Discipline Answers

QUESTION:
I understand what a Level B student is but sometimes I hear teachers asking, “Do you want me to become a Level B teacher?” Can you explain what this is all about?
RESPONSE:
One important understanding students receive when the teacher introduces the DWS Hierarchy in the beginning of the year is that people can [...]

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 that [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Initially, some teachers new to DISCIPLINE without STRESS, have difficulty visualizing what is meant by the practice of “setting up consequences proactively” in a discipline situation. Here’s an example of “eliciting consequences ahead of time” with a group of boys in my own primary class.
My teaching partner and I had a group of boys who [...]

Recently I was glancing through a book from the public library: THE BOOK OF NURTURING–Nine Natural Laws for Enriching Your Family Life by Linda and Richard Eyre.
In the chapter on discipline, a little story caught my eye because it contained a very PROACTIVE and POSITIVE suggestion that could be used by anyone who wanted [...]