Beyond Classroom Discipline Tips: A Classroom Mangement Toolkit for High School Teachers

In our August newsletter we provided our subscribers with discipline tips to begin the new school year. We emphasized the importance of working with students to establish classroom rules, praising positive behavior, modeling desired behavior, controlling the seating arrangement and providing students with a relevant and stimulating curriculum as the means to prevent unwanted behavior. But, the truth is, even the most veteran teacher rarely finds that preventative measures work all the time on all the students. Even the best classroom rules or the most skilled teacher can't prevent every discipline problem. No matter how many times you have had to deal with a classroom problem, it is still tough to think of thoughtful consequences when a rule is violated.

For all teachers, the greatest discipline challenge is to create fair, consistent, and meaningful consequences--punishments that solve problems, not create new ones. Within the discipline process it's not difficult to acknowledge the wrongdoing, and it's not hard to say to a student, "Report to me after school for a classroom detention!" But once the misbehaved student reports, the real challenge begins. Now the teacher must devise a punishment that is fair, consistent, and meaningful.

In many cases the consequence is to have the student sit and do nothing or work on his homework. This student soon realizes that the punishment is meaningless and there is nothing for him to do while he serves detention time. In these cases the student sometimes falls asleep or gets into even more trouble. If he works on a homework assignment he may begin to associate misbehavior with schoolwork. These are the wrong messages for students who may already misuse their time or view learning in a negative light.

Our new Classroom Management Toolkit for high school teachers addresses these and other problems associated with how to discipline students who have misbehaved in the classroom. Similar to the Teacher sections of the Elementary Discipline Program, high school teachers can now have a discipline curriculum that will provide misbehaving students with constructive learning activities that focus on the very wrongdoing that caused their after-school stay in the first place. Classroom Discipline Learning Packets focus on several key areas:

• causes of the misbehavior
• consequences
• acceptance of responsibility
• and goal setting.

Packets help students settle down and re-think their inappropriate actions--all under the guidance of the teacher. The packets also foster social and personal responsibility and provide teachers with teaching opportunities to improve both unacceptable attitudes and behavior. Students are directed to make changes through a series of self-evaluation and goal-setting exercises.

These Classroom Discipline Learning Packets save teacher time, help standardize punishment and provide important documentation. Students exit the discipline process realizing why their behavior was wrong and what they must do to improve. No more sitting around and wasting time by students serving classroom detentions. Every teacher can have the tools to manage minor behavior problems without the yelling, shouting, or preaching so often associated with addressing misbehavior. With the Classroom Management Toolkit teachers will have the tools to handle minor classroom problems without using the principal's office as their first line of defense.

There are 15 Behavior Packets and 15 Attitude Packets that address everything from being late to class to refusing to work. Check out our website to view a free sample packet and get a complete listing of the packets/lessons that make-up this affordable classroom discipline program. Get the new year off to a good start with improved student discipline throughout the school.