• Students share in decision making.
• Use authority to influence- not control.
• Discipline comes from students’ inner self-control
• Focus on communication skills and conflict resolution.
• No-lose method of conflict resolution preserves self esteem
• Participative management contributes to student self-control.
• Traditional power-based methods of discipline are ineffective.
• Real-world Interpretation of the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

• Teachers should not use punishment or rewards
• Disputes should be solved in a way that everyone wins
• Teachers guide students to make decisions for themselves
• Teachers empower students by allowing them to make decisions
• Create a community by having students help create classroom expectations
• Determining problem ownership is essential to effectively dealing with problems

Misbehavior is seen as child’s actions create undesirable consequence for the adult.

• Discuss concerns with the class
• Participative classroom management
• Use I-messages to correct misbehavior
• Identify problems that will hinder learning
• No-Lose conflict resolution to solve problems
• Teachers acquire positive influence with students
• Involve students with decision making and problem solving

• Behavior Window: A graphic tool that evaluates the situation, student behavior, and problem ownership.
• I-messages: Statements in which people tell what they are personally, thinking, or feeling about another’s behavior and its consequences. I am having trouble working because of all the talking.
• No-lose conflict resolution: End a dispute with both sides being winners
• Confrontive Skills: Used when the teacher owns the problem to help meet the needs of the teacher.
• Helping Skills: Used when the student owns the problem to assist students in meeting their needs.
• Preventive Skills: Used to avoid problems and ensure satisfaction for both the students and the teacher.
• Communication Roadblocks: Giving orders, warning, preaching, advising, lecturing, criticizing, name-calling, praising, reassuring, questioning, and withdrawing.

• Time Feasible
• Polite System
• Empowers Children
• Creates Community
• Models Expected "Worldly Behavior"
• Develops Self-Control

• Teachers must give up some control
• Must continually model procedures
• Students may not always be well intentioned

Charles, C.M. (1999). Building Classroom Discipline. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Gordon, T. Discipline that Works. NY, Plume. 1991.

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