Discipline for Smart People    

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?”

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Posted In: Promoting Learning On: January 5, 2009: 8:24 am: By Marvin Marshall

Jamie Turner of Fair Haven, New Jersey, forwarded me information about her school’s website. I share it with you below.

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.  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

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Jamie’s letter prompted me to add a new link to my website  entitled, “What People Say.” You can scroll through its contents at testimonials.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: December 31, 2008: 12:46 pm: By Marvin Marshall

“I am teaching a graduate course in social studies.

I have experienced teachers and they are loving your book - absolutely loving it. Of course, with grad students the perspective is different. They know a truly good thing when they see it when it comes to practical ideas in the classroom. You can’t fool them.”

Dr. Suzie McBride
California State Polytechnic University
San Luis Obispo, California

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: December 30, 2008: 12:49 pm: By Marvin Marshall

The following is from a  communication to me about self-discipline:

I added “Bugging” and “Breaks classroom procedures” to Level B. I also added “A piling on” to Level A because I use a football analogy. Some students choose to tease other students. This is hurtful behavior.

I explain to my students that in order to learn, they must: 1) follow classroom procedures and 2) meet behavior standards.

I use the levels to teach the importance of establishing a procedure each morning to get to school on time. I give an alarm clock analogy:
—Level D - You set your alarm clock, wake up, and get to school on time.
—Level C - You depend on your parents to wake you up and get to school on time.
—Level A/B - You hurt yourself by ignoring your alarm clock and come to school late.

Your approach really clarifies the concepts of internal and external motivation. It applies to adults, too. It goes way beyond the classroom. I tell my high school students that to succeed in college, they must have motivation on Level D. Their motivation must come from within.

Thanks again,

Jim Mann

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: December 29, 2008: 11:09 am: By Marvin Marshall

The young boy was to start kindergarten the next day and was protesting that he would not go. This could be a real discipline challenge.

A normal reaction would have been to banish the youngster to his room and tell him that he had better make up his mind to go because he had no choice. (Note: the youngster may have had no choice as to the decision but certainly had a choice as to how he could respond to it.)

Rather than taking this approach, the father reflected, “If I were my son, why would I be excited to go to kindergarten?”

The father and his wife made a list of all the fun things the child would do—such as finger painting, singing songs, and making new friends. Then they decided to do some finger-painting themselves. The youngster saw the fun his parents were having and wanted to join in. “Oh, no! You have to go to kindergarten first to learn how to finger-paint,” remarked the mother.

Then the parents shared with their son the other fun activities they had listed.

The next morning as the father passed the living room to go into the kitchen, he saw his son asleep on the sofa. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

The son responded, “I’m waiting to go to kindergarten, and I don’t want to be late.”

Asking, “How can I influence the person to WANT to do what I would like the person to do?” is a hallmark of successful parents, teachers, and leaders—and is a key to self-discipline.

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Posted In: Promoting Learning On: December 26, 2008: 12:51 pm: By Marvin Marshall

Assume everything you say about another person can be overheard by that person.

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Posted In: Improving Relationships On: December 24, 2008: 1:37 pm: By Marvin Marshall

The most effective approach to influence others is to consider what they want.

For example, one day Ralph Waldo Emerson and his son tried to get a calf into a barn. Unfortunately, they made the common mistake of thinking of only what they wanted. Emerson pushed and his son pulled, but the calf was doing just what they were doing. It was thinking only of what it wanted, so it stiffened its legs and stubbornly refused to leave the pasture. The housemaid saw their predicament. Although she couldn’t write essays and books, on this occasion she had more horse sense, or calf sense, than Emerson had.

She thought of what the calf wanted, so she put her maternal finger in the calf’s mouth and let the calf suck her finger as she gently led him into the barn.

You do things because of what you want—whether it be referred to as a need, a desire, or a craving. This even applies to giving a contribution. If you hadn’t wanted the feeling of helping more than your money, you would not have made the contribution. (Of course, you might have made the contribution because you were ashamed to refuse or someone asked you to do it.) But one thing is certain. You made the decision because you wanted something.

The same reasoning holds true in learning and in discipline.

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Posted In: Increasing Effectiveness On: December 23, 2008: 3:25 pm: By Marvin Marshall

The following is from a personal communication from Nancy Snow, District Guidance Officer, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia:

“Choice is the basic ingredient for the promotion of
prosocial values. If we want kids to be caring, kind, and
generous, we have to have them become aware of choices.
You cannot mandate responsibility, persistence,
consideration, honesty, or integrity. These values are
chosen; therefore, the concept of choice is essential to
the teaching and learning of values.”

Young people will choose these values and become more self-disciplined when  (1) positive benefits are explored, (2) they are prompted to reflect on their choices, and (3) influence—rather than coercion—is used.

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Posted In: Promoting Responsibility On: December 22, 2008: 8:48 am: By Marvin Marshall

I had the pleasure of  presenting in the Gold Coast, Sydney, Newcastle, and Adelaide, Australia hosted by Judy Hatswell, a senior faculty Member of the William Glasser Institute of Australia.

While being hosted by Judy and her husband, Gerry, a retired school principal, I was admiring their various collections when I read a postcard sent to Judy by one of her clients. I share it with you:

Happiness is not a state to arrive at
but a manner of traveling.

The William Glasser approach of noncoercion and taking responsibility for one’s actions is growing in popularity across the country/continent. Partial credit toward a masters degree is being planned at the Gold Coast campus of Griffith University for those who have had William Glasser training.

If you look at the north western part of Australia, you can see how it was at one time connected to Indonesia and how Tasmania was part of Australia millions of years ago. Most of the continent receives less than 10 inches of rain each year. Eighty percent of the 20 million human residents reside around the southeast coastline.

The population around Sydney, which has one of the most spectacular harbors in the world, is four million—not counting the kangaroos, wallabies, pandas, wombats, ibises, and emus.

The following few items may be of interest to educators.

The following is from the Australian Government’s National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools:

— Education is as much about building character as it is  about equipping students with specific skills.

—Values based education can strengthen students self- esteem, optimism and commitment to personal fulfillment;  and help students exercise ethical judgment  and social responsibility.

The first issue listed in Australian Government’s National Safe Schools Framework is bullying. Harassment, violence, and child protection are then listed in that order. The Discipline Without Stress directly addresses the first three issues.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: December 20, 2008: 2:51 pm: By Marvin Marshall

“This should be a required course of study in every collegiate education major curriculum.”

Al Herring, Principal
Plain Dealing Elementary School, Plain Dealing, LA

Check out the Discipline Without Stress Teaching Model at http://www.marvinmarshall.com/

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Posted In: Promoting Learning On: December 19, 2008: 12:52 pm: By Marvin Marshall