Posts Tagged Hierarchy of Social Development

What Motivates You?

On May 3, 2018   /   Stress Management  

How successful you are at handling stress often comes down to one thing: Knowing what motivates you.

Do you know what motivates you? Most people have never given this question a second thought. But when you know what motivates you, you can thrive in any stressful situation.

Internal vs External Motivation

Autonomy is a key driver of human behavior in traditional American culture. The most successful people are autonomous. As a result, they are able to handle stress successfully.

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs referred to autonomy as the level of “self-actualization.” The Levels of Development refers to this as Level D, Democracy. People operating at Level D take the initiative to do the right thing regardless of social pressures. … >>>

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Self-Acceptance Reduces Stress

On October 5, 2017   /   Blog, Stress Management  
Piece of paper stating "your are good enough" to show that self-acceptance can help reduce stress and anxiety.

Many people struggle with self-acceptance. In other words, too many people are searching for acceptance outside of themselves when they haven’t yet learned to accept themselves. Self-acceptance means being okay with WHO you are. It means being kind to yourself even when you make mistakes, fail, or do something that you later regret. When you practice self-acceptance, you reduce your stress level greatly.

Self-acceptance is a close relative to self-esteem. It is difficult to have one without the other, and, if you have one, you will tend to have the other. There may be many reasons why people have low self-acceptance, but most fall into one or more the following areas:

  • A desire to be perfect
  • A focus on imperfections
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Do Your Children Fear You?

On August 31, 2017   /   Blog, Parenting  
children fear you

If your children fear you, they cannot be honest with you. In fact, very often lying stems from fear.

Recently someone who purchased the eBook Children of Rainbow School contacted me. She wrote: “My children are fluent in the four levels—so much so that even my 3 1/2 year old is able to identify a given behavior with a particular level. We have two PDF printouts [from your web site] of the hierarchy on our fridge and the levels have become almost table talk. The problem doesn’t lie in the lack of knowledge about the different levels; the problem is a lack of honesty and not wanting to accept responsibility for what they’ve done (‘I didn’t do that,’ ‘It’s not … >>>

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Teaching the Levels of Development

On May 23, 2017   /   Blog, Discipline  
Hierarchy of Social Development

Rather than reacting after a behavior problem appears, you can use the Levels of Development to be proactive. As soon as your child can talk, you begin with the easy teaching of four (4) concepts of the Levels of Development. These four concepts are the foundation of the system that handles all behavior problems while promoting responsibility.

The first two concepts (Level A and Level B) refer to behavior and are both unacceptable. Level C and D refer to motivation and are both acceptable.

Note: Having young people learn the concepts is critical because reference is never made directly to a child’s behavior; reference is always referred to the level the youngster has chosen.

This understanding … >>>

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Autonomy and Motivation

On April 9, 2016   /   Reduce Stress, Stress Management, Weekly Tips  
The image displays the words “Without Stress Tips” in white against a blue background along a gold lotus blossom.

Autonomy is a key driver of human behavior in traditional American culture. The most successful people are autonomous and are able to handle stress successfully.

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs referred to autonomy as the level of “self-actualization.” My Hierarchy of Social Development refers to this as Level D, Democracy—taking the initiative to do something that is right regardless of social pressures.

People who only reach Level C, (external motivation) on the Hierarchy of Social Development will never be autonomous because they rely on external motivational sources such as seeking the approval of others and the desire to fit in and be liked by others.

Autonomous people realize that the inner satisfaction received by Level D (internal motivation) … >>>

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Discipline Goals

On December 22, 2015   /   Discipline, Effectiveness  

Many teachers who use the Discipline Without Stress methodology comment on how getting children to act on Level D of the Levels of Development is their goal. In reality, having all students operate on Level D should not be the goal of this discipline system. Rather, the teacher’s goal is to have the motivation at least on Level C so that a civil and productive learning environment is created in the classroom. So Level C is the goal for the teacher, not Level D.

Some students will certainly CHOOSE to set their sights higher (Level D), and of course this is what you hope, but it is not something over which you have direct control. You cannot force any student … >>>

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The Best Approach to Instill Discipline

On May 26, 2015   /   Responsibility  

People sometimes ask me if I’ve ever given thought to structuring the levels in the Hierarchy of Social Development in the reverse order so that A is the highest level. These people think it’s odd to have students strive for A work and D behavior in the school system.

This concern is the most common challenge … for adults. It’s just not a problem for students. The structure and advantage of the hierarchy is that it prompts and challenges people—regardless of age—to achieve at the highest level.

A simple way to make it clear is to put it in context, since any meaning is always within a specific context. For example, when do you use “to,” “two,” or “too”? It … >>>

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Teaching What Level A Behavior Looks Like to Young Children

On November 11, 2014   /   Discipline, Effectiveness  

Many teachers and parents have some reluctance to using terms like “anarchy” and “democracy” to describe the levels of the Hierarchy of Social Development, especially with young children. At first, I shared that reluctance.

These terms seem so advanced, especially for youngsters in kindergarten and preschool. But the only reason they seem advanced is because we ourselves were so much older when we first came across these words.

It may be helpful to remember that young children are constantly coming across new words and abstract concepts. Children absorb new words quite readily. They have no context for deciding whether any particular word is more “advanced” or “difficult” than any other. For them, it’s just a new word. After all, they … >>>

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Discipline Without Stress Newsletter – June 2014

On June 15, 2014   /   Discipline News, Newsletters  

—Volume 14 Number 6

IN THIS ISSUE:

  1. Welcome
  2. Promoting Responsibility
  3. Increasing Effectiveness
  4. Improving Relationships
  5. Promoting Learning
  6. Parenting
  7. Discipline without Stress (DWS)
  8. Reviews and Testimonials 

     

1. WELCOME

After recently presenting to a number businesses, schools, and parent groups and listening to so many complaints, I feel an obligation to offer a consulting service.

This service is available to teachers, parents, and/or leaders in any occupation or industry who would like to reduce stress, promote responsible behavior, improve relationships, promote learning, and/or receive more joy in parenting.

If you would like to learn more, please visit the consulting page .

MONTHLY QUOTE: 

 “I read about your “Discipline without Stress” book, ordered a copy, began to teach the hierarchy using stories to … >>>

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Discipline Without Stress Newsletter – May 2014

On May 10, 2014   /   Discipline News, Newsletters  

—Volume 14 Number 5

IN THIS ISSUE:

  1. Welcome
  2. Promoting Responsibility
  3. Increasing Effectiveness
  4. Improving Relationships
  5. Promoting Learning
  6. Parenting
  7. Discipline without Stress (DWS)
  8. Reviews and Testimonials 

     

1. WELCOME

MONTHLY QUOTE: 

It will work out in the end, and if it doesn’t then it’s not the end. –Dev Patel, from the Academy Award nominated movie,”The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”

—– 

 One of the advantages of the Raise Responsibility System (discipline and learning system) is that it can be implemented immediately. With this in mind, I share the following e-mail I received on Tuesday, April 29, after I presented the previous day.

“I attended your seminar yesterday in Voorhees, New Jersey and was very interested in the presentation. You have made me realize … >>>

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In-House Staff Development is the Key to Curbing Discipline Problems

On October 16, 2013   /   Learning, Responsibility  

In many schools, the usual approach to discipline is to teach toward obedience using rewarding, telling, and punishing. These are all various forms of manipulation, pressure, or coercion—and often induce stress and resistance. By contrast, if a discipline approach is used where students are motivated to be responsible, then obedience becomes a natural by-product.

The fact is that young people—pre-school through 12th grade—want to be responsible, but we are using ineffective approaches to help them. However, when schools implement the Hierarchy of Social Development as described in Discipline Without Stress, they reduce discipline problems, improve classroom management, and increase academic performance.

How is this possible? It is the effect of the Hierarchy of Social Development—how people grow—that … >>>

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Using Guided Choices as Discipline

On June 27, 2013   /   Effectiveness, Responsibility  

Some people see the light only when they feel the heat. Two seventh grade students, Jason and Robert, illustrate this point. They already had three referrals sent home and were the type of students who would “push” as far as they can—the kind who prompts a teacher to wake up in the morning with a first thought of, “I hope Jason and Robert are absent today.”

Their teacher had gone as far as he could to help the boys become more socially responsible. The students understood “After three strikes, you are out.” This was still the first quarter and the teacher had expected to send the boys to the office, as all their other teachers had done. To his surprise, … >>>

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The Levels of Development in High Schools

On May 3, 2011   /   Discipline  

Question:
I’m a teacher at a suburban Atlanta charter high school. As a member of the discipline committee for the high school, I am involved in the rethinking/restructuring of our discipline system and, of course, you and your Levels of Development came to our attention.

We have perused the “Quick Explanation” on your “Summary” link of your web site and have ordered your book. We are very interested in the “Raise Responsibility System.”

We have considered having posters with the A, B, C, D concepts printed for every classroom. However, several of us are concerned that these may come across as too juvenile for high school students. We suspect that these concerns will be addressed in your book when it … >>>

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