Assertive Discipline: Positive Behavior Management for Today's Classroom

Discipline is always a challenge. Lee Canter points out that a significant fraction of teachers have seriously considered leaving the profession because of student misbehavior. And how many have already left? Discipline issues lead to failure in beginning teachers and burnout among experienced ones. Classroom rules should be posted and observable (e. g., not something unobservable such as "Be considerate.") and limited to about five. Of course, classroom activities themselves should be subsumed under the rule, "Follow instructions the first time they are given." A list of escalating consequences should be given for any rule broken. Teachers should never fall for the "You are unfair!" or "My parents don't care!" lines given by misbehaving kids. Something that the teacher cannot or will not do should NEVER be a consequence. Canter believes that teachers are not as successful in discipline as they could be because they enforce rules inconsistently and because they are afraid that students will not like them. This, of course, especially applies to novice teachers. When the hierarchy of rules and consequences is not working, the teacher needs to "drop down" to more severe consequences. When the entire classroom is briefly in disorder, the teacher must apply the "Freeze!" technique. In severe cases of persistent classroom disorder, the teacher needs to apply an individual-reward and/or classroom-reward system. Canter rejects contentions that this procedure constitutes bribery, or that it ignores intrinsic motivation in kids. In fact, Canter believes that intrinsic motivation is rare in children. Canter also believes that, in cases of severely recalcitrant children, the teacher must try different approaches and adopt an "I will not go away" attitude that is clearly communicated to these children. In his more recent publications, Canter also has emphasized the teacher's development of positive relationships with tough kids.

The best thing I can say about this book is that the advice is easy to implement and it really works. I have other books on discipline but this one is the most helpful. I was arguing with one of my kids over something the other day, caught myself, remembered the advice in the book and instead of arguing gave him choices (rewards or consequences). The issue was quickly resolved. I wish I had read this book when my children were younger.

This is probably the best book on behavior management! I have used "Assertive Discipline" and it is very effective. The rules, consequences, and rewards are clearly stated from the start of school. I like that it places the choice of a consequence or reward clearly on the students' shoulders. I purchased this book for a friend of mine, who is a new teacher and she loves it! I think they should include this book in ALL teacher preparation courses. It's easy to use and it works!

No book can offer everything a teacher will encounter as far as discipline, and this book does not try to. Instead, it offers a practical outline to think about when teaching. I especially liked the section on positive feedback. I recommend this for anyone starting out, like me. The kids will try to test you, and having a reasonable but assertive discipline plan in place is a proactive way to get started, stopping small problems before they escalate into something else. The book sets out steps that would be difficult for anybody to argue with, especially any students.

A veteran teacher in the inner-city school I teach in recommended this book to me. What I like about it is that it teaches internal controls that the majority of my students so critically lack. It puts the responsibility for behavior squarely on the shoulders of the student and encourages them to make wise choices. It's not an over night fix but I'm beginning to see results. Used in conjunction with "Love and Logic in the Classroom" and Fred Jones' methodology I feel the students are beginning to see the benefit of exercising self-control. Mrs. G. assures me it will eventually work with even children with hard-core behavior problems.