When we are consistent in imposing the same consequence on every student, are we being fair or unfair? Although consistency is important, imposing the same consequence on all students is the least fair approach. When a consequence is imposed—be it called logical or natural—people are deprived of ownership in the decision. And ownership is a requirement for responsibility. A more effective and fairer approach is to elicit a consequence or a procedure that will help students redirect impulses so they become more responsible. This is easily accomplished by asking students if they would rather be treated as individuals or as a group. They will have a preference to be treated as individuals and have ownership in the decision that will
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Coercion isn’t always recognizable. The other night my wife was viewing the first ten minutes of a movie on TV. She was so enthralled with it that she pressed the “record” button on the DVR and then stopped viewing the program. She wanted to share the movie with me and said that she was saving it until a time when we could watch it together. When that time came around, her enthusiasm pitched even higher. However, as she turned on the recording and the synopsis of the movie aired, I quickly realized that I had no interest in the show. My wife was so surprised and disappointed that she reiterated her desire to share it and the fact that she
READ MORE >>> →1. Use procedures rather than rules. Highly-effective parents use procedures and do not rely on rules. Rules are necessary in games. However, in interactions, rules result in adversarial relationships because rules require enforcement. Rules place the parent in the position of an enforcer, a cop—rather than that of a teacher or mentor. Enforcing rules often results in power struggles that rarely result in win-win situations or in good relationships. Instead, rules often result in reluctance, resistance, and resentment. While rules are “left-hemisphere” oriented, and they work with people who are orderly and structured, they do not work well with “right-hemisphere” dominant children who tend to act who randomly and spontaneously. Even when these children know the rules, their lack of
READ MORE >>> →The teaching profession in Finland is very competitive. Only one of every 10 applicants is accepted into a teacher preparation program. In fact, it is harder to get into a university to become a teacher than it is to get into a university to become a lawyer or medical doctor. The target of the teacher preparation program is to have the teacher do more than just teach subject matter. The Finnish people believe that teaching is about helping children to see for themselves what the meaning of life is. Teachers learn and think along these lines so that both the talented and weaker learners are equally acknowledged. Teacher education is divided into five general categories: preschool teaching, general classroom teaching,
READ MORE >>> →Seeing the positive in situations and experiences becomes easier if the focus is on continuous improvement. Success isn’t always about winning; it’s often about learning, growing, and improving. Although there is a natural tendency to compare ourselves with others, the more this type of thinking is redirected, the more successful we will feel. While having role models is wise, trying to compete with them is not. We should measure progress by improvement in ourselves, rather than in comparison to others. When pleased with our efforts—especially when we see improvement—we invest more effort. Improvement comes through self-evaluation, practice, feedback, and more evaluation. The better the quality of our work, the more we are pleased and the more we want to engage
READ MORE >>> →The strategy used in the Raise Responsibility System differs from other approaches in a number of significant ways. First, the system starts with Stephen Covey’s first habit of highly effective people: Be proactive. The idea is to set the stage for dealing with disruptive behaviors before they occur. This is in contrast to the usual reactive strategy of dealing with disruptive behaviors after they occur. Second, neither rewards nor punishments (or “consequences,” which also are viewed as negative) are used. Authority, when necessary, is used without punishment. Third, a guiding approach, rather than a telling approach, is used, because the most effective way to change behavior is to provide conditions under which behavior change is self-motivated. Self-evaluation is the most
READ MORE >>> →People in Finland believe that human interaction is the most important aspect of learning; therefore, face-to-face communications are more important than relying on technical devices. This is an exceptional perspective compared to other countries, especially the U.S., and may be one reason that Finnish schools have a more relaxed atmosphere in their classrooms than is found in many other countries; yet, their schools achieve great results. In an elementary school I visited, for example, more than half of the students were immigrants from such countries as Somalia, Iraq, Russia, Bangladesh, Estonia, and Ethiopia. Even with such a diverse group, the teachers’ focus is on supporting and guiding students. This is in contrast to the more common approaches of comparing and
READ MORE >>> →There have been many news stories lately about parents using shame and humiliation as discipline measures for their children. From forcing their child to stand on a busy street corner holding a sign that details their offenses to posting embarrassing photos and videos of the youth online, these parents believe this sort of public humiliation is a viable way to discipline children. Humiliation and shame are never good ways to discipline. Not only do they negatively influence a child’s self-esteem, but they are also just new forms of imposed punishments. And as outlined in Parenting Without Stress and Discipline Without Stress, the effect of any imposed punishment is only temporary. Fear and force produce only short-run changes. Once an imposed
READ MORE >>> →Finland’s culture of trust enables the schools to have almost complete autonomy, and the system relies on the proficiency of teachers in their efforts to meet educational objectives. While the Finnish National Board of Education determines the national core curriculum, specific school guidelines are established by the local educational agency and are largely school-centered. Everything from annual plans, budget, and the recruitment of teachers to decisions on group forming, daily work, and other practices are all made at the local school to be sensitive to local jurisdictions. In fact, central approval for textbook and other materials was abolished in 1993. The system is characterized by pedagogical autonomy of teachers, even to the point of voluntary participation in national development programs.
READ MORE >>> →Making positivity a practice both in your self-talk and in your communications with others begins with awareness. Listen to yourself. Become aware of the number of times you say something negatively that could be phrased positively. Continually ask yourself before speaking, “How can I say this so it will be perceived in a positive way?” Using positive phrases can turn what would have been a negative into a positive. The result is dramatic. The more you practice phrasing communications in the positive, the sooner it will become a new habit. A simple approach is to focus on what you want your children to do rather than on what you don’t want them to do. Eliminate disempowering, negative words such as
READ MORE >>> →Childhood education and care begins in Finland at a very young age. Assessments start when kids are infants and, if necessary, are given remediation assistance until the age of seven (7), when they enter school. From the age of eight months, all children have access to free full day care. Children can attend various centers, smaller family day care groups, or at private homes—all of which charge fees related to income of the family. The cost of day care is at most a few hundred dollars a month. Although preschool is optional, most parents choose to send their children there because many parents work outside the home. Finland believes that it is the child’s right to have day care and
READ MORE >>> →In Finland, special needs education is provided primarily within mainstream education. Children of all levels study together in the same classroom. The Finnish education system uses this approach to make sure that “no student is left behind.” How is this effective? Finland’s teacher education program includes an extensive course on how to recognize different needs in different pupils. They stress that teachers are always teaching individuals, not a group, because each learner is different. As such, teachers create individualized study plans tailored for each child. The aim is to have each child receive the right amount of challenge as well as a sense of learning and achievement. When the exercises are appropriate for the students’ skill levels, even those with
READ MORE >>> →When you enter a store and the salesperson asks the common greeting, “How are you today?” do you ignore the person—or is there a natural tendency to give a response? During a conversation where you are explaining something and your friend suddenly asks you a question, do you continue talking and ignore the question or do you respond to it? Notice that in each of these scenarios, there is a natural tendency to respond to a question. And herein lies the most important and effective key to remember if you want to reduce your stress and promote responsible behavior: The person who asks the question controls the conversation. A national magazine ran a cover article about frustrated parents who were
READ MORE >>> →Criticize, and you will often get resistance and hard feelings. This is the case when you are criticizing something over which the youngster feels little control. Encouraging in a supportive way is much more effective. Criticizing is almost always interpreted as, “What you are doing isn’t good enough.” Such comments stimulate negative feelings. Instead, encourage young people by communicating a higher expectation. For example, if your child is slow to get going in the morning, try this approach: “Yesterday, it took 10 minutes to come to breakfast after I called you. I know you can do better than that. Let’s see if today you can come to breakfast in 8 minutes.” Using this approach, watch your child rise to the
READ MORE >>> →Promoting Responsibility & Learning – Volume 12 Number 11
#5 A great kindergarten technique
#6 Parenting a youngster who lies
#7 The discipline education handbook
Comparison of Education in Finland vs. Other Educational Approaches FINLAND Flexibiliity and diversity School-based curriculum and developmentnetworking through steering by studentsinformation and support Broad Knowledge Focus on broad learning; equal value toall aspects of individual’s growth inpersonality, moral, creativity,knowledge, and skills Trust through Professionalism Culture of trust that values teachers’and principals’ professionalism injudging what is best for students and inreporting on progress in their learning OTHERS Standardization Standards for schools, teachers, andstudents to improve the qualityof outcomes Literacy and Numeracy Basic knowledge and skills inreading, writing, mathematics, andscience are prime targets of educational reform Consequential Accountability The school performance is closelytied to “inspection” using narrowmetrics and ultimately rewardingor punishing schools and teachers
READ MORE >>> →There is an old Greek myth about a gentleman who was looking for Mt. Olympus. On his journey, he asked directions of an elderly man who turned out to be Socrates. When the traveler asked how to get to Mt. Olympus, the old sage responded in his reflective tradition: “Be sure every step you take is in that direction.” The counterproductive approaches of rewarding expected standards of behavior and punishing do not take us in the direction of fostering responsibility. Although we often think we can give responsibility, the truth is that responsibility can only be taken; therefore, desire is essential for developing this characteristic. Desire comes only through internal motivation. Responsible behavior is a chosen behavior. Remember the paradox:
READ MORE >>> →The transformation of the Finnish education system began some 40 years ago as the key component of the country’s economic recovery plan. At the time, educators had little idea that their approach would be so successful, as indicated by the results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). This is an international assessment that focuses on 15-year-old students’ skills in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy that is administered every three years. In 2000, the first results from 40 global venues revealed Finnish youth to be the best young readers in the world. Three years later, they led in math. By 2006, Finland was first out of 57 countries in science. In 2009, the nation came in second
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