Ch+14+notes

Authoritative Input from ** C.M. CHARLES ** : // Synergetic Discipline // __ Fundamental Hypothesis of __//__ Synergetic Discipline __// Good classroom behavior is best established by teachers and students cooperating to meet individuals’ needs in the classroom, minimize the causing of misbehavior, and when appropriate, energize the class for greater enjoyment and easier learning. C.M. Charles, a Ph.D. in curriculum and educational psychology, was a former teacher, advisor in   teacher education and curriculum to the governments of Peru and Brazil, and now is professor emeritus from San Diego State University. He has authored a number of books that have to do   directly with school discipline, including // Teachers’ Petit Piaget // (1972); // The Synergetic // // Classroom: Joyful Teaching and Gentle Discipline // (2000); // Essential Elements of Effective // // Discipline // (2002), // Classroom Discipline: Today’s Best Strategies and Tactics // (2008), and // Building Classroom Discipline // (multiple editions). Charles’s website: [|www.teacherweb.com\ca\sdsu\charles]. This chapter contains many of Charles’s personal views on discipline. He includes them for two reasons. First, he is responding to people who, over the years, have asked about his personal ideas about discipline and how he would implement them in the classroom. Second, Charles believes strongly in three of the main elements // of Synergetic Discipline // that are not given much attention in other programs. // Synergetic Discipline // is a way of teaching and working with students that produces quality results and responsible student behavior, while removing much of the job stress teachers normally experience. Synergetic Teaching and Discipline involve developing same-side cooperation between teacher and students, attending to known causes of misbehavior, focusing on student needs, energizing the class, and minimizing mistakes teachers make in relating with students. Teachers gain the willing cooperation of students within a sense of community that emphasizes ethical behavior. • // Synergy // is a phenomenon in which two or more people (or other entities) interact in a manner that builds mutual energy. Among humans, that condition often leads to increased productivity, creativity, satisfaction, and enjoyment. • // Synergetic Teaching // depends on maintaining student interest and good personal relations. • Students have seven predominant needs that motivate their behavior: security, hope, dignity, belonging, power, enjoyment, and competence. These needs, along with conditions and activities students are known to like, should be taken into account in all activities. • Other essential elements needed for synergy include teacher ethics, trust, charisma, and communication. Also helpful are // coopetition // (a combination of cooperation and   competition), and procedures for problem and conflict resolution. • The single best way to attend to misbehavior is to prevent it from occurring in the first place by examining and dealing with the known causes of misbehavior, conditions that tend to   foster inappropriate behavior. • It also is important to give attention to teacher misbehavior that can interfere with the synergy in the classroom. • On the first day of class, teachers should begin formalizing agreements with the students concerning how the class will function in terms of teaching, learning, and behavior. Because students help in making the agreements, they always should abide by the agreements and accept responsibility for their actions and for the well being of the class. • In addition to prevention, // Synergetic Discipline // suggests a sequence of intervention steps to   follow when misbehavior does occur. • It is natural for students to resist what teachers attempt to make them do. Teachers who are most effective entice cooperation rather than use force.
 * Chapter 14 Discipline through Synergy and Reducing Causes of Misbehavior **
 * Main Ideas **

__ APPRAISAL OF THE MODEL __
Charles describes a way of teaching that produces high energy and satisfaction for teachers and students. Through a unified approach to teaching and discipline, misbehavior is prevented because teachers help students function at their best. If misbehavior does occur, the approach redirects the misbehavior by attending to its causes. The elements of synergetic teaching—ethics, trust, charisma, communication, class agreements, coopetition, and problem and conflict resolution—all support class synergy and classrooms where teachers and students enjoy teaching and learning. // Synergetic Discipline // offers a calm yet effective intervention strategy to deal with misbehavior that does occur. Charles’s steps for initiating // Synergetic Discipline // provide time for teacher and students to process, analyze, consider, and develop agreements that all can accept and abide by. As with other programs, Charles’s views have their challenges. Charles asks teachers truly to   invest in teaching curricula that meshes with students’ needs and abilities while maintaining educational integrity, and teach in a manner that keeps students happily engaged. Furthermore, synergetic teaching and synergetic discipline are connected in practice, and this may prove to be a   challenge for some teachers, especially those who are weak in curriculum planning and delivery. The fact that Charles’s philosophy is not a research-based or highly structured plan will challenge those who want specific guidelines and strategies. This will be a strength for those who want to   use these ideas in their own way. **__ Fundamental Hypothesis of __****//__ Synergetic Discipline __//** Good classroom behavior is best established by teachers and students cooperating to meet individuals’ needs in the classroom, minimize the causing of misbehavior, and when appropriate, energize the class for greater enjoyment and easier learning. ������ A way of teaching that produces high energy and satisfaction for teachers and students. ������ A unified approach to teaching and discipline that helps students function at their best. ������ Prevents and redirects misbehavior by limiting the known causes. ������ Uses synergetic activities to energize the class, when appropriate to do so. ������ Gives attention to what might be called ‘teacher misbehavior.’
 * Charles’s Contributions to Classroom Discipline **

**__ Strengths of Charles’s Work Challenges of Charles’s Work __**
• A way of teaching that produces high energy and satisfaction for teachers and students, within a sense of community that emphasizes ethical behavior. • Through a unified approach to teaching and discipline, misbehavior is prevented because teachers help students function at their best. • The approach redirects misbehavior that does occur by attending to its causes. • The elements of synergetic teaching all support class synergy and classrooms where teachers and students enjoy teaching and learning. • // Synergetic discipline // offers a calm yet effective intervention strategy to deal with misbehavior that does occur, allowing time for teacher and students to process, analyze, consider, and develop agreements that all can accept and follow. • Asks teachers to invest truly in teaching curricula that meshes with students’ needs and abilities while maintaining educational integrity, and teach in a manner that keeps students happily engaged. • Synergetic teaching and synergetic discipline are connected in practice, and this may prove to be a challenge for some teachers, especially those who are weak in   curriculum planning and delivery. • This is not a research-based or highly structured plan, and will challenge those who want specific guidelines and strategies. ** SYNERGY ** —a phenomenon in which two or more people (or other entities) interact in a manner that builds mutual energy. Among humans, that condition often leads to increased productivity, creativity, satisfaction, and enjoyment. • // Synergetic Teaching // refers to a way of teaching and working with students that produces quality learning and responsible student behavior, while removing much of the job stress teachers normally experience. • // Synergetic Discipline // is the behavior management portion of Synergetic Teaching. • // Synergetic Teaching and Discipline // involve developing same-side cooperation between teacher and students, attending to known causes of misbehavior, focusing on student needs, energizing the class, and minimizing mistakes teachers make in relating with students. • Invite students sincerely to work with you in creating and maintaining an interesting program for learning that is free from fear and based on personal dignity and consideration for others. • Cooperatively decide how the class is to function. • Discuss and demonstrate conditions that elevate class spirit and energy. • Discuss student (and teacher) misbehavior, and work together to eliminate or reduce factors that are detrimental to learning. • // Ethics // —doing what one believes to be the honorable thing in all situations, and should be   modeled with ethical // teacher // behavior. • // Trust // (essential in synergetic classrooms)—enables teachers and students to count on each other for support and fair treatment. Displayed through invariable kindness, consideration, helpfulness, fairness, and tactful honesty. • // Charisma // —an aspect of personality that attracts others; a blend of talent, experience, knowledge, and understanding of others, shown in how we react to people around us. Displayed through personal charm, friendliness, enthusiasm, and helpfulness. • // Communication // (also essential in synergetic classrooms)—in particular, verbal give-and-take between teacher and students that involves sensitive listening, showing genuine interest, and speaking encouragingly. • // Coopetition // —group members // cooperating // together in order to // compete // against other groups. • // Resolving problems and conflicts amicably and productively //**. ** // Problems // —troublesome situations or conditions that affect the class seriously enough to    require attention. // Conflict // —strong disputes between students or between teacher and student. ** Types of ****// student //**** misbehavior (13) ** —inattention, apathy, needless talk, moving about the room without permission, annoying others, disruption, lying, stealing, cheating, sexual harassment, bullying and fighting, malicious mischief, defiance of authority. • // Unmet needs // —security, belonging, hope, dignity, power, enjoyment, competence. • // Thwarted desires // —failing to get something they want badly, students may complain, become destructive, sulk, pout, or act out. • // Expediency // —ways to make lives easier and more enjoyable, such as taking shortcuts, conveniently forgetting, looking for ways out, and intentionally breaking rules. • // Urge to transgress // —taking the chance of getting caught or hurt, or not, especially when class activities are not appealing, by cheating, taking shortcuts, telling lies, breaking class rules, and annoying others. • // Temptation // —powerfully attractive objects, situations, behaviors, and people. • // Inappropriate habits // —ingrained ways of behaving that violate established standards and expectations. Some habits are learned in school, but most are established in the home or   community. • // Poor behavior choices // —unacceptable attempts to meet needs. • // Avoidance // —ways to escape failure, intimidation, ridicule, or other unpleasant situations and treatment. • // Egocentric personality // —self-focus, belief of superiority, belief that they do little wrong.
 * __ To implement a Synergetic Teaching and Discipline approach:  __**
 * __ Elements of Synergetic Teaching:  __**
 * // Causes of student misbehavior (9)  //**

**__ Causes of misbehavior that reside in class peers and groups __**
• // Provocation // through petty annoyance, put-downs, sarcastic remarks, aggression. or bullying. • // Group behavior // —the energy and emotion of peer pressure, justifying misbehavior as “only what others were doing.”

**__ Causes of misbehavior that reside in instructional environments __**
• // Physical discomfort // —inappropriate temperature, poor lighting, unsuitable seating or   workspaces. • // Tedium // —when instructional activity requires continued close attention, especially if topic is   not appealing. • // Meaningless // —topics students do not comprehend or for which they see no purpose. • // Lack of stimulation // —topic and learning environment provide little that is attractive or   otherwise stimulating; students take no interest in the lesson.

**__ Causes of misbehavior that reside in teachers and other school personnel __**
• Poor habits—counterproductive ways of speaking to or dealing with students. • Unfamiliarity with better techniques of teaching and relating with today’s students. • Presenting poor models of behavior—inconsistent, irresponsible, short on self-control, discourtesy, disregard for students. • Showing little interest in students or appreciation for them as individuals. • Giving in to personal frustration, such as consistent misbehavior or inconsiderate caregivers. • Giving in to provocation by students who do and say things intentionally to upset or annoy. • Providing ineffective guidance and feedback. • Using ineffective personal communication. • Failure to plan proactively to foresee potential problems. • Using coercion, threat, and punishment. ** Types of ****// teacher //**** misbehavior (5). ** Usually teachers behave in these ways for fear of losing control of the class or simply not knowing how to use positive tactics that work well. • Inducing fearfulness • Denigrating students • Being demanding and abrasive • Presenting poor models of behavior • Not making classes interesting and worthwhile. • // First intervention //. Subtly remind students with proximity, eye signals, or facial expressions of expected behavior. • // Second intervention //. If it seems advisable, identify what you believe is causing the misbehavior. If possible, address the cause: remove it if it resides in activities, classroom, or   teacher behavior; satisfy student needs; work with students if the cause involves egocentric personalities. • // Third intervention //. Ask misbehaving student to suggest more responsible behavior. If   student hesitates, make a direct suggestion. • // Fourth intervention //. Help those involved identify cause of disagreement or confrontational dispute (between students or between teacher and student), and work together to find a   solution. ** Creating working class agreements **. Beginning on the first day and continuing for several days, devote 10 to 15 minutes toward creating working class agreements. • // Session #1 // —Begin to establish rapport with introductions. • // Session #2 // —Chart student responses about what they specifically like about school and what they think might be possible in this class. • // Session #3 // —Give feedback about suggestions and what you think you consider appropriate for the class. On a new page, record student comments about the kind of teacher they prefer. • // Session #4 // —Show students a clean copy of the preferred teacher traits, ask for additional comments, and talk about what you feel you can and cannot do (and why) to be the kind of   teacher they want. Record student comments about how they feel they should behave (and   why) in the class. Discuss the meaning of // personal responsibility //, and ask if they think it   would be possible to have these kinds of behaviors in this classroom. • // Session #5— // Give students feedback on behaviors they like and appreciate. Ask what they dislike fellow students doing in class, and whether or not they feel they have control over how they, themselves, behave in class. • // Session #6 // —Ask students to respond to a summary of their suggestions. Share the plan you wish to implement in the classroom, and where their suggestions fit the plan. • // Session #7 // —Have the discipline plan outlined and printed for signatures and to share with parents or guardians. Post a chart of the plan in the classroom.
 * Interventions when students misbehave **