Increasing Effectiveness
4. Improving Relationships
5. Promoting Learning
6. The Raise Responsibility System
7. What People Say
1. WELCOME
In updating my computer to a new operating system, all of my
recent e-mail files were lost. If you had contacted me and
did not receive a response, the reason is that your message
to me is floating somewhere in the Ethernet–and I know not
where.
—————
Jamie Turner of Fair Haven, New Jersey, recently forwarded
me information about her school’s website. I share it with
you below. Her entire communication to me is reproduced
later in this newsletter.
SICKLES SCHOOL
RAISE RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEM
What is the Raise Responsibility System? Marvin
Marshall’s Raise Responsibility System was designed in
order to promote responsible behavior within the school
community. This simple system focuses on promoting the
internalization of responsibility rather than on only
promoting external obedience. The foundation of this
system is the hierarchy of social development, which
supports students in learning how to make responsible
choices.
Why are we implementing this system?
As a teaching and learning community, there was a
consensus among our staff that we needed to find a better
way to help students make independent choices in their
behavior. After piloting this approach during the 2004-05
school year in many classrooms we found it to be a
simple, yet highly effective way to help students learn
to make responsible choices.
How can I find out more information?
Please visit Marvin Marshall’s website at:
www.marvinmarshall.com for more
information.
Jamie Turner, Principal
Sickles School
Fair Haven, New Jersey
————-
Jamie’s letter prompted me to add a new link to the
website and is entitled, “What People
Say.” You can scroll through its contents at
http://marvinmarshall.com/testimonials.htm
Since the number of links to a website is a very significant
factor used by search engines, and since I am attempting to
have the keyword “Discipline” bring my website to the top of
such searches, I have a personal request:
If you have your own website or work at an organization,
association, school district or school, please ask
the person in charge of the site (webmaster) to add
http://www.MarvinMarshall.com
under “Resources” or “Useful Links.”
Thanks for your assistance in helping to promote
responsibility.
2. PROMOTING
RESPONSIBILITY
Pursuing perfection focuses at looking for what’s WRONG.
On the other hand, pursuing high standards and excellence
focuses on what’s RIGHT.
Most humans in most endeavors will fulfill their
responsibilities more effectively when asked, “Are you
satisfied with your work?” rather than “Is what you have
done perfect?”
3. INCREASING
EFFECTIVENESS
Here are two statements from a most interesting book
entitled, “BLINK – The Power of Thinking Without Thinking,”
by Malcolm Gladwell, copyright 2005 (Little Brown and
Company).
1)
“. . . the information on our face is not just a signal of
what is going on in our mind. In a certain sense it IS what
is going on inside our mind.” . . . . “We discovered that
the expression alone is sufficient to create marked changes
in the autonomic nervous system.” (Page 206)
2)
“I began to listen with my eyes, and there is no way that
your eyes don’t affect your judgment.” (page 251)
Unless a person is autistic (cannot differentiate objects
from the emotional expressions of people), the person
looking at you IMMEDIATELY perceives your emotions–just by
looking at your face.
If you are thinking of arguing, blaming, criticizing, or
demanding, your mindset is communicated EVEN BEFORE YOUR
MOUTH IS OPENED.
Gladwell’s points reinforce the three principles to
practice. If you want to influence people successfully,
first THINK of how you can deliver your message in a
positive way, empower with choice, and prompt reflection.
—–
Malcolm Gladwell’s book is a masterpiece of how and why
people make snap judgments, how these judgments can be
beneficial, and–when they are not–what can be done about
it.
4. IMPROVING RELATIONSHIPS
Classifications help us to clarify thinking and
communications. We often hear reference to left and right
brain hemisphericity, personality types, learning styles,
and various intelligences. Yet, the MOST FUNDAMENTAL
classification dealing with fellow humans has to do with the
emotional part of our brain and its influence on cognition.
The fight, flight, or freeze syndrome originating deep in
the amygdala of the brain affects decision we make. In
dealing with others, it prompts a mix of emotion and
cognition. It instinctively translates into classifications,
such as “friend or foe?” “Are you likeable?” and “Am I
willing to be influenced by you?”
One approach for gaining rapport with others is to be aware
of this phenomenon by refraining from the “ABCD Don’ts.”
Don’t
Argue,
Blame,
Criticize, or
Demand.
5. PROMOTING LEARNING
Rather than working solely in isolation, learning and
working communities collaborate.
Here is a simple technique any teacher, principal, parent,
or leader can implement. Have people volunteer to relate
something that SOMEONE ELSE has done successfully. Then
decide on how often this activity should be conducted, such
as weekly or monthly.
A collaborative spirit grows by having others share
incidents of someone other than him/herself. Examples of
incidents could be helping someone, using a new procedure,
or sharing a successful technique.
Rather than the usual approach of the leader or a committee
recognizing one person above the others each week, month, or
year, sharing activities or incidents empowers the community
without the negative “punished by rewards” syndrome created
when a deserving person does not receive the award.
6. THE RAISE
RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEM (RRSystem)
The RRSystem, inclusive in the MARVIN MARSHALL TEACHING
MODEL, is outlined at
http://marvinmarshall.com/in-housedetails.html.
HOW SCHOOLS CAN CONDUCT THEIR OWN IN-HOUSE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
is described at
http://marvinmarshall.com/In_House_Package.html.
A quick reference of the RRSystem can be found at
http://marvinmarshall.com/aquickstart.htm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
An example of how one school implemented the RRSystem is
reproduced with the writer’s permission:
Dear Dr. Marshall,
I’m writing to let you know what a powerful influence your
work has had on our school community. After reading your
article, “Using a Discipline System to Promote Learning,” in
the March 2004 Phi Delta Kappan, our staff had a strong
reaction. Many of us immediately identified with your
struggle to maintain discipline and to find a way to do so
that was not punitive but increased student learning
opportunities and responsibility.
NOTE: The article referred to is the first one in the box
at
http://marvinmarshall.com/articles.htm.
I hold the copyright to all my writings and permission is
granted to reproduce anything on my website. I only ask
thatbe included somewhere as
the source. MM
A committee formed and met over the summer of 2004. Their
hard work resulted in a small group of teachers piloting
your approach during the 2004-2005 school year. As their
experiences were shared at faculty meetings and weekly
newsletters over the course of the school year, the small
group blossomed to include nearly half of our staff. Many
read your monthly online newsletter and continued to deepen
their ideas and practices. Some even ended many years of
reward systems, not without some withdrawal effects, to
focus on internal motivation.
During the last few months of the 2004-2005 school year, our
staff continued the conversation about your approach,
finally reaching consensus to implement it school-wide this
year. As principal of the Viola L. Sickles School, I am
proud of the ongoing and thoughtful consideration our staff
has shown throughout this process. There are frequent
conversations, sometimes even a bit heated, about these
ideas. And the conversation and thinking continues.
Since we are a primary school, grades pre-kindergarten – 3rd
grade, we have found it helpful to adapt your hierarchy to
make it a bit simpler. We feel we have maintained the
essence of your approach but in a form that is more easily
understood by our students. I’m sharing it with you now with
the hopes that you won’t cringe or feel we have taken your
work and misused it. Basically we have two levels: O.K.
behavior (acceptable) and Not O.K. behavior (unacceptable).
Under O.K. behavior we have levels D and C listed as
follows: I did the right thing all by myself. I did the
right thing when I was asked. Listed under the Not O.K.
behavior we have levels B and A: I did the wrong thing. I
did a hurtful or unsafe thing. One of our very talented
mothers created an adorable poster that now hangs
prominently in every classroom and the lunchroom, serving as
an effective reminder and excellent teaching tool.
I would be delighted to talk with you about our
implementation and sincerely hope that you will find our
work promising. Actually we had a brief conversation about a
year ago when I called to inquire about bringing you to our
district. Unfortunately, we are very small and were unable
to fund your visit. However, we didn’t let that deter us one
bit and have been thrilled with the results of this
initiative.
Thank you for your continued information via your
newsletter. We are faithful readers, here in our small New
Jersey community, and look forward to continuing our
learning.
Sincerely,
Jamie Sussel Turner
Principal
Viola L. Sickles School
25 Willow Street
Fair Haven, NJ 07704
7. What People Say
“With thirteen years experience as a secondary principal and
over twenty years in education, I couldn’t agree more that
coercion is a faulty approach in working with students. Dr.
Marshall’s Raise Responsibility System is what students
need to take control of their lives and will instill in them
the skills to be happy, productive citizens…. Personally,
I believe his presentation to our staff was one of the best
I have seen in twenty years.”
Kent Bunderson, Principal
Vernal Junior High
Vernal, Utah