Discipline for Smart People    

Tanis Carter wrote and sells an inexpensive but excellent little storybook on the Raise Responsibility System for primary teachers. “CHILDREN OF RAINBOW SCHOOL” presents the Hierarchy of Social Development—with an introduction explaining how the levels might be implemented in the classroom.

Tanis can be contacted through her e-mail address to order copies of her valuable book. Her e-mail address is tccarter@shaw.ca.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: August 16, 2008: 1:52 pm: By Marvin Marshall

At one of my British Columbia presentations, I had the pleasure of visiting Kerry Weisner and Darlene Collinson. While visiting Darlene’s classroom, I saw some reflective questions she had posted on the wall just below the ceiling to which she could easily refer.

Darlene told me that she rarely looks at the questions now, but having reflective questions in easy view helped her when she first started using the Discipline Without Stress Teaching Model. The following are the questions she had posted for her easy viewing and reference.

For commitment:
1. Could you have kept your commitment?
2. What are you going to do to make it happen?
3. On a scale of 1 - 10, how would you rank your commitment?

For Reducing Complaining:
1. Is what you are doing helping you get what you want?
2. What do you notice about the experience you are having?

For changing behavior:
1. What do you want?
2. What are you choosing to do?
3. If what you are choosing to do is not getting you what you want, then what’s your plan?
4. What are your steps or procedures to make your plan work?

For doing your best:
1. How does that look to you?
2. What would you like to have improved even more?

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: August 15, 2008: 7:29 am: By Marvin Marshall

Dear Dr. Marshall,

About a week before school started, I went online looking for a way to provide a suitable reward system to make sure that my classes were positive and motivated. I knew that rewards were more effective than punishments, or so I thought.

I did a search for “Discipline Rewards” and your site popped up. I started reading your website and I was immediately on-board. After spending about an hour on your site, I decided to try your system this year.

I spent the second day of school talking to my classes about the hierarchy. Their homework was for them to go online and research the Raise Responsibility System.

We discussed their viewpoints the 3rd day of school and the changes started immediately.

I realized for the first time in over 25 years of teaching that I was not having enough faith in my students. As High Priestess of the Control Freaks, I had to learn to step back and give them the chance to analyze their own behavior and come up with their own responsible responses.

The entire atmosphere in my algebra class is changed to one of maturity, self-discipline, helpfulness, and respect. I am not exhausted by the end of the day from trying to control all my students. No more adversarial confrontations!

I am now frequently impressed by the maturity that my students are showing. I have gone from bossing to trusting.

I just received your book yesterday and I plan to get books for my colleagues and also provide some staff development.

Thank you for your website and for your sound principles. I am a much calmer and happier teacher now.

Sharon Miles
Crownsville, Maryland

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: August 14, 2008: 12:29 pm: By Marvin Marshall

In persuasion and influence, emotion takes precedence over cognition.

————

Young people misbehave because it has them feel good; otherwise, they would not misbehave. People don’t voluntarily do things that feel bad.

Punishment prompts bad feelings and, therefore, is counterproductive to changing irresponsible behavior in any lasting way.

A more effective approach is to help the young person find a response that will engender better feelings than the feelings that comes with the misbehavior—or the imposed punishment.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: August 13, 2008: 7:36 am: By Marvin Marshall

PROGRAM ATTRIBUTES have been added to benefits of the approach.
The addition follows:

Using the hierarchy separates the act from the actor, the deed from the doer—irresponsible behavior from a good person. Separation is critical so people don’t feel the natural impulse to defend themselves, their behavior, or their choices.

Using the hierarchy brings attention to the fact that people are constantly making choices.

Using the hierarchy fosters intrinsic motivation so that young people WANT to behave responsibly and WANT to put forth effort to learn.

Using the hierarchy fosters character development without mentioning values, ethics, or morals.

To understand the hierarchy and see how it is used, click on the Hierarchy of Social Development.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: July 30, 2008: 9:04 am: By Marvin Marshall

QUESTION: I came across your system while browsing the Internet and I really like the way it is set up. The only problem I have is determining consequences. My district wants a set list of rules and consequences.

RESPONSE: Rules are necessary in games, but rules between people automatically set up an adversarial relationship because, when a rule is broken, the person in authority (teacher) becomes a cop—an enforcer of a broken rule. This is a counterproductive position for good teaching.

QUESTION: My special education students really need the consistency of knowing what happens if they misbehave.

RESPONSE: I have a different take. These students need a different procedure when one procedure loses its effectiveness. Therefore, the superior teacher is consistent in that the teacher consistently looks for procedures to help the student help himself—without relying on an external agent, in this case the teacher.

QUESTION: How do I explain the system to my administrators and keep it structured and have consistent consequences?

RESPONSE: Use the term, “Responsibilities,” instead of “Rules.” List just a few and state them in positive terms—things students should do, not what they should not do. Examples: “Be where I belong.” “Keep my hands to myself.” Elicit others from your students, and you will have met the administration’s requirement.

Regarding consequences, as long as you IMPOSE them, the student has no ownership. IMPOSING consequences merely prompts victimhood thinking on the part of the student—the exact opposite of encouraging choice and control. Have a class meeting with the students and ELICIT ideas (procedures, not consequences) to help students help themselves when they have an irresponsible impulse. See
impulse management.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: July 28, 2008: 2:05 pm: By Marvin Marshall

Kerry and her teaching partner, Darlene, continue to share how they use the three practices (Part II) of the Discipline Without Stress Teaching Model.

We try to develop excellent personal relationships with our most challenging students. In this way, we know that we have a better chance of having them WANT to cooperate with us. We often ask these students to be our helpers. We get them on OUR side right from the beginning. Although we want to have excellent relationships with all of our students, our first priority is to HAVE OUR MOST IMMATURE STUDENTS ATTACH TO US. The work of Dr. Gordon Neufeld has really helped us in this. I can’t recommend his workshops and DVD’s too highly! Here’s his website: http://www.gordonneufeld.com/

We try to be proactive with immature students. For example, on the way to the carpet for a story, we might invite a difficult student to sit up close to us by saying, “This is a great book, Henry. There are wonderful pictures in it. Come and sit up close by me so that you can see them. I know you’ll enjoy them.” With Henry up close, there’s a greater possibility that he will remain engaged and well-behaved. With him close at hand, it’s also easier to catch his attention in subtle ways that Marv refers to as “unobtrusive techniques” in the Discipline Without Stress book (p. 90-93).

More of Kerry’s posts are available at her blog.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: July 21, 2008: 7:34 am: By Marvin Marshall

Kerry and her teaching partner, Darlene, continue to share how they use the Hierarchy from Discipline Without Stress.

After teaching the hierarchy, we rarely refer to the bottom two levels. Perhaps once or twice a week we may need to do this but seldom more than that. We find that the key to success with the hierarchy is to focus almost exclusively on the higher two levels by always motivating the kids to aim for Level C—or higher if they want.

We find we can help students achieve Level C motivation most of the time by being proactive in our use of the hierarchy. BEFORE DOING MOST ACTIVITIES, WE PROACTIVELY DISCUSS OR TELL STUDENTS WHAT LEVEL C LOOKS LIKE.

In other words, before we move to the door to line up for a walk down the hall, we discuss what appropriate behaviour looks like (and what it looks like are the procedures that we have previously taught). Before we move to the carpet we do the same thing. We talk about how people operating on Level C will manage as they move from their desks to the carpet, how they will seat themselves, how they will choose a good spot for themselves, etc. Then we have one or two students volunteer to demonstrate. Often we choose as volunteers those students who might not yet be successful independently. With the class watching them, they are delighted to be a positive role model for others. Before an independent work time, we review what options the students have for when they have completed their tasks. As the students become better readers, we write notes on the board to remind them of options and tasks. Always we aim to provide structure through procedures to avoid unnecessary discipline problems.

More of Kerry’s posts are available at her blog.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: July 15, 2008: 7:28 am: By Marvin Marshall

This topic of the teen-age brain has been an interesting one to me since so much of what I have read suggests that the development of teenagers’ brains is somewhat “arrested” and that this may be the cause of so much of their behavior.

It has been said that it is easier for adults—in contrast to teenagers—to suppress bad responses to peer influence. Adults are better able to keep themselves doing what is appropriate, rather than subscribing to temptation.

“Discipline without Stress” teaches (a) a hierarchy so young people understand the differences between internal motivation and external motivation—and to be cautious about negative peer influences (b) impulse management—the necessity for having a procedure to redirect impulses and temptations, and (c) choice-response thinking—that a person can always choose a response to any situation, stimulation, or urge.

To point to the brain as the cause of temptation is wrong because both thinking and experiences change the brain. We live in a society where kids are isolated from adults, so they learn from each other. And that can be a recipe for disaster. When a society raises adolescents to experience a smooth, swift transition to adulthood, much of the angst assumed to be a given with teens is absent.

Adolescents in certain cultures are not racked with the turmoil of American teens, indicating that environment, not inherent brain development, may underlie troubled behavior.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: July 3, 2008: 11:51 am: By Marvin Marshall

Thank you for your book! It so nicely synthesizes what we know about “best practice” teaching and classroom management. I love the framework and the language that you use. Since discovering your book, many people on our staff have been doing a book study and plan on implementing your system in our classrooms.

I used much of the system last year and it was my best year of teaching ever!

I am not great at “posing” questions yet, but, “You cannot learn a skill and be perfect at the same time.”

Thanks for writing that!

Sonya Overman
Chamberlain Elementary School
Northern Indiana

Sample chapters from the book are online at the book.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: July 2, 2008: 7:44 am: By Marvin Marshall