Summer is here

Your time has come to think about the Fourth of July picnic, getting your own kids off to camp and maybe planning a side trip or two to the lake, ocean, mountains, overseas or to visit friends and family you rarely see. Congratulations! Another school year with all of its ups and downs has come to an end. Although we need to take good emotional care of ourselves throughout the school year to remain at our best, this concentrated period of time away from the classroom known as summer vacation gives us a wonderful opportunity to recharge our batteries before we begin a new campaign. Sadly, some non-educators harbor some envy towards us, unable to realize the intense amount of effort, energy and talent it takes to have five learning groups going simultaneously while redirecting Chad who refuses to work, Beth who complains endlessly and Rochelle who picks at her arm until it bleeds. So be sure to read some of those exciting novels you've been postponing, play your fair share of eighteen holes or just lay in the sun and let its warmth fill your pores. Better yet, be sure to do some of all of that or whatever else nurtures your heart, mind and soul.

A few nights ago, I attended my youngest child's high school graduation. On stage sat school board members, administrators and a teacher representative from each department. Of all the evening's events, the one that impressed me the most was how so many young men and women detoured to Mr.Wilson, social studies teacher, and gave him a big hug before they continued their walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. Although I did not know the specifics, I had no doubt that this was a teacher who had made virtually all his students feel special. There can be no better reward.

As the calendar winds through the long summer days and breezy nights inevitably bringing the beginning of a new school year with a new group of students, you will probably want to start planning ways to make your new year as good as it can be. Allow yourself to reflect on what went well this past year. Think of students who really showed academic or behavioral improvement under your watch. Without regard to whether or not they passed the state test, how you contribute to their success? What did you do to connect with them? How were you able to make them feel special? Now think of some situations that did not go so well. If you had to do them over again, is there anything you might have done differently? Could it have helped to have a bit more patience and tolerance? Was there a strength or two in the student I might have overlooked?

One gift of teaching is we get to do do-overs. While last year is over and done for better and worse, there will soon be a new group of young people needing an inspirational teacher who can see and nurture their possibilities and hopes while teaching them the important messages of life. So as you enjoy these well deserved, refreshing moments of summer relaxation, pause occasionally to reflect on the lives you have already touched well and the many more that await you.

P.S. Our trainers are available for on-site workshops focusing on behavior and classroom management. For more information, call 1-800-292-6930.

Brain-Compatible Discipline with Dignity

Brain-Compatible Discipline with Dignity By Dr. Gerard Evanski

We know Discipline with Dignity works. We know that in the past decade, an amazing amount of brain research has been done. What does Discipline with Dignity have to do with the brain research? How will the latest in brain imaging technology help me become a better teacher? The answer is one word--"Why!".

Discipline with Dignity is a comprehensive classroom management discipline philosophy that encapsulates a set of beliefs and actions that many master teachers have intuitively always done, because they knew it worked. The wonderful gift that the brain research is giving educators is the "why". For the first time in history, thanks to knew brain imaging technology such as PET scans and MRI, educators have ways to look into the organ that we are all teaching to—the brain, and see how it functions. These brain images have given us the information to know WHY Discipline with Dignity works.

Brain-imaging technology has allowed researchers to see the brain under positive conditions of high challenge, low threat, and under threatening conditions. The brain scans clearly show that the areas of the brain responsible for long-term memory and critical thinking are not accessible during periods of threat. One of the most powerful tenets of recent brain research is the unequivocal finding that a classroom must be a place free from fear and threat.

The paradox that exists for many educators is the need to keep firm discipline and order in the classroom, while at the same time, keeping the environment free from fear and threat. Discipline with Dignity has a multitude of techniques for solving this paradox!

To understand how "Discipline with Dignity" can achieve this goal, it is useful to refer to a model of the brain known as the Triune brain model, first developed by Dr. Paul MacLean (1949).
Dr. MacLean theorized that the human brain represents three distinct parts, which he labeled the reptilian brain, the mid-brain, and the neocortex. According to MacLean, these three brains developed at different evolutionary stages in human history.

The most primitive, the Reptilian Brain, is the seat of instincts, territoriality and reflexes. The Mid-brain is the home of emotions and long-term memory. The neocortex is the latest evolutionary improvement. This area of the brain is approximately ¼ inch thick covering the outer layer of the brain. This is quite literally the "thinking cap", and is the area where problem solving, creativity and all higher-order thinking skills take place. As educators, this is the area we need students to be able to access.

The human brain has an amazing capacity for learning new information and making novel connections with stored information. The human brain contains over 10 billion specialized nerve cells (neurons) each capable of making up to 50,000 connections as meaning is detected (Sylwester, 1995). Researchers have found that when threat and fear are relatively absent, the brain appears to be able to engage in the more complex processes found in the neocortex. However, when faced with threat, little of this staggering learning potential can be utilized.

Researchers such as LeDoux (1996) Spielberger (1972), Hart (1975), Lozanov (1979) and Nadel (1984) have concluded that under conditions where fear and threat are present, the brain does move away from the neocortex and into the Mid-brain or Reptilian Brain. To borrow a term from researcher Leslie Hart, the brain "downshifts" from the neocortex to the lower brain areas. In other words, a student is not going to come up with a rational plan for solving his problems if he is still breathing heavily from having a fight. He is using a different part of his brain, and thinking emotionally, or with his fight or flight response. Only when he feels safe will he be able to access the rational parts of his brain, and be able to make a plan to avoid this problem in the future.

Dr. Richard Curwin and Dr. Allen Mendler have been sharing for over a decade the philosophy and techniques they have developed that answer this very paradox. Practitioners of Discipline with Dignity are able to maintain control in the classroom and teach students to behave responsibility, while creating and maintaining an atmosphere most conducive to the human brain’s natural tendencies to learn.

How then, can educators deal effectively with discipline problems, while continuing to keep the students able to access the power of their neocortex, so learning can take place? Curwin and Mendler suggest that the most effective discipline technique is to prevent discipline problems before they occur.

Theory based on the work of Abraham Maslow, William Glasser, Richard Curwin and Allen Mendler has convincingly shown that to survive and thrive in the world, human beings have basic needs that must be met, If these needs are not met in positive ways, students will behave in ways that meet these basic needs, even if those behaviors are not socially acceptable. Discipline with Dignity practitioners meet student’s needs and prevent discipline problems by designing the classroom environment and instruction to prevent discipline problems before they occur. Basic psychological needs include needs of safety, belonging and significance, power and autonomy, and competence and mastery.

Safety

To have a brain-compatible classroom free from fear or threat, students must feel physically and mentally safe. For Discipline with Dignity practitioners, this includes feeling physically safe, as well as mentally and emotionally safe.

Physical safety is an absolutely non-negotiable tenet of a Discipline with Dignity classroom. The overarching value in the classroom underlying every principle, rule and action is that "we are a safe classroom". Any form of threatening physical contact that makes students feel unsafe cannot be tolerated. If physically threatened, the human brain is programmed to "downshift" into our less sophisticated, instinctual portions of the brain, where "fight or flight" instincts dominate.
An important component of mental and emotional safety is that the classroom must have predictability. Teachers must develop and teach clear procedures and rules, with clearly defined limits and predictable consequences. Students feel more psychologically safe, and feel less stress if they know what the boundaries of acceptable and non-acceptable behavior are, and if they have predictable consequences for unacceptable behavior.
The human brain is incredible at making patterns. It takes in the chaos of the environment, and creates patterns in order to make sense of the world. Having predictability in classroom procedures, rules and consequences satisfies that need in the brain by allowing it to form a pattern of how interaction should take place in that classroom.
Belonging/Significance

To have students feel a sense of belonging and significance, Discipline with Dignity suggests that educators must create a feeling of warmth in their classroom. Warmth is created and sustained by many small behaviors that occur constantly. For example, simple techniques such as greeting students at the door or in the hallway, calling students by name, or giving compliments can have a tremendous positive impact on students. Educators should keep an eye out for students who appear to be having a difficult day, and express their concern and offer support.
Another technique to have students feel a sense of belonging is to gather information about the students. During the first days of school, teachers can survey the students to learn specifics about them, their strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes, special hobbies, successes etc. That information can be invaluable to help plan assignments and build relationships, using such techniques as the 2 by 10 process, explained below, which is especially useful with difficult students.
As Richard Curwin stated, "The most difficult part of all discipline is welcoming the student we wish wasn’t there". The 2 by 10 process involves identifying students who represent the greatest challenge in class, and interacting with them two minutes a day for two weeks. Short, non-threatening, positive interactions based on the students interests can build a trusting relationship over time, lower the students stress and fear, with the long-term benefit of increased learning.
Another important technique for creating a sense of belonging, while at the same time reducing stress and increasing learning is laughter. A growing body of research says that when you and your students are having fun, you receive the dual benefit of building positive relationships with your students, while at the same time increasing their overall academic achievement (Cousins, Fry, Stone).

Power/Autonomy

An important finding of brain research has been that low-achieving students most often experience a feeling of helplessness. This helplessness is characterized by the feeling that they have no control over their lives. Researchers such as Breier (1988) have shown that when learners have control over their environment, it improves their attitude and learning.
To meet their need for power and autonomy, students must understand that the control of their lives is not outside themselves. Rather, control for their thoughts, and therefore their actions, rests entirely within themselves. To get students to move their locus of control from an external to an internal focus, Curwin and Mendler suggest creating a democratic atmosphere in the classroom.
Citizenship in a democratic society requires that students make good choices. To create a democratic society in the classroom, educators provide students with a voice in the classroom, and choice. To accomplish this, educators may have students assist in developing classroom rules. Student involvement in developing rules increases the commitment they feel to conform to those rules, and also makes them feel a sense of control over their environment. All rules need to support learning and conform to school policy, and the teacher has veto power over rules that don’t fit the criteria.

Another effective technique is to problem solve as a class. Rather than the teacher unilaterally deciding what should be done about a problem, the teacher can empower the students. Students define the problem, discuss the positive and negative aspects of a specific problem, generate solutions and select the best one.

Competence and Mastery

Students need to feel that they are capable at school. If students perceive themselves to be incompetent either academically or socially, behavior problems may result, and learning will not occur. Opportunities for success must abound in a brain-compatible atmosphere. This can be done by building on a sense of accomplishment and success, focusing on the positive, and teaching skills for recognizing and resolving conflict.
The first technique is to build a sense of accomplishment and success in each student. Students who feel their competence is being threatened, especially in front of peers, often react aggressively, and move out of their neomammilian brain. Focusing on the strengths of each student is an excellent way to honor each student’s individuality in the classroom. Educators should become familiar with the needs of different learners in the context of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and different learning styles.

In addition, as illustrated earlier, stress can have the effect of inhibiting the brain’s ability to think. To reduce stress and increase the opportunity for success, teachers could give cues to students who "freeze" under pressure. For example, in a private conversation, the teacher and student could agree that the teacher will give a visual clue, such as standing by the student’s desk, before the student will be asked to answer a question.

Educators should also focus on the positive in each student, especially when it is difficult to find. This is not to be interpreted as not giving students corrective feedback, or ignoring mistakes. It is a different way of looking at the same coin. Rather than putting the number wrong at the top of a paper, the teacher could congratulate the student on the questions done correctly, and offer them a choice if they would like to redo the questions they answered incorrectly.

Teaching skills for recognizing and resolving conflict can be a very powerful preventative technique. Many students who exhibit chronic behavior come from homes filled with rage and dysfunction. Very often, the only avenue they may have of learning to resolve conflicts in a manner other than what they witness at home, is in the classroom. Teachers who take time to model alternatives to aggression, such as using "I" messages to communicate feelings without putting blame, or teaching students conflict resolution skills, help those students for a lifetime, and save countless hours of their own time dealing with conflicts one-on-one.

Teachers can also provide positive channels for students such as a classroom suggestion box or journal writing with the teacher to express their concerns, frustration or even anger, to recognize potential conflict before it escalates.

Conclusion

Brain research indicates that having an environment free from fear and threat is an essential component of an optimal learning environment. Using the Discipline with Dignity techniques, each student’s basic psychological needs can be met, thereby preventing many discipline problems before they start.

Contributed by Dr. Gerard Evanski, Assistant Principal at Erie Elementary School, Clinton Township, Michigan.

Creating and Maintaining Safe and Successfull Classrooms

Creating and Maintaining Safe and Successfull Classrooms
By Esther Wright, M.A.

Since I've been an educator for over thirty years, I have had many opportunities to observe exemplary classrooms where students were respectful, responsible, and engaged in their learning. I'm not sure there is one particular "formula", but I know there are many things teachers can do to create an exemplary learning environment for their students.

In my workshops, I often ask teachers to pay close attention to the relationship they develop with their students. Does it reflect your true purpose and commitment for being a teacher? Does it reflect your respect, trust and caring for students? I have found that often the relationship between students and teachers can be enhanced or damaged when discipline issues are being dealt with. If you are calm, respectful, fair and firm when dealing with discipline issues, you will find that your students trust and respect you. If you are negative, punitive, threatening and disrespectful, the relationship will be damaged. It will be extremely difficult for students to learn from you. Brain research tells us that when a human being is frightened, anxious, or threatened, the brain loses it's ability to be creative and receptive to learning. Relationships can be healed, however, although it takes time. I find children to be resilient and forgiving when I make an effort to win back their trust and respect and when they know that I am committed to their safety and success.
The other issue that is extremely important is the classroom environment or culture that we create with our students. Is it one where students can be their unique, selves or do they have to look and act a particular way to please their teacher? Of course, there are behaviors that support safety and learning in the classroom and students should be encouraged to practice those behaviors, however, some students do not "fit the mold". We must honor and respect the variety of learning styles, temperament, and cultural diversity that shows up in America's classrooms. Our classrooms should be places where it is O.K. to take chances and make mistakes. The learning process requires that people take risks and make mistakes. Students should not feel that learning is only about having the right answer or getting an "A" on a quiz. Learning requires active engagement of students. Sometimes classrooms will get noisy. Sometimes students will need to speak without raising their hands. Sometimes students will "experiment" with the learning process in ways that enhance their critical thinking and problem solving skills. These behaviors should not be considered disruptive and inappropriate. They are what makes a Steve Jobs and a George Lucas who they are.
There are some tips that can support teachers in having a classroom that honors the diversity and humanity of our students, while making learning a joyous and satisfying experience for both the teacher and the students:

1. Have classroom discussions regarding what it takes to make a classroom a safe and supportive learning environment.

2. Encourage students to make "agreements" regarding their behaviors and goals in the classroom. Every agreement should be specific to having the classroom be a safe and successful environment for everyone. Discuss what consequences will be available to support students in keeping their agreements, i.e. if you play during work time, you trade play time for work time or if you argue or fight with a student, you will sign up for an after school conflict resolution seminar.

3. Provide opportunities for students to support one another in keeping their agreements. Set up a buddy or mentor system for problem students. Assign a task force to work with classroom situations that are causing problems with safety or success.

4. Make every effort to provide cooling off opportunities for students who demonstrate with attitudes or emotions that could disrupt learning. Have a "chill out area", journals, drawing materials, even stuffed animals for younger students.

5. Find time to have private "heart to heart" conversations with students who are being disruptive or having trouble succeeding academically. Find out what they need to keep their agreements. Provide whatever support is necessary to alter inappropriate behaviors.

6. Learn as much as you can about the psychology, neurology, and physiology of children. You will then better understand how to serve kids with social/emotional issues, ADHD, defiant-oppositional behaviors, etc. Do not punish these students for things that are out of their control. Teach them about their minds and bodies, so they can develop the ability to "manage; their impulses and behaviors. Children can learn to be responsible for their differences when given the information and support to do that.

7. Realize that your students are your greatest teachers and that you both learn a great deal when there are challenges and problems that require creative solutions.

Esther Wright, M.A. is a national education consultant and the author of several books including "Loving Discipline A to Z", "The Heart & Wisdom of Teaching" and "Why I Teach- A collection of Inspirational Stories". She is a classroom management counselor

In School Suspension

QUESTION:

Do you have any advice on making in-school suspension more effective? The same kids keep coming back. Right now we keep the students working in isolation. They must sit down and be quiet.


ANSWER:

The rules you have in your in-school suspension are typical and generally work only for students who occasionally or rarely misbehave. Students who occasionally misbehave prefer spending their time someplace else doing something else, so using isolation as a deterrent for these students is often effective. Unfortunately, the same process is entirely ineffective for students who are frequently referred for in-school suspension. These students usually have significant problems in their lives, which fuel anger that leads to disruptive behavior and eventual referral. For them, even the threat of isolation is often not a powerful enough deterrent to keep their anger from erupting in inappropriate ways. A more effective approach suggested by Gootman (1998) is to borrow from the research on resilience, which finds that resilient students need three factors:

1. A relationship with an adult who thinks they are worthwhile
2. Sensitivity to their feelings.
3. A sense of power and control in their lives.
   

The in-school suspension should be enforced in a place where students reflect on what they did by discussing it with a caring adult. Since most students believe that they are being unfairly treated, it can help to defuse those feelings by simply using reflective listening (e.g., "It must be difficult to believe that you are trying hard and not getting noticed" or "It is hard to sit still in class when there are so many other things on your mind"). Once the student is calmer and has been understood, the student and adult can begin to solve the problem. The adult can help the student develop a workable plan that will help solve the problem within the student's real world. For example: "Let's figure out how you can stay in your seat when there are so many things on your mind." The major emphasis of in-school suspension should be on teaching students more appropriate, adaptive behavior rather than on hoping that their misery will make them see the error of their ways. The adult in charge must be able to firmly and clearly tell the student that his or her behavior had a negative impact on others, while at the same time showing the student dignity and respect.

Unfortunately, in-school suspension rooms are often staffed by teachers who have little experience with such problem-solving methods and/or have far too many students to supervise for them to personally interact with each student. Administrators should do whatever is possible to reduce the number of referrals so that the process has a chance for success. Teachers with the right match of skills can be assigned to supervise suspended students and should be given a reduction in their other responsibilities to compensate.

One alternative to in-school suspension rooms is to remove a student from one class and send him or her to another classroom for a temporary out-of-class timeout without requiring a formal referral. The new teacher has no responsibility for handling the problem. The teacher only needs to provide a space for the student. This strategy is very successful and can dramatically reduce the number of students in in-school suspension. If in-school suspension continues to be a holding tank, its results are predictable-failure.

Classroom Management Seminars

Always Treat Students with Dignity

Our classroom management philosophy says to ALWAYS TREAT STUDENTS WITH DIGNITY. This is perhaps the most important of all our classroom management principles because without dignity students learn to hate school and learning. When we attack students' dignity, we might get them to follow the rules but we lose them to anger and resentment. Discipline techniques must be compatible with helping students maintain or enhance their self-esteem. Methods that attack dignity are generally those that include put-downs, sarcasm, criticism, scolds, and threats that are delivered publicly. It is easier to treat "good" ids with dignity, although all too often even they feel discounted. ignored, and put down by important adults. Listening to what a student thinks, being open to feedback from students, using I-messages to communicate your feelings to them, explaining why you want something done a certain way and how that will likely be of benefit to the student, and giving students some say in classroom affairs are all ways of communicating dignity to them. This message is: You are important.This exerpt is taken from the nationally acclaimed book by Dr. Allen Mendler, What Do I do When... How to achieve Discipline with Dignity in the classroom.

Humor and Discipline

After a forty-point performance the night before, Greg, a high school basketball star, arrives late for the third time to his economics class. Mr. Stalls says, "Hey Greg, with all the stardom you're getting on the court, I'm glad to see that your head still fits through the door." Greg and all the mere mortal students have been signalled, with the use of inoffensive humor, that despite his stardom, the rules apply to him as well. It is the last time he is late. A tall, long-haired scraggly-looking 16 year old shows up for the third consecutive day without his homework. Instead of writing him up or giving a detention, Ms. Mills pairs him with the most clean-cut, well dressed, smartest female student in the class. For 45 minutes, they work together on his incomplete homework. Not only does the class find this amusing, but the next day his homework is completely done. Thirteen year-old Sean is forever interrupting class discussions or criticizing Mr. Hart's teaching. After becoming increasingly exasperated, Mr. Hart looks at the bright side. He tries to identify the plusses in having this student in his class. As hard as that is, he comes up with a few. The next time Sean acts in an intrusive way, Mr. Hart is ready. He says, "Sean, I know that God put you in my class to help make me a better teacher. Although sometimes I wish you would just sit back and say nothing, your tough questions push me and lots of your classmates to think harder about what we say." Sean's behavior in class became more cooperative almost immediately.

There are many situations of potential conflict that can be defused with humor. Humor in discipline can be used when it is a natural part of the adult's personality and style, and/or there is a relationship that has been built with a child which allows for off-beat words or actions to be accepted in a non-defensive way. The use of humor which pokes fun at a student, can often be successfully used when the student knows you care about him. Otherwise, such words and actions can be misinterpreted and viewed as a put-down. That creates the possibility of embarrassment and the need that students will have to defend themselves. Most adults who respond to students with a kind of sarcastic humor, both accept and often invite students to respond to them in kind. Sarcastic humor is only one type and is the most risky because of its dependence upon prior relationship and even a student's disposition that day.

Humor which is based upon affirmation is much safer but must be predicated upon honesty and genuineness in order to be effective. Like Mr. Hart, it requires the adult to identify how the student's irritating behavior actually contributes positively to the class. For example, a student who mouths off is redefined as "a quick witted young woman whose comments add a welcome touch of humor to the class discussion." A student who refuses to do work is viewed as "donating his time to fellow students." Her teacher can now approach and genuinely say, "Martha, I'd prefer to see your work done. But when you don't do it, I have one less thing to do which gives me more time for teaching and for giving feedback to other students. It is time for me to start noticing that fact more often." Another student who doesn't do homework is defined as "having more important things to do." Without blame, his teacher tells him, "Mark, I hate getting in your way by giving you homework when you no doubt have more important things to do. So you can stay after school and do your homework here. That way, you won't have to be bothered when you get home." When reframing is used, the educator acts without frustration. Elements of affirmation are blended with humor which creates a changed and often improved relationship.

Humor is at its safest when adults poke fun at their own imperfections and errors. Statements like, "that's one of the best mistakes I've made today," show students the value of a mistake and a lightened perspective that can help them learn to be less uptight. I remember an esteemed professor from graduate school who had a habit of chewing her pen while she was lecturing. Sure enough, the day came when she accidentally bit too hard and in the middle of the lecture, blue ink started drooling from her mouth. Upon discovery, this usually serious, dry individual hollered "code blue!!" The class, which had been restraining itself in an effort to be polite, broke into uproarious laughter.

The most nerve-rattling disciplinary moment for most educators is when a student or a group challenges adult authority in the presence of everyone else. These "button-pressing" moments can often be defused by using humor. Sometimes the humor shows strength with uncertainty. When a student attacks with "you can't make me," or "this class s---s," others will usually look intently to gauge the teacher's response. It is the goal of "saving face," that leads so many educators into using threats with the student or more often simply removing that student from class. An alternative is to defuse with humor. For example, the teacher might say, "wow - you must be really mad to use that kind of language here. As I look around, many of you have that "what are you going to do to Billy look on your faces. How many are wondering that? Well in case you are, all I can say is that I'm wondering about that too. Until Billy and I can figure out why he needs to use words that we all know are unacceptable and against the rules, there's no way for me to know what's best. Billy, you and I will deal with this later. Now it is time for us to get back to _________."

Humor often requires doing the unexpected. I once had a middle school nurse teacher ask me for comment about whether a certain practice of hers constituted a punishment or was it a consequence? She said that an eighth grade English teacher had a group of boys who engaged in daily choreographed farting. Conventional efforts had essentially failed, especially since this group got a lot of attention from others and were generally considered by peers to be trend setters. The English teacher referred the four boys to the school nurse who had four chairs set up outside her office. She came out the door with rubber gloves on and asked each boy to come in one at a time after she told them that they were here because their teacher and she were concerned about their "inability to control their sphincter muscles." As each boy entered, she discussed the general principles behind "intestinal gas production and its release." Their faces were amazing-"they just kept staring at the gloves." She continues, "part of the discussion revolved around how I would examine a patient with rectal problems - a thought absolutely revolting to most 8th graders. They returned to class and refused to discuss what happened with their friends or each other. No further problems were noted." A first year female teacher was challenged by a 14 year old boy who aloud said, "what would you do if I said I was going to drop my pants right now!" The teacher paused momentarily and answered, "I'd say hurry up because we've got a lot of other things to do. I might even start singing the song Is That All There Is?"

Effective discipline on a daily basis requires attention to a multitude of factors by multi-talented educators. We must not underestimate the power of humor as an effective tool in our arsenal of relationship-developing skills. Gentile and McMillan wrote about humor: "for purposes of inner harmony and peace, no single human phenomenon is as healthy, spontaneous, honest and soothing as laughter. Unfortunately, opportunities for classroom humor may be overlooked by educators, who see it as an inappropriate distraction from the standard curriculum." Studies and interviews with students consistently rate "sense of humor" as being a very highly regarded characteristic in teachers. And it is increasingly clear that student classroom performance is strongly influenced by relationship with teacher. In fact, humor works best when it is integrated into classroom instruction by making learning an enjoyable, involving experience. Next time you're developing your weekly lesson plan, be sure to include a component on how you plan to have fun in the classroom management. Do at least one thing every day that is fun for you. The humor will begin to flow.

Welcome back to school

Welcome back to school after what we hope has been a restful, well-deserved holiday break. It is usually tough to get going again especially after what has often been a period of more intense conflict with your more challenging students exacerbated by a myriad of factors that surround the holiday season. So it is a great time to do some renewal with your students. There are many ways but we focus on two in this newsletter:

CREATE A CARING CLASSROOM – Student who challenge our authority need us to be tougher at not giving up on them than they are at pushing our buttons and making us angry. They need to know that we welcome them – warts and all. We recall a teacher who told Bob, a chronically disruptive student: “Bob, since I haven’t yet found a way to help you speak respectfully, I have no doubt that God put you in my classroom to help me become a better teacher. Maybe he’s testing both of us to find a way to get along.” As tough as it might be, use your wisdom, optimism and creative spirit to continue welcoming disruptive students. Doing little things on a daily basis like saying hello, shaking a hand, or offering one appreciative comment each class will dramatically increase the chances of eventually getting better behavior.

REVISIT AND IF NECESSARY ESTABLISH CLEARLY DEFINED LIMITS – Good classroom discipline requires that students understand the rules and that they connect the rules to important educational values. Let your students know what will be necessary to have a successful second half of the school year. Keep things simple. For example, “we’ll need to make sure our rules help us do an even better job so that we TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES; TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER; TAKE CARE OF THIS PLACE.” Invite your students to review various rules and procedures to make sure that these are compatible with the above values. When necessary, model, role-play and teach behaviors consistent with these values.

Dr Allen N. Mendler
Classroom Management