Madison Baxter 3/3/2012

Inner Discipline I think the inner discipline model, which was created by Barbara Coloroso, is an effective model because it is based on the golden rule. Coloroso says one of the philosophical stances we need to have as teachers in order to teach inner discipline is that the kids are worth it. We as adults need to believe that the kids are worth the time and effort and resources we provide for them and to me this is the one thing that teachers need to remember on a daily basis. She says that adults should follow the golden rule and not treat students or other people the way they wouldnt want to be treated. Adults need to lead by example so that students can learn inner discipline and take responsibility or ownership for their actions. We also need to address the appropriate response to the behavior and I found her comments on discipline vs. punishment to be similar to my own opinions. She claims that punishment is adult oriented. And I can honestly say that based on my experience growing up with punishment, I have come to associate punishment with adults and authoritative figures. It has a negative connotation and Coloroso agrees when she says that it includes isolation, embarrassment and humiliation, shaming, brute force or grounding. Isolation, embarrassment and humiliation are all things felt by students when punished within the classroom. The child is often times left more hurt and effected than before the punishment and doesnt necessarily walk away with an understanding of what exactly they did wrong. But if you teach the students

about inner discipline as a way to own their actions and accept and understand the consequences then the added conflict or tension a typical punishment creates can be avoided and students will be able to fully understand their actions.

Discipline With Dignity The discipline with dignity approach created by Richard Curwin and Allen Mendler is an approach that Ive seen a lot in middle school and upper school classrooms. Dignity as defined by Curwin and Mendler is having respect for life and for oneself. I think respect in general is the bases of any relationship. The approach is very similar to the Inner Discipline model. Discipline with dignity allows teachers to spend less time focusing on behavioral problems and time engaging in positive interactions and instruction with the students. The basic principles of the approach are simple and essentially common sense. It focuses on long-term behavioral changes, rules that are clear and understandable and reasonable, treating students with respect, and doing things that are only effective within the classroom. These concepts are easy to implement when working with middle school and upper school students because at their age they have a good grasp on what is right and wrong and know the general behavioral guidelines within a classroom. Curwin and Mendler suggest using behavior contracts and I personally think this is a great idea. My third grade teacher spent the first day of school going over rules and procedures and during our discussions we came up with a behavior contract as a class. She told us some of her rules and expectations and then had us as students come up with our own rules and expectations. Together we combined them and formed our behavior

contract. We each received a copy to take home to show our parents and to sign and bring back. She also had a large copy of it made and hung it up on the wall at the front of the classroom so that it was always visible. By having us help come up with the contract it held us accountable and also made us more mindful of our actions and the consequences.

Social Discipline Model The Social Discipline model, which was created by Rudolf Dreikurs, is an interesting way to describe childrens behavior. Dreikurs claims that behavior is a result of an individuals purpose. Meaning that we react based on our interpretations of the world around us. In regards to children Dreikurs claims that there are four types of goals that motivate childrens behavior: attention getting, power and control, revenge, and helplessness or inadequacy. I found these goals to be accurate especially in younger children. We all have done Assertive Discipline The Assertive Discipline model was developed by Lee Canter and he felt that a teacher must insist that their needs be met in the classroom. These rights include the ability to establish classroom rules and procedures to produce the optimum learning environment and to insist on student behavior that meets the teachers needs. Assertive teachers clearly communicate personal wants and needs to the students and often do it firmly. This is something I personally need to work on. An assertive teacher will make it known that he/she cares too much about themselves to be taken advantage of by students and also care too much about the students to

let their behavior slide. Over the past four years I have realized that my sense of authority within a classroom isnt always there. I am currently doing my FE III and have been in charge of either the whole class at one time or a small group of students and it has made me realize what I need to work on in terms of discipline and control of the classroom. Im working with kindergartners and I meet with them right before their lunch so they are often restless and hungry. This leads to misbehavior and at first I felt like I had no control over the situation but Im slowly starting to get the hang of it. To be assertive you have to identify and verbalize wants and feelings and be persistent. I find myself to fall under the nonassertive category and after reading Canters model I realized that the example of a nonassertive response is almost word for word what I have said in the past to students. But now that I am starting to recognize this behavior I see the things I need to do to fix the problems I have been making.