Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What Teachers Need to Know about Classroom Communication and Positive Discipline
Basic Assumption
All misbehavior is the result of a childs mistaken assumption about the way he can find a place and gain status (Dreikurs, 1968, p. 36).
Attention Getting
Students who are looking to belong and be recognized in the class. This is more often identified with disturbing behavior. Many times this occurs because students are not getting the recognition that they feel they deserve. If students cannot get attention for their positive behaviors (being on task, completing work, arriving on time, etc.), they will seek it with inappropriate behaviors (continually calling out, refusing to work, asking irrelevant questions, etc.)
Students feel inferiority, so they try to be your boss. Once the battle has been joined, the child has already won it. Behavior characteristics consist of the student repetitively doing a behavior to make him or her the center of attention. When asked to stop, he or she becomes defiant and escalates his or her negative behavior and challenges the adult. The teacher will feel annoyed at the students' actions.
Revenge
Students who think the only way to get recognition is to retaliate against adults for the way they feel they have been unfairly treated. This is formed after a long series of discouragement by failing trials for attention getting and power. Behavior characteristics consist of a student who hurts others physically or psychologically. The teacher will feel hurt in relation to the student's actions.
Teachers Role
The teacher must recognize students inner goal and then help the students change to the more appropriate goal of learning how to belong with others (Wolfgang, 2001, p. 115).
Observe the childs behavior in detail. Be psychologically sensitive to your own reaction.
and confirm the mistaken goal to the child. Use the four "could it be" questions:
1. Could it be that you want special attention? 2. Could it be that you want your own way and hope to be boss? 3. Could it be that you want to hurt others as much as you feel hurt by them? 4. Could it be that you want to be left alone? Dreikurs, 1972, p. 34, 41)
Encouragement
The essence of encouragement is to increase the child's confidence in himself and to convey to him that he is good enough as he is not just as he might be. It is directed toward increasing the child's belief in himself. Avoid discouragement. Work for improvement, not perfection. Comment on effort rather than results. Separate the deed from the doer. Build on strength, not on weaknesses. Show your faith in the child. Mistakes should not be viewed as failures. Integrate the child into the group. Praise is not the same as encouragement. Help the child develop the courage to be imperfect. Dreikurs, 1972, pp. 49-59)
Praise can be discouraging. Praise recognizes the actor, encouragement acknowledges the act. Too much praise makes a child dependent on the teacher"
Logical Consequences
Every act has a consequence, and if we are to avoid unpleasant results of our acts we must then behave in a way which will help to guarantee more favorable results (Dreikurs, 1968, p. 62). Logical consequences should offer the child a clear and logical choice of behavior and results. The child must perceive that he has a choice and accept the relationship of his choice to what followed (Dreikurs,
1968, p. 82).
It is structured and arranged by the adult, must be experienced by the child as logical in nature
(Dreikurs, 1972, p. 62).
Classroom Meetings
Students need to practice democratic principles in school in order to learn how to contribute later to society as a whole. The central process for carrying
5. Learn about separate realities 6. Recognize the four purposes of behavior 7. Practice role playing and brainstorming
8. Focus on non-punitive solutions))
Books by Dreikurs
A Parent's Guide to Child Discipline by Rudolf Dreikurs and Loren Grey The Challenge of Parenthood Children: The Challenge -- by Rudolf Dreikurs, Vicki Soltz Coping With Children's Misbehavior, a Parent's Guide Discipline Without Tears -- by Rudolf Dreikurs, et al Encouraging Children to Learn by Rudolf Dreikurs, Don, Sr. Dinkmeyer