The class discipline. Wow! Spectacular. My class isn’t actually that bad but I did have one child who would constantly interrupt with his ideas etc etc. And as you pointed out in your book…..I was one of those teachers who would try to use psychology and everything PC to correct this behaviour. Unfortunately to no avail. Tried two terms this year. It only basically took 2 days after using your technique. On the third day this kid came up to me with his hands behind his back and politely said, “Excuse me, Mrs Dickson” and waited for my reply…unbelievable.
The first couple of days I just had to smile to myself as I watched your quotations unfold.

You will smile at this one…one of my quieter kids who had to come in for detention because she continued to whisper to her neighbour when she thought I wasn’t paying attention came up to me later in the day and stated (with a smug look on her face) “Mrs Dickson, I don’t care that I’m on detention couse I’m going into hospital to get my tonsils out and so I won’t be able to do it.” To which I replied, ( with a smug look on my face) “Oh that’s ok, you can do it when you come back to school.” hahaha

I have told about 5 staff about your technique. I had a student teacher in the class who has been coming in every Friday and knows about the interruptions. She wants to buy your book. She was blown away. The art teacher came in to take art and said she couldn’t believe how much easier it was to take her lesson without you know who interrupting. As you mentioned in you book….one of the rules is to respect staff and so the kids got the run through about what staff meant. She had a lot more energy at the end of the day even though she herself didn’t use your technique she reaped the consequences of it. Thank you.

The principal rang to say a parent had contacted the office about our policy on detention. Of which they replied …we don’t have one. The principal said the word choice – detention might be a bit difficult for parents. I replied…I chose that word on purpose so that students understood the seriousness of their behaviour and lack of respect for the rules in our class. I went on to explain the positive consequences that have happened since using your techniques and how every child in the class now has a lot more uninterrupted learning time. What could she say to that!!! So she replied, “Oh ok. Just letting you know that one of the parents came to the office so you’ve got one up on what’s going on. YES!

One more week before holidays so I will continue using your technique and let you know what happens next.

Having a class list will not always help you identify everybody; people will lie about their names. Ideally you need a photo roster, but I get that regularly/reliably at maybe 3 of 13 schools where I substitute-teach.

I had a horrible day last week with the first grade class I sub for. There are 3 very damaged little boys in the class that have severe anger issues(rage at each other). I made the mistake of applying some of the new techniques from my districts professional workshop I had attended the night before. Although I the philosophy is beautiful, it doesn’t work well as a sub with these children.(Glasser’s Nurtured Heart). I love the philosophy and premise, yet I do not have enough of a consistent exposure to these children to build this.

First, I post this on the door and read it to each child and have them look me in the eye and agree to it…
Go into the room, go to your desk, get started on your work, no talking. Then we go over the rules after everyone has arrived
1-Enter the classroom calmly and quietly, ready to learn.
2-Follow directions the first time. The teacher will not give warnings.
3-Never get out of your seat unless you are told that you may. This includes for bathroom use, sharpening pencils, drinks and garbage. ( I have pencils sharpened for them an go over what to do with garbage… WAIT)
4-Raise your hand and wait to be called on to speak.
5- Show respect for yourself and others AT ALL TIMES in the way you talk and interact with them.
6- Be on task AT ALL TIMES. If you finish early, read or sit quietly and wait. School is for learning.
7-My teacher does not argue. If I am told to do something I will do it immediately without complaint.
8-My teacher does not give warnings. This is my warning. A violation of these rules will be met immediately with a loss of recess, meeting with the counselor or principal or suspension from school.

S. Africa- huh? Hope your new year is going well. We need more primary/elementary teachers in this forum- don’t you think?

My big question is , are there some tips / rules /methods that are applicable for the primary and elementary students? Something that I didn’t realize when I bought the book was that it was more targeted for the upper grades. I still find it very useful, but little kids do have slightly different needs. I did implement some of your methods the other day and had some great results as described below…

I have been a substitute teacher for 7 years now and one of those years I was a leave replacement teacher for a third grade class. I had an excellent year, my classroom control pretty good… even with a few very challenging students….but subbing is another story for me. I’ve been rethinking continuing as a teacher all together, but know that it is subbing that is the problem. So,,, after reading your book and tips for subs, I tried to implement what I could as I subbed in my VERY VERY challenging second grade class the other day. One of the things that made the biggest difference was that I let no student into the classroom in the morning until they looked me in the eye and agreed that they were there to learn, knew what good classroom behavior was and would go to their desk, stay in their seat, begin their work and not talk. I found that 2 of the worse offenders really bought into it.They almost seemed relieved actually. After they were all assembled, I went over an abridged version of the 10 rules. I emphasized that this was their warning and that there would be no more. This class has a high proportion of pretty mentally disturbed children with major behavior issues. So, if one child is loosing it, it is difficult to stop, deal with him or her and keep the others under wraps. I made the decision to have pencils sharpened for each student and took their chairs down and placed them at their desks before the start of school. I wanted things as calm as possible.