Perhaps the most respected, influential, and most cited journal in the field of education is the PHI DELTA KAPPAN. The publisher, Phi Delta Kappa International (PDK), is an international association whose mission is to promote high quality education, in particular publicly supported education, as essential to the development and maintenance of a democratic way of life. This mission is accomplished through leadership, research, and service in education.

PDK has established a new category of membership designed to serve non-educators—parents and others interested in education. Subscription to the PHI DELTA KAPPAN is included in the membership.

If you are interested in keeping informed of educational practices, theories, and controversies, you are invited to join Phi Delta Kappa International. For information, contact Phi Delta Kappa International.

"USING A DISCIPLINE SYSTEM TO PROMOTE LEARNING" was s featured cover article in their March, 2004 edition. The article is co-authored by Marv Marshall and Kerry Weisner and can be downloaded in its original format  at http://www.marvinmarshall.com/pdf/Phi_Delta_Kappan.pdf.

"DISCIPLINE WITHOUT STRESS, PUNISHMENTS OR REWARDS
How Teachers and parents Promote Responsibility & Learning"
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"The practical and useful strategies presented in this book make it a must for teachers—beginning as well as veteran. The chapter on teaching will improve every teacher's skill. The suggestions for reducing anonymity are on the mark, especially for our large high schools. Several suggestions implement the recommendations of the National Association of Secondary School Principals report, 'Breaking Ranks: Changing an American Institution.'"

—Anthony Avina, Ed.D., Superintendent
Whittier Union High School District, Whittier, CA

A descriptive table of contents, three selected sections, and additional items of interest are posted at the book.

On this day, February 12, a few years after speaking to a school district in New Jersey, I asked the school principal (who convinced the district to have me present) how she originally found out about Discipline Without Stress. She told me that she heard me at a conference of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and had asked someone who was assisting with handouts about his reaction to the program. The Arizona principal told her, “Those teachers who implement the system are sad when school ends; those who do not are glad when school is over.”

The New Jersey principal has been implementing the system for the past number of years and has convinced the entire district to implement Discipline Without Stress.

QUESTION:

The Raise Responsibility System discipline approach is referred to as simple-to-implement. I find that I continually have to be aware of being positive, offering choices, and asking reflective-type questions. I wonder if others find using these three practices and implementation of the system “simple.”

RESPONSE:

SIMPLE does not mean EASY (at first). It is simple in that ONLY THREE principles—not a dozen or so—need to be practiced. In addition, the Raise Responsibility System has only three parts; TEACHING the concepts, ASKING reflective questions, and ELICITING a procedure to redirect impulses.

Learning how to drive an automobile is SIMPLE, but it only becomes EASY after you have driven for awhile.

Deciding ahead of time not to eat dessert at a banquet may be SIMPLE. But when the plates from the main course are removed and the cheesecake is placed in front of you, your original decision may not be so EASY to implement.

When I first decided to run in the mornings—rather than in the evenings—I found the decision quite SIMPLE. I set the alarm for an early morning rise. As I had expected, the alarm rang early the next morning and I heard my self-talk: “Getting up this early is crazy.” I went back to sleep. At the time, I was a high school assistant principal with a student body of 3,200. Since I was in charge of all student discipline as well as all co-curricular activities, I would arrive home at various late hours. Knowing that if I were to continue running regularly, the running would have to be done in the mornings, so that evening I again set my alarm for an early morning rise. I awoke and ran. That was years ago. I have never returned to running in the evenings. My original decision was SIMPLE. Getting up earlier than I was accustomed to was not EASY. Still today, I would not have it any other way.

At the end of a presentation of the Raise Responsibility System to a school or district, people leave with three simple practices to implement and a simple system to use. The implementation is up to them. I never say it is EASY. But I do emphasize that the more they practice the principles and implement the system, the easier it becomes, the more responsibility they will promote, the more effective they will be, the more improved their relationships will become, and the less stress they will feel. And, they WILL see success from the beginning.

However, there must be conscious awareness in implementing the approaches (3 principles to practice and the 3 parts of the Raise Responsibility System). They ARE SIMPLE; but it’s just not EASY to change approaches (read habits) and always be alert to our options.

We don’t teach the Ten Commandments and then expect people to implement them all their lives. The Commandments need to be regularly revisited.

We don’t practice a set of procedures one time and then expect them to be set in place to run themselves. We’re dealing with humans—not machines—and therefore constant awareness and practice are necessary. As we (or others) practice, new neural connections are made and implementation does become easier AND simpler.

People who reflect, evaluate, and are conscious of their practices are engaging in one of life’s greatest joys—striving for improvement and reaping the satisfactions that result.

QUESTION:

After a presentation in Bermuda, the question was asked whether I am a traditionalist or a progressive.

RESPONSE:

Interesting question! I had never been asked this before.

My guiding mission is to foster responsibility. This is the foundational characteristic of those values and practices necessary for a civil, enlightened, and democratic society. Therefore, if you desire to label me, you would call me a traditionalist. But then consider the following.

W. Edwards Deming was the American who brought quality to manufacturing while simultaneously reducing costs. The most prestigious manufacturing award given in Japan is the Deming Award. Yet, Dr. Deming used a nontraditional approach—collaboration, rather than domination.

In this regard, traditional approaches for promoting responsibility are not successful enough with far too many young people today. Society has changed, but we are still using former approaches that worked with former generations and expect them to work with the current generation.

A tongue-in-cheek example of how society has changed is illustrated by the youngster sitting in the back of the car with his knapsack packed while his mother says to her neighbor, “He’s running away from home but expects me to drive him.”

Every time I present to primary school teachers, someone comes up to me sharing the frustration about the increasing numbers of youngsters entering kindergarten with very little self-control and lower levels of social interaction skills.

Try to use coercive approaches with these young people—really any person today regardless of age—and in return you will receive reluctance, resistance, and sometimes even rebellion.

Using traditional COERCIVE approaches with today’s youth to promote responsibility and traditional values is simply not nearly so effective as using NONCOERCIVE and COLLABORATIVE approaches. Is this being progressive?

The label is your choice.