Discipline Answers

Hooway for Wodney Rat by Helen Lester is a great read-aloud, especially if you like taking on different voices!! Camilla Capybara is a perfect character for introducing the concept of Level B of the DWS Hierarchy.  Once the kids have correctly identified Camilla’s level of operation, the illustrations really lend themselves to discussing the outcomes and [...]

QUESTION: What if a child trips and accidentally hurts another student? Is this Level A behavior according to the RRSystem of discipline? RESPONSE: When teaching the Hierarchy, it is important to ensure that students understand that with regard to Level A, we are discussing deliberate actions that result in damage or injury, not accidents. Accidents [...]

QUESTION: I have an older version of Dr. Marshall’s book which doesn’t include the DwStress Teaching Model. Is there one available online? RESPONSE: Click here for the Discipline without Stress Teaching Model.

QUESTION: I am a high school Social Studies teacher. As a teacher of a content area, I don’t penalize my students for spelling errors on their assignments as an English teacher would, but at the same time, I don’t want to give them the impression that spelling isn’t important. I’m not having much success. Once [...]

QUESTION: Today I began introducing the DwStress Hierarchy to my class. As we were discussing the four levels of behavior, one boy with emotional problems said, “I like Level A. I like to be on Level A. I don’t want to be on Level C or D.” This boy has had so much negative attention [...]

QUESTION: I work with very low math students. 
Part of my plan for next year is to convince them that
 things can be different. I want to convince them that they can find
 success and not be so frustrated! The worst behavior cases seem
 to be the kids that have given up.
 But then I [...]

QUESTION: I have an ADHD student in my class who takes up at least a third of my time. I’m not sure if this would be part of the DwStress approach, but I have decided that from now on he will go to the In-School Discipline Room whenever he is disrupting my class. I feel [...]

QUESTION: I’ve just taken over in a classroom where the kids are used to freely talking. Today I kept them in from break because they were talking so much that we couldn’t get the work done. This made them really mad at me!  In this discipline system, how do I communicate to the students that [...]

QUESTION: My class talks so much that I would like to keep them in at recess to get their work done. Is this against the philosophy of DwStress?? RESPONSE: It would depend on how the situation comes about. Dr. Marshall points out that imposed consequences are typically viewed as punishments by students and so lead [...]

QUESTION: I’ve always used logical consequences with my students. It seems like such a sensible way to discipline. I’m surprised that Dr. Marshall recommends NOT using logical consequences. Can you explain why? RESPONSE: You’re correct in thinking that Dr. Marshall does not advocate the use of logical consequences. Whenever a consequence might be deemed necessary [...]