Classroom Management

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Classroom Management

• Richard Curwin
• Allen Mendler

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Background

• Richard Curwin Known internationally for
  providing thousands of educators and parents with
  practical, proven ideas to effectively manage
  childrens behavior in a manner that respects the
  dignity of each individual.
• Allen Mendler An educator, school psychologist
  and parent of three children. He has worked with
  special and regular education settings, consulted
  many schools, residential programs, and detention
  centers. Mendlers emphasis is on developing
  frameworks and strategies for educators and
  parents to help difficult turn to succeed.

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Discipline with Dignity

• Consist of seven basic principles
• Emphasizes that teachers convey dignity upon
  students and restore their hope in themselves and
  in school.
• Teachers promote a healthy classroom where
  students feel physically and psychologically
  safe.
• Curwin and Mendler believe that classroom
  management should be student-centered,
  democratic, nonauthoritarian, and responsibility
  based.

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Seven Basic Principles 1

• Work toward long-term behavior changes rather
  than toward short term quick fixes.
• Example - Instead of putting a child out in the
  hall for three days in a row for talking, try
  talking to the child to fix the problem or move
  the child from that seat.

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Seven Basic Principles 2

• Stop doing ineffective things.
• Example You send a child to the principle for
  the same reason and his/her behavior does not
  change. Try to find another solution to fix the
  problem.

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Seven Basic Principles 3

• Think, I will be fair, and I wont always treat
  everyone the same.
• Mendler believes that it is necessary to teach
  children to be responsible for their actions,
  therefore he feels that every student deserves
  individual consideration.

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Seven Basic Principles 4

• Make rules that make sense.
• Dont make rules that are too detailed. Keep
  classroom rules to a minimum. Let rules serve
  as a guideline not a dictator.

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Seven Basic Principles 5

• Model what they expect.
• We have all heard the phrase Actions speak
  louder than words. If you expect students to
  turn in an assignment on time then you should
  return that assignment in a timely manner.

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Seven Basic Principles 6

• Feel that responsibility is more important than
  obedience.
• Responsibility means make the best decision you
  possibly can with the information you have
  available. Within a responsibility model of
  discipline, students accumulate information, see
  the options available to them, learn to
  anticipate consequences, and then choose the path
  that they feel is in the best interest for
  themselves and others.

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Seven Basic Principles 7

• Always treat students with dignity.
• When you attack a student with put-downs,
  sarcasm, criticism, scolds, and threats, students
  may follow the rules however, they may become
  angry and resentful.
• Treating students with dignity involves more than
  our manner of speaking. It involves attitudes,
  body language, tone of voice, and eye contact.

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Pros/Cons

• Student-Centered
• Focuses on preventative measures for student
  misbehavior.
• Emphasizes better instruction techniques and
  sincere compassion for preventing discipline
  problems.
• Encourages teachers to let the small stuff go.
  Focuses only on the real problem behaviors.
• Emphasizes caring and empathy, rather than
  control and dispassion.

• Places too much blame on the part of the school
  and teacher for misbehavior.
• May have too much emphasis on student-control.
  Students may not always know what is best for
  themselves and need to have strong leadership on
  the part of the teacher to succeed.
• Is not a simple, no-frills approach to classroom
  discipline. Requires more teacher planning and
  forethought.

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Other Points to Mention

• First, teachers should also help students regain
  hope. When they feel they cannot behave
  appropriately they cannot learn and achieve
  academically, set realistic goals for the future,
  engage in age-appropriate socialization.
• Second, social contracts are one of the most
  effective ways for teacher to take charge of
  their classrooms and still give students a voice
  in class decisions.
• Third, zero-tolerance policies are inherently
  unfair because all students are treated alike,
  regardless of the circumstances. Instead of
  zero-tolerance, schools need to develop
  legitimate high standards by refusing to go along
  with what sounds good and opt for what is truly
  best for the students.

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Dignity

• Bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of
  self-respect or appreciation of the formality or
  gravity of an occasion or situation.
• The quality or state of being worthy of esteem or
  respect.

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Discussion

• Identify the immediate problems in this case and
  describe what actions you would take to resolve
  them.
• Was this incident precipitated by any lack of
  knowledge regarding Mohammads culture? Explain
  your view.
• Is this a case of cultural diversity or child
  abuse? Explain your answer.
• Could using a management program, such as
  positive action or the Curwin and Mendler method,
  have avoided misunderstanding?

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References

• Curwin, R.L., and A.N. Mendler. 1988. Discipline
  with Dignity. Alexandria, VA Association for
  Supervision and Curriculum Development.
• http//www.disciplineassociates.com/dwd.htmGOALS
  
• http//wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Discipline_with_D
  ignity
• The handout from Mrs. Cavin.