Joyce Divinyi, MS, LPC  Author of

 "Good Kids, Difficult Behavior" and "Discipline Works: 5 Main Things" http://www.thehumanconnection.net   Volume 18 January 2004

Note from the Editor

Dear Educators and Friends,

Happy New Year! We hope you all enjoyed your Winter Breaks. Rest and Relaxation were important parts of my Winter Break, and hopefully part of yours!  Sleeping in, and lot's of movies was the mainstay of our break.

Check out "Ask Joyce" below for her answer to a couple of educator's questions. What would you like to ask Joyce? See how to send in your own question below!   We look forward to hearing from you during this school year. Please let us know how it went if you try some of Joyce's suggestions. Joyce really wants to be a help to you.

Think SNOW! Have a great January!

Cathie @ The Human Connection

Special of the Month for our E-zine Subscribers

"Discipline That Works: 5 Simple Steps"

is on sale for $12 (plus s&h) for the month of January! Order by credit card at our website (http://www.thehumanconnection.net) or by check/purchase order by calling/faxing/mailing your order in to the office; just tell us you saw our ad in the newsletter. Contact info is at the end of the newsletter.

As Joyce travels and works with educators all over the country, she is constantly being asked--- "What do you do when...?" questions.  She has the greatest respect for "what do you do when questions" because usually the questioner is genuinely seeking new information and the teacher is willing to be a student.  Each month, Joyce will answer one or more of the most common "what do you do questions".  Feel free to send one of yours.  She'll do her best to answer it.  Keep in mind, her answers may be different from the customary response but they are tried and true strategies for getting students to do what you are asking them to do.  Give yourself permission to try something new! Email Joyce at joyce@thehumanconnection.net  with any questions or situations you would like input on.  Let us know if we can show the question in a future newsletter or if you prefer to keep it private. We are hoping Joyce can help address situations you encounter and by sharing these questions/answers others can benefit as well.

We have relied far too long in public education on the concept that punishment is a motivational tool.  In other words, if you don't do this you will be punished with a bad grade or held back or embarrassed in front of your peers.  It is clear to me as I travel the country that teachers everywhere are recognizing that this just doesn't work anymore. The following are a couple of the most frequently asked questions about this issue.   Now might be a great time to give some new ideas a try.  

 Question: What punishments are effective for the teacher/school to use?

There are little if any punishments that tend to work effectively these days, especially with poor and deprived populations.  Generally speaking the lives of these students are such that there is little you can do to create the short term suffering needed for punishment to be effective.  They are almost immune to any kind of suffering and deprivation.  Therefore, to deprive them of recess or time with their friends or fun activities seems almost meaningless to them. 

It is best to build into their day activities that they particularly love and enjoy.  Withholding these activities can be an effective punishment.  For instance, if the students enjoy story time either where the teacher reads or tells stories, then a punishment can be that they have to work in another teacher's room during story time. If they like computer time and computer time is built into their day, then withholding that time can serve as an effective punishment.

Quite frankly, I am not too keen on this kind of thing unless it is absolutely essential.  It is NEVER helpful to withhold physical activity.  If a playtime or activity time is scheduled and they have to be punished by not participating, they still should be required to do physical activity.  So rather than playing with the other kids, they may need to be walking laps or skipping rope or doing something else physical but not as much fun.  For high school students I have long held that good healthy gymnastic workouts or running laps or walking the track or any kind of healthy physical movement would be far more effective punishment then just letting them sit all day in an in-school suspension room where they can sleep with their eyes open. 

Timeouts can be effective if they are only used judiciously and for short periods of time.  Long timeouts like going down to the principal's office and sitting outside her door for the afternoon usually do not work as a punishment.  If we define punishment that works as the student learns a new behavior and no longer misbehaves then I think it is unanimous across the country that in school suspension rarely, if ever, "works."  There are a multitude of reasons for this, which I will address in other newsletters but my vote is to turn in school suspension into a workout time with both physical and academic drills integrated throughout the day. 

It is better to use timeout proactively.  In other words, when a student is beginning to lose control, it is best to give them timeout to regain control rather than wait until there is a major episode that requires them to be placed in timeout or in-school suspension. I would love to see workout equipment in more schools so that physical activity could be used as a punishment but walking several laps up and down the hall or skipping rope for two minutes or things of that nature can be helpful also. 

Question: What rewards are effective for the teacher/school to use?

Time on the computer with learning games, listening to the teacher read a story, one-on-one time with the teacher or another favorite adult, even janitors have been known to work well as a reward system.  Free time with creative manipulative hands-on toys, building blocks, etc. Bonus bucks that can be exchanged for small items (schools can purchase in quantity at the Dollar Store).  Healthy edible snacks are good for rewards.  Time to be the "leader" (This works especially well with the most disruptive students who really seem to like the attention of the class).  Give them bonafide leadership time in exchange for appropriate behavior. Time to be the "helper" or the "runner". Time to read aloud and time to read silently.  Time to work on a fun group project.  Even time to put their head down for a few minutes after they have accomplished a task can be very helpful.  Be creative and have fun with this.

Inspiration:

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But, when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." Mark Twain

Making Learning Fun:

Happy New Year!!  Hopefully everyone is fully recovered from the festivities of the holidays and getting back into the groove.  I hope many of you took time to just do nothing and thereby gave yourself some rejuvenation time.  I know I did.  Sometimes it is great to just lie around and do nothing.  We all need a little more of that in our lives.

The beginning of the New Year is a wonderful time to begin to integrate new strategies and practices into your daily classroom routine.  It is also a time to let the excitement of the New Year generate enthusiasm and lots of, "Rah rah, you can do it sessions" with your students.  I think some times we all get so focused on the fact that education is essential for a child's long term well being, that we forget some of the basics of the learning process.  Learning is an emotional process as well as a cognitive process.  The brain stores and retains information best when it is combined with a positive emotional experience.  That is one of the reasons we can remember fun songs and silly jingles.  We are enjoying ourselves at the same time we are taking in new information.  The more fun and enjoyable the learning process is, the more likely the information taught will be stored and be retrievable at test time. 

Now is the time to put emphasis on that emotional process by talking about goals and goal setting and creating an atmosphere much like getting ready for the big game.  Make it fun.  Won't it feel wonderful when we win?  Let that translate into, "We are all going to feel so good when you master this next chapter or section or get through whatever is their next challenge.  Talk to them about how we all need to be encouraged on a daily basis and we need lots and lots of encouragement.

It does feel good to be successful. Whether success means finally being able to say all 26 letters of the alphabet in proper order or mastering the quadratic equation.  Each and every time we can take something from the "I don't get it file" in our brain, and put it in the "I got it file" in our brain, we get to feel good and proud.  Help your students understand that the feeling of pride and accomplishment is more important than any grade or any test score.

Just For Fun:

Who invented fractions?

Henry the 1/8th!

(From schooljokes.com)

Editor's favorite link of the month

Check out Educational Web Adventures for really cool interactive web-based games that supplement your teaching in a fun way!  There are several to choose from (including choices in history, practical math, art and music, along with suggested uses. Go to http://www.eduweb.com/portfolio/adventure.php for more information. My kids had lots of fun at this site (as did I).

The Human Connection

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Copyright 2004 The Human Connection