Steps for Better Classroom Discipline

Four Steps for Better Classroom Discipline

Even if you understand that children function at different stages of discipline, it is not easy to sell administrators, school board members and parents on the idea that you are going to have different sets of rules for different kids in your classroom. You don’t have to. If you set up a discipline policy in your classroom that progressively attempts to meet the needs of the students first at Stage 4, then Stage 3, and finally Stages 2 and 1, you can be as consistent in your discipline as everyone expects you to be and at the same time encourage students to practice behaving at a stage higher than the one they normally use.

Let’s look at four steps for classroom discipline that you can start using right now. 

Step 1: Reminder

This is a reminder not a reprimand. It may be directed to the whole class at once. It may be directed to one or two students. The teacher does not need to approach the student when using this step. The teacher needs to take the opportunity to remind students early enough that the situation does not progress beyond a point where a simple reminder is no longer appropriate.

Example 1:

"There is the bell, class. You should all have your homework out on your desk, now."

Example 2:

"Janice and Maria, the rest of us have all started working, now. You need to stop talking and start too."

The importance of this step cannot be understated. Students who consistently function at Stage 3, the mutual interpersonal stage, will quickly respond to your reminder. They want to please you and this is right at their level. Students who are in transition to Stage 3 have an opportunity to practice their discipline skills at this level.

Some teachers may complain that they should not have to remind children over and over again. We remind the children because they ARE children.

Step 2: Warning

This is a reprimand. The student is approached. The warning may be either verbal or written.

Verbal warnings should not be delivered across the classroom. The teacher moves in close to the student and lets him know what he is expected to do. The student is asked to identify the next step.

Example 1:

Steven is sitting sideways in his chair and keeps messing with things on Maria’s desk. The teacher approaches Steven and says "Steven, I expect you to turn around in your seat and get on with your assignment. This is your warning. What is the next step?"

Example 2:

During a class discussion, Tammy suddenly speaks out. "Boy, this stuff really sucks!" The teacher walks up to her and calmly, but firmly, says, "Tammy, I will not tolerate your outbursts. I expect you to raise your hand and wait to be called on before you speak. This is your warning. Now, can you tell me the next step?"

Written warnings are even more effective. The student is approached and handed an Honor Level System infraction slip. The teacher has checked an item on the slip and may ask the youngster to fill in the information at the top. He is told that if no further problem occurs he will be able to throw the slip away at the end of the period. If the misbehavior continues, the slip will be collected and turned into the office.

Example 2:

Jason has been teasing Janice. The teacher fills out an infraction slip and takes it to him. He says to Jason "Here is an infraction slip with your name on it. I have marked ‘Failure to treat peers with respect’ because you have been bothering Janice. I will put it here on the corner of your desk. If it is still there when the bell rings, you may throw it away. If you continue to pester her, I will pick it up and it will be turned into the office."

The warning step would normally be the first step if you were using Assertive Discipline. Instead of putting a name on the board (or on a clip board, as Lee Canter now recommends), placing a slip on the student’s desk keeps it much closer to the child where he is less likely to forget and get into trouble again.

If you do not teach in a regular classroom with desks, still give the slip to the student. Even in a gym class the youngster can tuck the slip inside an elastic band somewhere. The slip can even be folded and put in a shoe!

It is important that the child has possession of the slip and that he realizes that he is the one in control of it. Just as he is in charge of the infraction slip, he is also in charge of his own behavior. This helps the student learn to take ownership for his own actions. When the slip is in the hands of the teacher or his name is on a board far away, it is too easy to think that the situation is in someone else’s hands. Instead, this technique fosters and encourages internal locus of control rather than external locus of control. There is no doubt in the student’s mind that he has been reprimanded, but he is not left with a feeling of helplessness: that his fate is in the teacher’s hands.

The warning step, especially the written warning, directly addresses the needs of the student who functions at the power stage will be sizing up the situation. You have moved into their space and made your expectations quite clear. If you are firm, cool, and assertive, they may feel that the balance of power tips in your favor. If you shout and display excessive anger, it will be read as a challenge and this student will confront you. Regrettably, the situation will then escalate quickly to the next step.

Step 3: Infraction Slip

The student is approached again. She is reminded that she has already received her warning. An infraction slip will be turned into the office. If she has received a written warning, the slip is collected from her. The student is asked to identify the next step.

Example:

Nathan has been warned about staying in his seat and working on his assignment, but he keeps wandering over to argue with Jeff about a missing baseball card. The teacher marks "Failure to follow classroom rules" on an infraction slip and asks Nathan to fill in the top. She says "Nathan, I warned you only a few minutes earlier about following directions. Yet you refuse to go to work. You will receive a detention. Can you tell me the next step?"

Nathan has refused to follow classroom rules even after being reminded and later warned. The infraction slip will be turned into the office where this information is entered into a computer that manages the data for The Honor Level System. Nathan’s Honor Level may change and depending on the number of other infractions that he has received in the past 14 days, he will be required to serve an appropriately significant consequence. If the slip is the first, he may serve a short detention during noon. If the slip is one of many, he may be suspended from school. In either case, the consequence is not chosen by the teacher. It is part of a consistent school-wide discipline plan.

It is important that the teacher has tried Steps 1 and 2 before turning the infraction slip into the office. Only in special, extreme cases, should an infraction slip be used as the first step.

Remember: The Honor Level System is an extension of your classroom discipline system, not a replacement for it.

Step 4: Send to the Office

The student is removed from class. A special "Time Out" slip is filled out and sent with the student, or a "Referral Form" will be completed for the office later.

Example:

Linda has been acting up in class quite a bit today. She has been warned, and has had an infraction slip written up. Still, she continues to disrupt the class. The teacher sends her to the office. As she leaves the room, the teacher calls the office to let them know that Linda is on the way. As soon as possible, the teacher stops by the office to fill out a referral form and check with the principal. The teacher will contact the girl’s parents, as well.

If the first three steps are followed faithfully, this step is rarely needed. When things do progress this far, the teacher can proceed with this step in a cool, unemotional manner. There is no need for shouting or anger.

The student may want to bargain for leniency, but the effective teacher has remained calm through all the previous steps and lets Linda know that she has left him with no other option. He will insist that she leave the room, but may send her off with an optimistic "Tomorrow we will try again. I’m sure we can make this work right."

Post the Steps and Classroom Rules

These steps for discipline should be posted in several places in the classroom. The teacher should identify three to five classroom rules that are important to his or her teaching station and post them, as well. The list should be as short as possible and stated in a positive way. Write down your rules as behaviors that you expect of your students. Including an item like: Follow directions the first time they are given helps cover most problems that may occur in the classroom that are not addressed by more specific expectations.

Take time to go over the rules and the steps with each class. Explain to your students that they may be asked to identify the next step if they get into trouble. Let them know that they can always look on the wall to answer your question.

Also, let the students know that in extreme cases you reserve the right to skip to higher steps. There may be certain behaviors that you simply will not tolerate. Be specific and give them examples

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the stage of dicipline

Stages of Discipline

You would never think of setting up a math or reading program in your building that treated every student exactly the same. You would not expect all students to use the same reader. You would not place an entire school in the same math book. If you did any of these things, your school board and your community would demand an immediate explanation. Yet, we set up discipline systems in our schools that treat all students exactly the same. In fact, everyone expects us to do just that!
Just as students function at different levels in reading and math, they also function at different levels, or stages, of discipline. It is possible to set up a consistent system for classroom discipline that will be appropriate for students functioning a t all stages and at the same time encourage them to work their way up to higher stages.
There are many experts telling us how to handle discipline problems in our classrooms. Yet these experts do not always agree. Thomas Gordon, creator of Teacher Effectiveness Training staunchly opposes Lee Canter’s Assertive Discipline concept. Yet, both have enjoyed a great deal of success all across America. Trying to decide who is right and who is wrong seems quite difficult. Instead, let us assume that both of them are right, that they just are not talking about the same students!
If we look at the work of Lawrence Kohlberg, we find the piece that will put this puzzle together. For many years Kohlberg studied stages of moral and ethical reasoning in youngsters from the United States, Taiwan, Mexico, Turkey, and Yucatan. One important fact that surfaced in his research is that everyone, regardless of culture, race, or sex, goes through these stages. Although the progression from stage to stage is the same, the rate varies from person to person. It is for this reason that we need to be prepared to address discipline in our classrooms at different levels. Our students are functioning at different stages on the road to self-discipline. Let us look at these stages and see how youngsters behave.
Stage 1: Recalcitrant Behavior

The Power Stage: Might Makes Right!
Students functioning at Stage 1, the lowest stage, are typically recalcitrant in their behavior. That is, they often refuse to follow directions. They are defiant and require a tremendous amount of our attention. Theirs is a heteronomous morality: they have few rules of their own, but out of fear of reprisal, may follow the rules of others. Most youngsters have progressed beyond this stage by age four or five, but a few older students still function at this level.
This is the power stage. What makes it work is the imbalance of power between the child and the person in authority. When the child is young, the imbalance of power between him and his parent is significant. If the child is never taught a higher stage, the imbalance of power diminishes as he grows up . The parent then tells us that she can no longer control her child. He will not mind. He challenges authority constantly.
Fortunately, very few of the students we see in our classrooms function at this stage. Those who do, follow rules as long as the imbalance of power tilts against them. Assertive teachers with a constant eye on these students can keep them in line. Turn your back on them, and they are out of control.
If these students want something, they usually just take it. They show very little concern for the feelings of others. They seek out extensions of power. Pencils, scissors, and rulers become weapons in their hands.
Schools that use The Honor Level System find that the students who function mainly at this level are chronically on Honor Level Four.

Stage 2: Self-Serving Behavior

The Reward/Punishment Stage: "What's in It for Me?"
Students functioning at Stage 2 are a little easier to handle in the classroom. They also represent only a small percent of the youngsters we teach. Kohlberg would classify them as having an individualistic morality. They can be very self-centered.

 

This is the reward and punishment stage. These students behave either because they will receive some sort of reward such as candy, free time, etc., or because they do not like what happens to them when they do not behave. Most children are moving beyond this stage by the time they are eight or nine years old. Older students who still function at this stage do best in classrooms with assertive teachers.
There is very little sense of self-discipline at this stage. Like the power stage children, these youngsters need constant supervision. They may behave quite well in your classroom and then be out of control in the halls on the way to their next class.

 

Because we expect so much more of our students, these children are often on Honor Level Three and Honor Level Four.

Stage 3: Interpersonal Discipline

The Mutual Interpersonal Stage: "How Can I Please You?"Students functioning at Stage 3 make up most of the youngsters in our middle and junior high schools. These kids have started to develop a sense of discipline. They behave because you ask them. This is themutual interpersonal stage. They care what others think about them, and they want you to like them.
These children need gentle reminders. You ask them to settle down and they do. Assertive discipline works with these students because they understand it, but they rarely need such a heavy handed approach to classroom discipline.
Quite often you find students in your classroom that are in transition from Stage 2 to Stage 3. Perhaps you will know of a student that gets into lots of trouble in other classrooms but not in yours. This child is just learning to trust others and build the interpersonal relationships that are more common with his classmates. You need to let him know that his good behavior is important to you not only in your classroom, but in others as well. Nurture this youngster and you will see quick progress. Be unnecessarily assertive and he will slip back to Stage 2.
These students are almost always on Honor Level One and Honor Level Two.

Stage 4: Self-Discipline

The Social Order Stage: "I Behave Because it is the Right Thing to Do."
Students functioning at Stage 4 rarely get into any trouble at all. They have a sense of right and wrong. Although many middle school and junior high school students will occasionally function at this level, only a few consistently do. These are the youngsters we enjoy working with so much. You can leave these kids alone with a project and come back 20 or 30 minutes later and find them still on task. They behave because, in their minds, it is the right thing to do.
This is the social order stage. These students are almost always onHonor Level One.
Even though they may never tell you, students who function at this level do not appreciate assertive discipline. They are bothered by the fact that other students force teachers to use so much class time dealing with discipline problems.
Although most of our students do not usually operate at this stage, they are near enough to it that they understand it. Cooperative Learning activities encourage students to function at this level. The teacher who sets up several groups within the classroom gives students a chance to practice working at this level while he waits close by, ready to step in when needed.

Working Through the StagesKohlberg describes additional stages of morality and ethical reasoning that go beyond what we discuss here, but they are not usually seen in school age children. In fact, many adults do not progress much further than these.
Keep in mind that all of us work our way through these stages in this order as we grow up. When you identify the stage at which a student is functioning, you can then help that youngster work to the next stage. It is a mistake to try and skip stages. Insisting that a Stage 1 student “straighten up and start acting right” (like a Stage 4 student) is not a reasonable expectation. It simply isn’t going to happen! Instead, set your goal on Stage 2 and you will be less frustrated. You may be pleasantly surprised when you start to notice improvement.
It is important to remember that for many reasons, any child is fully capable of regressing every now and then. When you really get to know your students and are used to them functioning at a stage, it is important to look for a reason when one of your students regresses. Problems with family members, friends, alcohol, or drugs may be behind a shift in behavior. It simply might be tiredness or the onset of illness. Whatever the cause, it is worth taking the time to talk with the student and see what’s going on.

Picking Up the PiecesYou may feel that you do not have the time to walk these kids from stage to stage. You may be concerned about covering the material in the book or getting to all the objectives, but what do you teach? Is it English? Math? Science? Such a response is the one others expect of us, but the real answer is: “I teach children.” When you get used to thinking of your job in that way, it is easier to find the time needed to help a youngster with behavior problems.
Learning self-discipline is just like learning anything else. Your students aren’t always going to get it right the first time. So, you find yourself “picking up the pieces.” You help them some more, and when you think they are ready you give it another try.
If you have a math student who is not quite ready to handle long division, you spend more time on subtraction and multiplication. If you have a student that isn’t ready for Stage 3 or Stage 4, you spend more time working on Stage 2. Where other teachers may see a kid who is still a discipline problem, you may be able to see one who is making progress. Seeing that progress, as slow as it might be, makes greeting that youngster each day a pleasure that his other teachers may never enjoy. Soon you will be opening the doors to the mutual inter-personal stage and really make a difference in his life. READ MORE...