Chapter 9: Inner Discipline

1. Chapter 9: Inner Discipline Presented by: Johnna Hyde Crystal Montalbo Naseh Mirizadeh

2. Inner Discipline • Developed by Barbara Coloroso • Based the belief that adults should believe that children and adolescents are worth the effort and time required to teach them responsible behavior. • It is actually a view of parenting that teachers can modify.

3. Interesting Facts About Barbara Coloroso • Formerly a classroom teacher, university professor, and seminar leader • Author of three parenting books • Lived in a convent for three years, spending one of those years in silence • While mostly viewed as a parenting expert, many of her ideas have been modified in order to be used in the classroom

4. Suggested Philosophical Stances • All children are worth the effort that it takes to teach them and should be treated with respect at all times. • Teachers should always follow the Golden Rule, which is to treat students the way that they would want to be treated. • Teachers should never diminish or hurt a student’s dignity.

5. Teachers’ Roles and Responsibilities • In order for Inner Discipline to be effective, teachers should hold the suggested philosophical stances. • Teachers should also: • trust that teaching students to self-discipline is better than the teacher disciplining the students • believe that it is the teacher’s responsibility to teach students to accept the ownership of their problems. • use natural consequences or real world consequences as much as possible; when those do not work, reasonable consequences should be used • avoid harsh, physical, and overbearing punishments

6. Implementing Inner Discipline • Before Inner Discipline can be implemented, it is important that all aspects of Coloroso’s theory be taken into consideration. These aspects include: • Categories of teachers • Discipline • Punishment • Behavior Management

7. Categories of Teachers • In the Inner Discipline Theory, teachers are considered to be brick wall teachers, jellyfish teachers or backbone teachers. • The category that a teacher fits into affects student behavior and teacher relationships.

8. Brickwall Teacher • Are known as the “boss” or most powerful person in the classroom • Restricting and controlling • Views students as subordinates • Accepts responsibility for students’ behavior rather than teaching Inner Discipline.

9. Jellyfish Teacher • Inconsistent in classroom management • Lacks structure and rules • Use threats and bribes • Allows emotion to rule students and their behaviors • Do not see the need for students to develop Inner Discipline or fear students might be unreceptive to their insistence upon proper behavior.

10. Backbone Teacher • Emphasizes democracy • Advocate creative, constructive, and responsible activity • Has simply and clearly defined rules • Uses natural consequences or real world consequences • Help students develop Inner Discipline

11. Discipline, Punishment and Behavior Management • Inner Discipline is not a classroom management model. However, key points can be used to aid teachers in developing or personalizing their own classroom management plan.

12. Key Points of Inner Discipline • Ownership of Problem • Students learn that to take ownership over their problems and the consequences from their behaviors because it is the right thing to do • Discipline, Punishment, and Rewards • Punishment is seen as a control method used by an adult on a student. Punishment is not seen as effective because it does not have the students acknowledge their misbehavior. • The use of rewards is also not promoted in Inner Discipline. It is believed that rewards can be misleading and keep students dependent on adults. • Discipline is promoted in Inner Discipline through the use of The Four Steps of Discipline and the Three R’s of Discipline.

13. Four Steps of Discipline • According to Coloroso, the process of discipline does four things that the act of punishment cannot do: • Show students what they should have done. • Give them as much ownership of the problem as they are able to handle. • Provide options for solving the problem. • It leaves their dignity intact • When discipline is administered in these steps, the focus goes to the factors surrounding the situation rather than focusing on the power of the adult administering the punishment.

14. The Three R’s of Discipline • The three R’s include: • Restitution- fixing what the student did • Resolution-determining a way not to let the behavior happen again • Reconciliation- process of healing with the offender honoring the restitution plan and making a commitment to live up to the resolution.

15. Assertive Confrontation • Is a model of a productive confrontation • Coloroso believes that the use of assertive confrontation is sometimes necessary • She recommends the use of seven rules for a fair, productive, and assertive confrontation

16. Seven Rules of Assertive Confrontation • Speak the message assertively. • Tell the other person about your feelings. • State your belief but avoid destructive words. • Give direct feedback. • State what you want. • Be open to the other person’s perspective. • Negotiate an agreement.

17. Advantages and Disadvantages of Inner Discipline Advantages Disadvantages Easy to implement Applies to most situations Promotes self-discipline Some believe that Inner Discipline applies more to parenting rather than teaching May be challenging to implement when students disagree about who owns a problem

18. References • Manning, M. L., & Bucher, K. T. (2007). Classroom management: Models, applications, and cases. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.