I guide my interactions with children with two principles. The first is from Jerome Bruner:
Students should experience success and failure not as reward and punishment but as information.
And the second principle comes from Alfie Kohn:
Good teaching and parenting is less about doing things to kids and more about working with them.
Keeping these principles in mind, here are some posts that may help you rethink discipline, classroom management and behavior programs.
Primitive Moral Development: PBIS - Because our misguided use of rewards and punishment perpetuate a preoccupation with self-interest and predictably stunts moral development, it's time we stop blaming the kids and start questioning our own practices.
Consequences for whom - I do believe there are consequences for people's actions, and kids really do need to learn this, but when people imply that children need to learn consequences, they almost always mean the consequences to the child.
Treating Kids Like Pets - When teachers or parents make success, rewards, gifts, excellence, treats, fun, grades or opportunities artificially scarce, we alienate and marginalize the very children who need us the most.
Undemocratic classrooms of a democratic society - If children are not afforded the opportunity to learn how to participate in a democratic classroom by being in a democratic classroom, when shall they learn how to participate and perpetuate the democratic ideals that you Americans and we Canadians have come to love so very much?
Alfie Kohn interview with Dr. Ross Greene - Alfie Kohn talks about parenting and teaching at its best and worst.
What does working *with* kids look like? - There's a big difference between working with and doing to.
Working hard and being nice are not enough - If we want kids to grow up to be democratic citizens, we have let them be so in school.
Disengaged kids are inconvenient - The misbehaviour is not the problem - rather it is a symptom of a far larger problem that has more to do with forces external of the student.
What we have here is a failure to communicate - sometimes what we say is not what kids hear.
Kids need our presence not our praise - In my experience, praise is less for the kids and more for the adults.
Bait and Switch - here's why we shouldn't use reward programs to bait kids' interest or compliance.
Catching Kids - here's why teachers and parents shouldn't focus on catching kids being good or bad.
Why the Why Matters - here's why motivation matters
The Behaviourism Infection - we have been infected and we don't even know it
Education and Sports Analogies - here's why sports and learning and living life are not analogous
Bad Apologies - sorry isn't a word, it's a feeling
Collaboration Agent - none of us are as independent as we might thing
Blaming the kids - at some point we have to look at our own practices
Unconditional Recogntion - here's an alternative to awards ceremonies
Bullying Perspectives - here's a better way to work with bullies
Kids need our presence not our praise - praise is hollow, our presence is real
We inherit but we also become - natural ability is a hoax
Praising effort vs ability - praise can be dangerous
Why am I smart - how kids rationalize their intelligence is very important
IQ: Misused and Misunderstood - here's how IQ can be so very harmful
Teach them a lesson? - sometimes we need to be understanding
Two Classroom Management Models: Fireman vs CSI - misbehavior is the symptom not the problem
Simple and Easy = Intimidating - telling kids something is easy is at best unhelpful and at worst harmful
to err is human - mistakes are our friends
The Folly of Chasing Perfect - here's why chasing perfect is a bad idea
Using Learning as a Punishment - be careful what you turn into a chore
Taylor Mali is a joke - a bully is a bully no matter their age
High Stakes Testing and Zero Tolerance - zero tolerance has no place in raising children
what does working *with* kids look like - working with trumps doing to every time
Prescriptive vs Personalized - one-size does not fit all people and kids are people too
Caring ally or judge-in-waiting - which are you?
Sometimes they are just tired - sometimes we need to just relax
