Discipline Answers

QUESTION: I’m new to Discipline without Stress and never heard of the term, “imposed consequences” before. What exactly does Dr. Marshall mean by this? RESPONSE: When Dr. Marshall refers to “imposed” consequences, he is speaking about any consequence that has been determined BY the adult, FOR the student. An imposed consequence is one that has [...]

RESPONSE: To me, this describes a situation in which no one is actually involved in planning or imposing consequences in any way–the consequence simply happens as a matter of course, as a natural outcome of one’s actions. For example, if a child loses his coat at school, then one natural consequence of the situation is [...]

QUESTION: The only discipline program that I know of that refers to “elicited” consequences is Marvin Marshall’s Discipline without Stress. Can you explain what he means by “elicited” consequences? RESPONSE: According to the dictionary, “elicit” means “to draw out.” Elicited consequences are consequences that are drawn out FROM the child. Dr. Marshall’s third and final [...]

QUESTION: What happens at recess, when as a teacher doing yard duty, most of your school does not know the DwStress levels? Do you explain it to them? RESPONSE: Good question! Firstly, in any teaching situation, it’s simply good practice to employ the three PRINCIPLES of Discipline without Stress: Positivity, Choice and Reflection. When out [...]

QUESTION: I am very new to the DWS mailring. I’ll be a 2nd year teacher this coming school year and will be implementing this system in my classroom. I did have a concern about grades. Would you please review Dr. Marshall’s views on grades and how they are related to competition? If he discourages grades, [...]

QUESTION: Does anyone know if DWS is ever implemented in high school? I teach high school Leadership classes and I think high schoolers need these things even more immediately than little ones. The real world is going to require self-discipline of them, real soon! Raising their responsibility is exactly what high school kids need. Most [...]

QUESTION: I have often been tempted to order the Discipline without Stress book. What has held me back is my school’s requirement that we use the same discipline plan throughout the department (in my case, 4th through 6th grades.). The department has the same rules: (1) Be respectful (2) Be obedient (3) Be honest (4) [...]

QUESTION: Language is my biggest stumbling block. I know what I want to say but on the spur of the moment I often find it hard to put into words. As I develop new habits with this discipline approach, I sometimes feel a bit tongue-tied. Can you give me some examples of questions that don’t [...]

QUESTION: I have used DWS for about five or six years now and plan to continue to do so in the fall with my new Grade 3 class. I will be getting a student with Asperger’s Syndrome, who has a full time E.A. From what I understand, much of his day is based on rewards [...]

QUESTION: I have a 3rd grade student who is demonstrating increasingly 
disruptive behaviors. I have all kinds 
of support with him – my principal, school counselor, 
behavioral specialist – we’re all involved, every day. This boy can work elsewhere when he can’t manage in the classroom. My question is this: How do I 
teach the [...]