Calling into question many of the assumptions underlying classroom discipline, this book offers an alternative vision to traditional classroom management models in which teachers control students by promising them rewards or threaten them with punishment. The introduction takes the position that rather than employ effective discipline measures to…

Understanding why children do not behave the way they used to, and why both controlling and overly-permissive discipline styles are ineffective, is the first step for parents and teachers who are facing child-discipline problems. This book describes a program of positive discipline principles aimed at assisting parents and teachers in…

Theoretically and practically, this book helps teachers develop a repertoire of practical consequences to use when students forget or do not know how to perform the behaviors agreed upon in their social contracts. A range of strategies are suggested for creating additional consequences and encouraging treating students in fair, dignified, and…

Describes the components of positive discipline, including giving children choices, using natural and logical consequences to teach, using follow-through to teach positive life skills, and teaching children the ability to problem solve. Notes that the goal of positive discipline is to guide children's behavior toward development of self-control…

Findings of a study that examined teachers' and principals' attitudes toward responsibility for student disciplinary action are presented in this paper. Two questionnaires compared principal and teacher responses to vignettes of specific disciplinary situations. In the first survey, 40 elementary principals, 40 secondary principals, 40 elementary…

This study was designed to determine parent and student perspectives on school discipline in Tennessee schools and is parallel to an earlier study that examined the opinions towards discipline of teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. The sample includes nearly 1,300 students from three districts representing rural, small city, and…

A questionnaire was developed, pilot tested, and then administered to approximately 4,000 Tennessee teachers, administrators, and other school personnel to determine their views on which discipline problems seem most significant, the conditions or influences related to the problems, the most appropriate approaches for solving discipline problems,…

Despite the controversies that it has created in school districts throughout the country, zero tolerance continues to be a widely used response to school disruption and violence. This paper explores the history, philosophy, and effectiveness of zero-tolerance school disciplinary strategies. Growing out of Reagan-Bush-era drug-enforcement policy,…

Treats various state's laws on corporal punishment in schools as it affects students and teachers. Recommends that corporal punishment be used only as self-defense measure. (DS)

Proposes ways of coping with student misbehavior and teacher overreaction. (SP)

Discusses the legal limits of school officials' control over student behavior. (JF)

Describes a fourth-grade student who had been in detention hundreds of times but who was attentive and well-behaved during tutoring sessions in reading. Argues that nothing is wrong with school rules, only with their consequences--detentions and suspensions isolate the student. (RS)

Tells the story of three high school students whose violent, confrontational behavior proved inveterate despite the meting out of various conventional punishments such as in-school suspension. Posits that some students may be untreatable through the disciplinary apparatus available to school administrators. (TB)

Describes creative ways for teachers to handle difficult classroom discipline situations, focusing on how to deal with defiant disruptives, noncombatant noncompliers, and incessant interrupters. The article discusses potentially difficult situations and explains how best to handle them in a positive manner. (SM)

Reports the findings of a study exploring how teachers manage a pervasive and disruptive classroom behavior known as talking out of turn. Shows that teachers use two main strategies, conversation and classroom talk, to manage classroom talk and that these strategies correlate with the frequency of talking out of turn. (DSK)