Discipline for Smart People    

Positivity (conscious optimism) prmotes responsibility.

This positive attitude begins between the ears.

The most important thing people can control is their state of mind. A state of mind is something that one can control. It can be created.

Thinking and acting responsibly—or irresponsibly—begins, therefore, with how a person shapes one’s own thoughts.

As leaders, teachers, and parents, we have an oligation to help young people shape and control their thoughts. We can do this by painting positive pictures that empower. Sometimes a simple word can make the difference as in, “You have to go to school today” vs. “You get to go to school today.”

Since how we think induces how we feel, negative thoughts have a tendency to blame, complain, and avoid responsibility. In contrast, positive thoughts empower and prompt an increased tendency to become more responsible.

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

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Posted In: Promoting Responsibility On: April 15, 2008: 7:40 am: By Marvin Marshall

A researcher working on a large study of discipline and classroom management programs in America contacted me. She mentioned that her report would be presented to the American Educational Research Association.

She asked whether her reference should be to the “Raise Responsibility System” or to “Discipline without Stress.”

I chose “Discipline Without Stress” for the following reasons:

–”Discipline without Stress” is in the title of the book, whereas the “Raise Responsibility System” is a chapter in the book (Chapter 3),

–Teaching procedures—the key to effective classroom management—precedes the introduction of the “Raise Responsibility System,”

–The three principles to practice for becoming more effective and improving relationships (Chapter 1 of the book) is not part of the “Raise Responsibility System,”

–The motivational approach (empowerment and noncoercion described in Chapter 2 of the book) is not part of the “Raise Responsibility System,”

–Reducing stress, a major concern of many teachers and parents and a major thrust of the approach, is not reflected in the name, “Raise Responsibility System.”

In sum, the original discipline system of
1. Teaching the Hierarchy (teaching levels of development)
2. Checking for Understanding (asking), and
3. Guided Choices (eliciting)
has evolved into a more comprehensive teaching model.

The “Raise Responsibility System” is an integral—BUT NOT AN EXCLUSIVE—part of the teaching model.

Since making this decision, many pages on the Marvin Marshall website have been altered—including the name of the Raise Responsibility System mailring/forum. It is now found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/disciplinewithoutstress.

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

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: April 14, 2008: 8:53 am: By Marvin Marshall

One of the most important comments received about the discipline approach is the following:

“We especially liked the fact that the teachers were no longer punishing students but guiding them to self-analyze. We have begun using authority in a non-adversarial manner in order to establish and maintain a caring classroom environment.”

Pamela Marton, Principal
Community School, Los Angeles Unified School District, CA

————

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

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: April 11, 2008: 8:07 am: By Marvin Marshall

QUESTION:Some of my youngsters are struggling with the word, “anarchy.” How can I explain what it means in a simple way?

RESPONSE:

Remember that young people’s brains are like sponges. They can absorb anything. The trick is to make meaning of what is absorbed to enhance learning and memory.

For older children:

Break “an/archy” up by teaching that the prefix “an” means “not,” “without,” or “lacking”—in this case, “without rule.” Compare this with other prefixes such as “mono,” which means “one,” and “olig” which means “a few.”

Explain that:
–Monarchy is rule by one person (like a king).
–Oligarchy means rule by a few people.
–Anarchy means that there is no leadership, so people do anything they want—often without any regard for others.

For younger children:

Go to the gym. Tell your students that for the next two minutes they may act wildly—doing anything they want, but that as soon as you say, “FREEZE,” they must immediately stop. Before beginning, ask them if they would agree to this and have them nod their heads up and down (in the usual affirmative manner). Don’t begin until every head is nodding.

Then say, “Go!” The youngsters will do all kinds of things, including teasing, bullying, punching, and generally being wild.

After a full two minutes, command: “FREEZE!”

After this exercise, have the students congregate to describe the activity and how they behaved.

Conclude the lesson by announcing, “That was anarchy!”

See more answers to questions at Discipline Answers.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: April 10, 2008: 8:04 am: By Marvin Marshall

I share a communication I received from Mary Lou Cebula, a principal in Warren, New Jersey:

Subject: The Perfect Gift

Hi Marv,

I just had to share this experience with you.

A second grade class invited me to their room. When I arrived, there was a special chair placed on the edge of the carpet. The students were seated on the carpet with their teacher, Mrs. Buckley. They asked me to sit in the chair. Mrs. Buckley explained that the children had participated in a writing activity called, “The Perfect Gift.” They had to select a member of their family and decide what would be the perfect gift for that person. The student then wrote a letter to the person presenting the gift.

The class decided they wanted to do a perfect gift for me as a model for the assignment. They wrote me a letter in their best handwriting and decorated the letter with a fancy cover. It is hanging on the bulletin board of my office and I told them it WAS the perfect gift and I would treasure it always. We we had a whole school assembly “Sing Along.” At the beginning of the assembly, I invited the class and Mrs. Buckley up to the microphone and asked them to share the perfect gift with all the students, staff and parents. I wish you had been here to see it as well.

Here is their letter:

“The Perfect Gift for Dr. Cebula:

“The perfect gift for Dr. Cebula is showing her C and D behavior. We want to give you this gift so you will not have to raise your voice at lunch or recess. You won’t have to have children in your office or call any parents with bad news. When the students at Central School are on level C and D, they will be talking quietly in the lunchroom and silently in the hallways. During recess everyone will play nicely together. When you come into the classrooms, you will see students being respectful.

“We know you will love this gift because it will make your job much easier. You will feel really good inside to see all your students at C and D levels. You will want to celebrate with us!”

Mrs. Buckley’s Class
———–
You can read Dr. Cebula’s experiences with the three principles to practice at
A Principal’s Experience.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: April 9, 2008: 1:16 pm: By Marvin Marshall

Emotions drive attention.
Attention drives learning.
Emotionally blocked; learning stopped.

Spence Rogers of Peak Learning Systems is recognized for being one of the top experts in effective instruction and assessment.

He shared with me an e-mail he received from a counselor whose job it is to intervene with kids sent to the office for misbehavior. He had introduced the counselor to information from my book.

“I try and intercept as many as I can before the principal visits with them. I work with them with ideas from Dr. Marshall’s book. After coaching four students (all boys) from one first grade class, they wanted to share what they learned from Dr. Marshall’s work with their teacher. The teacher decided to let the boys share with the whole class. She told me they got very excited about it. She suggested they make T shirts depicting what they learned. Her last name is Peterson so they came up with, “Mrs. P’s D’s,” for level D of the behavior hierarchy. Way cool! Thank you for suggesting he book!” WH

Spence’s website is worth visiting. Be sure to check out the Peak Institute link.

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Posted In: Promoting Learning On: April 8, 2008: 8:01 pm: By Marvin Marshall

A friend of ours had surgery and expressed her concern about the procedure—even though it was a minor one.

My wife counseled her with the following message:

“When I was pregnant, I never worried about the baby. I simply remembered my mother’s self-talk when she was pregnant: I will only think beautiful thoughts so that I will have a beautiful baby.”

If you have trouble creating self-talk that enhances your life, here is another approach: Redirect or detour your thinking onto another subject.

Do this each time you begin to worry or are creating negative self-talk about yourself or others.

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

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Posted In: Increasing Effectiveness On: April 7, 2008: 12:56 pm: By Marvin Marshall

I have never been a fan of the self-esteem movement because I have always thought that a person’s self-esteem comes from one’s own self-talk. This self-talk emanates primarily from a person’s nature and experiences, rather than from some external agent(s). I have never bought into the idea that people who bully or who do not do well academically in school have low self-esteem. I have personally known people who bully and have high self-esteem, and I have known people who have done very well academically but who have low self-esteem.

The “SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND” (volume 16, number 4) contains an interesting article entitled, “EXPLODING THE SELF-ESTEEM MYTH,” with the subtitle: “BOOSTING PEOPLE’S SENSE OF SELF-WORTH HAS BECOME A NATIONAL PREOCCUPATION. YET SURPRISINGLY, RESEARCH SHOWS THAT SUCH EFFORTS DO LITTLE TO IMPROVE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OR PREVENT TROUBLESOME BEHAVIOR.”

One study cited eludes to responsibility as a prime factor in self-esteem:

“. . .students who take responsibility for their grades not only get better grades but they also learn that they, personally, can control the grades they get.

“In fact, in one study researchers had students write down what went through their minds when they were trying to get better grades. Students who improved with each test were thinking:
I need to work harder.
I can learn this material if I apply myself.
I can control what happens to me in this class.
I have what it takes to do this.

“Students who did not improve were thinking:
It’s not my fault
This test was too hard.
I’m not good at this.”

The authors conclude the article by stating:

“We have found little to indicate that indiscriminately promoting self-esteem in today’s children or adults, just for being themselves, offers society any compensatory benefits beyond the seductive pleasure it brings to those engaged in the exercise.”

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

The study reinforces the opening paragraph of the book, DISCIPLINE WITHOUT STRESS, PUNISHMENTS OR REWARDS, of which the first few sentences are:

“Life is a conversation. Interestingly, the most influential person we talk with all day is ourself, and what we tell oursel has a direct bearing on our behavior, our performance, and our influence on others. In fact, a good case can be made that our self-talk creates our reality.” (page 1)

May your self-talk be of positivity; of consistently prompting the realization that you can always choose your response to any situation, stimulation, or urge; and may your reflection bring you gratefulness. Implementing these will increase your self-esteem.

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Posted In: Promoting Responsibility On: April 4, 2008: 12:32 pm: By Marvin Marshall

I recently attended your seminar in Omaha, Nebraska.

Thanks for a great day and a philosophy that will change the way that I teach and handle the difficult students that we have here.

Today I implemented the program for the first time. The students were very receptive to the idea of acting on Level C, the Cooperation level. It’s something they believe they can accomplish.

They also asked if they could hold me accountable. When I talked to them on the bossing level, they said I was “breaking” my own expectation by TELLING them what to do. We had a great conversation.

Thanks again,
Mat

Mat Daniels, wrestling coach
PACT School
Council Bluffs, Iowa

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

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: April 3, 2008: 12:55 pm: By Marvin Marshall

The following is from a recent post at DisciplineWithoutStress@yahoogroups.com/

“Wow! These discussions are so very informative and helpful.

“This is my first year using Dr. Marshall’s program and thirty-second year of teaching. There is so much more to all this than I had ever anticipated.

“Overall, I have less stress. I see growth in responsibility every day. As I work with my 5th grade students to empower them, I see them taking control of their behavior and choices. Is it perfect? No, far from it. But little by little it gets better and better.

“No one really wants to be on Level B. (See The Hiearchy of Social Development.) Our students deserve our guidance. I suspect the payoff will be tremendous for them and for us. I am learning so much from these discussions. It is so wonderful to communicate with others “in the trenches” who really know and work with our daily realities. Let’s keep the questions and answers going. We are all benefiting. Thank you so very much.”

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

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: April 2, 2008: 12:46 pm: By Marvin Marshall