Discipline+Why's+and+How's

I agree with and would like to share with you the Harry and Rosemary Wong's school of thought that they shared in their book "The First Days Of School" chapters 18, 19, & 20 when it comes to classroom discipline: The three most important student behaviors that must be taught the first days of school are these:

 1. Discipline  2. Procedures  3. Routines

Basic Structure for a Discipline Plan: RULES: What the expected behaviors are. CONSEQUENCES: What the student chooses to accept if a rule is broken. REWARDS: What the student receives for appropriate behavior.

**Principles of Effective Discipline **
 * Treat students with dignity and respect.
 * Effective teaching reduces discipline problems.
 * Students need a limited say in what happens in the classroom.
 * It takes time to develop an effective discipline plan and style.
 * We create most of our discipline problems by how we teach and treat people.
 * Bored students become discipline problems.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lack of self-esteem is the major reason why students act up.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">No one wants or likes to fail. A student would rather be bad than be stupid.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anything you can do to make people feel good about themselves will help to minimize discipline problems.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">People who feel powerless will find ways of expressing their lack of power (for example, not knowing what is the assignment).
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We deny most of the students who need to learn responsibility (student council, athletics, music, and so on).

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And my favorite quote: **“Always deal with the behavior, not the person. You leave a person’s dignity intact when you deal only with the behavior or the issue.”**

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Always Remember: **<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">To be an Effective Teacher ** <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1. Post your rules <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. Post your consequences, and rewards <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. Immediately enact the consequence when a rule is broken. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">4. Give a reward when you catch a student doing good. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">5. Make your behavior predictable and consistent.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wong, Harry K., & Rosemary T. (1991) //The First Days of School.// <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sunnyvale, CA, Harry K. Wong Publications