Solving Classroom Discipline Problems
Your Instructor: James Thompson
Lesson 01
Chapter 5

Summary

To decide, to be at the level of choice, is to take responsibility for your life and to be in control of your life.

—Abbie M. Dale

The title of this first lesson is "I've Got a Secret!" Now you have that secret too.

The secret is that you cannot force children, or anyone, to do anything that they do not want to do.

All behavior is determined by choices. If we cannot force children to make the choices that we believe are best for them, then we must teach them how to make good choices.

We teach children about responsibility by giving them choices instead of orders. We give them choices of how best to meet their basic needs in a way that is best for them and best for those around them.

Here are some examples of how teachers who do not know "the secret" talk with children.

A First Grade Teacher:
"It is time for all of you to put away the blocks. If you don't put them away right now, there will be no story time today."

A Third Grade Teacher:
"If you are not in your seats and sitting quietly when the bell rings, you will stay in for an extra five minutes before you are dismissed."

A Middle School Teacher:
"If you do not bring in your homework every night this week, you will get extra homework to do on the weekend."

A High School Teacher:
"If you do not get a B average, you will not be able to play football."

Now, let's look at how teachers who knows the secret might handle the same situations:

A First Grade Teacher:
"I want to read you a story. Put away all of the blocks so we'll have room for everyone to gather around and listen."

A Third Grade Teacher:
"You will be dismissed just as soon as everyone is in their seat and sitting quietly."

A Middle School Teacher:
"If you bring in your homework every night this week, you will have no homework on the weekend."

A High School Teacher:
"Of course you can play football, just as long as you keep a B average."

Notice that in each of the situations, the teachers who knew the secret presented children with a choice. They were not being coercive or threatening, nor were they being permissive. These teachers set the boundaries for appropriate behavior and then offered a choice. Also notice that the consequences were presented as the good things that happen if the students behaved appropriately, not the bad things that would happen if they misbehaved.

Of course, the teachers also have to follow through. If a child chooses not to do homework, he is also choosing homework on the weekend. If a high school athlete does not keep a B average, then she is going to miss the next big game. I'll talk more about boundaries later in the course.

The important point to remember is that by giving children choices you are building their sense of responsibility and meeting their need for power at the same time. The more children get their need for power met in positive ways, the less chance they will choose negative behaviors to meet that same need.

In Our Next Lesson...

As you learned today, we all come into the world with a set of needs. The rest of our lives are spent in a struggle to learn how to best meet those needs.

Children have to learn how to behave in a way that allows them to meet their needs while not encroaching on the needs of others. However, it is one thing to say that we need to teach students to behave responsibly. It is quite another to know exactly what to do.

In our next lesson, you will learn specifically what you can do and, perhaps more importantly, what you must never allow yourself to do when teaching your students to behave in a responsible manner.

Next Steps

When you feel you have a grasp on all of the concepts taught in this lesson, I would like you to take a short, multiple choice quiz. To access the quiz, click quizzes at the top or bottom of any page in this classroom. When the quiz form comes up, select Quiz 01 and then click the Submit button.

When you finish the quiz, I have a short assignment for you. To access it, click assignments at the top or bottom of any page in the classroom. Then, scroll down to the section devoted to Lesson 1 for further instructions.

Good luck, and remember to come talk with me in the Discussion Area!