QUESTION:
I recently signed up to be a substitute teacher. As such, I don’t really have enough time to fully explain all the procedures and levels of Discipline Without Stress. Classes at middle and high school are only 50 minutes long. What can I do as a sub, in order to manage the class and also teach? I want to be in alignment with DwSTRESS, even though many of the classes I visit have lists of consequences for misbehavior that I am required to impose.

RESPONSE:
Firstly, you can decide to make it a habit to use the three principles of DwStress–POSITIVITY, CHOICE and REFLECTION–in all your teaching.

1. You can phrase your communications positively.

For example, you can begin the class with a confident smile, letting them know that you are pleased to be working with your favorite age group! I don’t know about you, but whatever group I’m currently working with is always my favorite!

2. You can build small choices into the day.

For instance, you might say: “Your teacher left me a plan for the day. She said that we need to complete a written assignment and discuss some review questions for Friday’s test. Which would you like to do first? Let’s take a quick vote.”

You can offer choices to misbehaving students—even if the school requires that certain consequences need to be imposed. In a quiet and non-confrontational way, you might say, “I notice in your teacher’s planning book, that talking out of turn results in 20 minutes of lost lunch time. Is this what you really want? Which sounds better to you? Spending your lunch time in here with me doing an assignment, or in the cafeteria with your friends? I’m prepared to stay in with you, but the decision is really up to you.”

3. You can use reflective questioning to prompt thinking, as in the example above.

Your question reminded me of a letter I once received from someone who was intrigued by an experience I had written about in a little story titled, “Choosing Your Teacher.” The concept of “choosing your teacher” is mentioned in Dr. Marshall’s book, Discipline without Stress.

She explained to me that in the past when she had worked as a guest teacher, she had always found it effective to explain to classes that the students actually held the power to choose the kind of teacher they would like to have while their own teacher was away.

Here’s her story:

Quite a few years ago when my children were young, I subbed for our district because I wasn’t quite ready to go back to full-time teaching. By the way, this was long before I’d heard about Discipline Without Stress.

I used to go into the classrooms in the morning and give each class a little speech about who I was…what my expectations were…etc. And somewhere in there, I always managed to say some variation of, “You get to decide whether we have a great day together or a horrible day together. I can be a really fun teacher–or a really mean teacher. And it’s totally up to you which one I will be today.”

I loved subbing and invariably had great days with the kids. I hadn’t thought about that line, “choosing your teacher,” in years, until I read your story about the kids in your class discovering that they might all have a different teacher–depending on their own behaviors!

I would suggest that this person’s strategy of being upfront with the students and inviting them to be conscious of the fact that they actually hold the power to CHOOSE the type of teacher they would like to have while their regular teacher is away, would be an excellent way to start off any guest teaching assignment. It’s positive, it puts the responsibility for behavior where it belongs–on the students–and it empowers them with a choice!

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Posted In: Choice, K. For Guest Teachers
posted On: March 22, 2008: 11:23 am: By Kerry Weisner
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