Discipline with Dignity, 4th Edition

Book excerpt: In this revised and updated 4th edition, Discipline with Dignity provides in-depth guidance for implementing a proven approach to classroom management that can help students make better choices and teachers be more effective. Emphasizing the importance of mutual respect and self-control, the authors offer specific strategies and techniques for building strong relationships with disruptive students and countering the toxic social circumstances that affect many of them, including dysfunctional families, gangs, and poverty. Educators at all levels can learn * The difference between formal and informal discipline systems and when to use each. * The role of values, rules, and consequences. * How to address the underlying causes of discipline problems that occur both in and out of school. * What teachers can do to defuse or prevent classroom disruptions and disrespectful behavior without removing students from the classroom. * Why traditional approaches such as threats, punishments, and rewards are ineffective--and what to do instead. * How to use relevance, teacher enthusiasm, choice, and other elements of curriculum and instruction to motivate students. * How to reduce both teacher and student stress that can trigger power struggles. With dozens of specific examples of student-teacher interactions, Discipline with Dignity illustrates what you can do--and not do--to make the classroom a place where students learn and teachers maintain control in a nonconfrontational way. The goal is success for all, in schools that thrive.