Discipline without Stress^® Punishments or Rewards

Promoting Responsibility Newsletter - April 2002

PROMOTING DISCIPLINE & LEARNING
Companion to www.MarvinMarshall.com
The Monthly Newsletter
Vol. 2, No 4
April, 2002

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IN THIS ISSUE:

 1. Welcome

 2. Promoting Responsibility

 3. Increasing Effectiveness

 4. Improving Relationships

 5. Teachers.net: PROMOTING LEARNING:
    REDUCING STRESS BY PROMOTING RESPONSIBILITY
    --Rather than by Attempting to Manipulate Behavior

 6. Your Questions Answered

 7. What others are saying about the book:
"DISCIPLINE WITHOUT STRESS, PUNISHMENTS or REWARDS
How Teachers and Parents Promote Responsibility & Learning"

 8. About this Newsletter

This month's e-zine starts by discussing a person who has had a tremendous influence in the lives of many people--especially those in the field of education. I am referring to the famed Harvard University psychologist who became popular with his practice of behaviorism, Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990). (Also, read this month's book testimonial, Number 7, by a former college professor who interviewed Dr. Skinner.)

I thought about B.F. Skinner while reading Monty Roberts' (the famed "horse whisperer") most recent book, "Horse Sense for People." A sentence I read on page 58 prompted me to realize a major fallacy in B. F. Skinner's approach. The sentence reads, "THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TEACHING, ONLY LEARNING." Monty Roberts clearly explains how this is true with HORSES.

A quick review of some psychological approaches for the point I intend to make:

Classical conditioning is identified with Pavlov's dog. It begins with the observation that some things produce natural responses. Lucky smells meat and salivates. By pairing an artificial stimulus with a natural one--such as ringing a bell when the steak appears--the dog associates the two. Ring the bell; the dog salivates.

(Pavlov was smart enough not to use a cat; cats--like humans--are too independent.)

Operant conditioning, in contrast to classical conditioning, is concerned with how an action may be controlled by a stimulus that comes AFTER it--rather than before it. When a reward follows a behavior, then that behavior is likely to be repeated. Today, we refer to this psychology as "behaviorism."

Skinner preferred the term "reinforcement." Skinnerians
(behaviorists) are apt to argue that virtually everything--even who we are--can be explained in terms of the principal of reinforcement.

Behaviorists speak about how "organisms" learn based upon the assumption that humans are animals--different from other animals only in the types of behaviors displayed. It is no wonder that, with this belief, Skinner conducted most of his experiments on rodents and pigeons and wrote most of his books about people.

Since Monty Roberts believes he cannot teach horses--that horses only learn--he conducts activities which prompts the horses to make decisions.

All decisions are based on the ability to make choices--be it pigeons and pecking, rats and mazes, or horses and corrals. The trainer does not teach but rather sets up the conditions for the "organism" to learn by the decisions it makes.

Getting back to Skinner and the behaviorists, IF YOU BELIEVE THAT HUMANS ARE "ORGANISMS" LIKE ANY OTHER, then it makes perfect sense to treat them using external reinforcers and other external manipulators.

However, if you believe that humans have the ability to be taught using literature, stories, and other vicarious experiences--that they need not personally experience a particular behavior to learn--then you have joined the ranks of those who realize that HUMANS CAN BE TAUGHT. (I can hear my mother's influence who told me that you train a dog but you teach people.)

Of course, part of the equation is that people learn. But the point remains: parents, teachers, employers can and do teach. (So do students; just ask a youngster who is engaged in cross-age tutoring or peer teaching.)

I feel confident Monty Roberts would agree that PEOPLE can be taught. I don't think B. F. Skinner (in his early days of touting
behaviorism) would.

More about external motivators and their ineffectiveness with people can be found at http://www.aboutdiscipline.com.

(If you are interested in the decisions Monty Roberts puts before his horses to train a wild one in 30 minutes, see the February, 2002, issue . Go to: http://www.marvinmarshall.com/newsletter.
Click on 7. Feb. 2002. The newsletter will appear on the right. Scroll down to "4. Improving Relationships.")

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While finishing my dinner after a presentation for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) in San Antonio last month, I thought I recognized one of the three people sitting at the next table. Their order had just been taken, and so I took advantage of the time before their food was served. I approached the table. The result was a most interesting conversation with John Glenn, his wife, and a representative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The former astronaut (first American to orbit the earth, 1962, and former four-term Ohio Senator) recently initiated a "service leadership" program--a joint effort of the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy and the Kellogg Foundation.

I mentioned that I was the principal of Norwalk High School when he visited John Glenn High School, his namesake, and a neighboring high school in the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District in Los Angeles County. My point to him was that the "service learning" project is a very significant contribution.

Past generations had a high priority for teaching qualities of character--such as respect for elders, appropriate dress showing deference to the occasion, manners, and those behaviors that make for social civility.

However, young parents of recent generations emphasize feelings over behavior. Parents are very concerned with children's happiness. Children are often given, not only what they desire, but also additional services and items of material value in attempts to make for happiness. Good intentions, but this can lead to dependency and lack of responsibility.

Since self-esteem and how people feel have become of paramount importance, parents believe that external approaches such as rewarding youngsters for appropriate behavior and praising them for good acts are thought to be necessary.

Good intentions, again! But look at the results. Youngsters ask, "If I do that, what will I get?"

The simple wisdom has been lost. People gain and grow by GIVING, rather than by receiving. It is in the EFFORT that a person grows. Self-worth emanates from feelings of satisfaction--rather than by external comments from other people.

I am not suggesting that people should not be recognized, but I am suggesting that feelings and beliefs of self-worth do not emanate from external sources. They are the result of our thinking and what we do--our efforts and the satisfactions that come from them.

John Glenn's "service learning" encourages one of the most valuable approaches towards growth and responsibility. As the motto of Rotary International states, "Service Above Self."

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Before becoming the very successful football coach at Notre Dame, Lou Holtz brought his University of Arkansas team to the Orange Bowl in 1978 to play against heavily favored Oklahoma. Pundits gave Arkansas slight to no chance of winning.

Dejected players filed into a team meeting a few days before the game. Holtz picked up some newspapers and pointed out that papers have a front page for people who want the news, an editorial page for those who want opinions, and comics for people who want to be amused. He continued, "I'm amazed that you're ready to roll over and die because you read your obituary in the newspapers."

He warned them, "Don't let other people tear you down and destroy your confidence."

Holtz then asked each athlete to stand up and explain why he thought Arkansas could win the game.

Each player stood, one by one, and pointed out one of the team's strengths or what a particular individual had to offer. As they talked, Holtz reported that he could actually see their attitudes changing. They realized their strengths and made a commitment to one another to do their best.

Following that meeting, the Arkansas team had an unbelievable practice. The next day, they beat Oklahoma 31-6.

Holtz' motivational secret was to prompt the players to tell him why they were good. After he pointed his players in a positive direction, he just listened.

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The opposite of love is not anger; it's apathy or lack of attention. This is based on the simple fact that love and attention are naturally linked.

Here is a simple exercise to reduce apathy and increase attention.

With the person in question, each of you rates feelings of closeness using a scale from 1 to 10. The number one represents how close you would feel to an acquaintance or a co-worker, while ten represents how close you feel as a honeymooner or in a close relationship.

Then relaxing with a few deep breaths, imagine seeing the other person in your mind's eye with as much detail as possible. After spending fifteen seconds breathing slow, long breaths and visualizing, imagine touching the other person--by shaking hands, hugging, or with some physical contact in which you would feel comfortable. After another fifteen seconds of imaginative physical connection, imagine verbalizing your feelings.

Slowly breathe for another 15 seconds while holding all three
thoughts: visualizing the other person in detail, imagining some physical contact, and verbalizing your thoughts.

Finally, rank your feelings of closeness again.

Once people bring attention to one another, feelings of closeness increase.

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My PROMOTING LEARNING article on <teachers.net/gazette> for this month shows how promoting responsibility to change behavior is more effective and less stressful than attempting to manipulate behavior with the use of external approaches such as rewards. THE ARTICLE STARTS WITH AN OBSERVATION OF STRESS A TEACHER OBSERVES OF OTHERS WHO USE A SKINNER'S BEHAVIORISTIC APPROACH. http://teachers.net/gazette/APR02/marshall.html

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QUESTION:

I am using the RAISE RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEM and feel like I am not only training my students, but training myself, also. It's taking practice to learn to say "Certainly, when you have...." instead of "No!" But it's working when I do. It feels odd to simply say "Thank you" when a student tells me the level of behavior he or she was acting on and move on. Most of the time it works powerfully. They look at me with a baffled expression and we go on with class. Sometimes, there is an atmosphere that doesn't seem to be working, and I'm not sure what to do next. I went back to the old method of names and checks on the board Friday (highly approved of at my school) but that isn't working for me. I'm struggling with how to move into doing the responsibility essay and which one to use and when.

I have shared the "chair" illustration with so many people!--the one that shows how good it feels to be responsible. It makes total sense to me. Thanks for the new mantra to learn and use: "Responsibility finds a way; irresponsibility finds an excuse." I'm excited to find a way to make the system work for me.

P S
Middle School


RESPONSE:

A few suggestions:

To use the Essay Form and the Self-Diagnostic Referral (as well as the Parent Note, review "Guided Practice" (using authority without being punitive), the third part of Chapter Three.

Pick one or two students who are really causing problems and tell them that YOU have a problem and NEED THEIR HELP. Don't be afraid to do this. It puts them in a position of helping you and empowers them. Do this in private and have a few ideas how they can help you, e.g., secretary to record the lesson and report to the class the next day, coordinate the passing out or collecting of supplies--anything where they are given some responsibility.

When students feel good about themselves, almost invariably as a result of their own efforts, their chances of behaving on levels C or D dramatically increase.

When someone continues to disrupt the class, have a private conversation and say, "What you are doing is not appropriate for your potential." What do you suggest we do about it? (Be ready to ask, "What else?" "What else?" until you are satisfied with an answer. (If the student says, "I don't know," respond with an empowering remark, such as, "As capable as you are, I don't believe that.") After eliciting an acceptable consequence, establish a procedure by asking, "What specifically will you do to remind yourself when the urge comes again?"

Check the section of the book on classroom meetings. Put the problem on the table. Let them know that it is not your problem, but theirs. You will teach whether or not they learn. Teaching is what you do. They have the choice to learn or not. You will not force them to learn--that you cannot force learning even if you wanted to. You are in the boat together. They have the choice of rowing together with you and making progress or pulling in a different direction and going nowhere--but they will not be allowed to rock the boat. Conclude with the charge: "The decision is yours."

The key is to have high expectations (levels C or D) and to empower them--rather than overpower them.

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"Several years ago, I had the opportunity to do a lengthy interview with B.F. Skinner. I concluded that I do not subscribe to much of what he taught--for example, his rejection of all inferred states such as attitudes and motivation . . . . Dr. Marvin Marshall's book addresses a fundamental problem that every society must solve: how to produce individuals who will take responsibility for doing the important tasks that need to get done. He focuses on what is the essence of good citizenship in the home, school, and nation. Using some of the latest findings of social science, Dr. Marshall has developed an approach that enables parents and teachers to help young people grow into responsible citizens and live satisfying and rewarding inner-directed lives."

Gene Griessman, Ph.D.
Author of THE WORDS LINCOLN LIVED BY

DISCIPLINE WITHOUT STRESS, PUNISHMENTS OR REWARDS is carried by:
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National School Boards Association
Phi Delta Kappa International
Performance Learning Systems
The Brain Store

ORDER INFORMATION:
Phone: 800.606.6105 (USA) -- 714.995.0989 (International)
Fax: 714.995.3902 (purchase orders) http://www.DisciplineWithoutStress.com

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REPOSTS and REPRINTS:
Permission to repost or reprint this newsletter in whole or in part is granted as long as the following link is included: http://www.MarvinMarshall.com.

COPYRIGHT:
©  Copyright 2002 Marvin Marshall. All rights reserved.

PRIVACY STATEMENT: Your address will always be kept confidential and will not be released to anyone.

Back issues are archived online at: http://www.marvinmarshall.com/newsletter/index.htm

If you enjoy this newsletter the following sites may be of Interest:

• This site explains the system that promotes discipline and motivation for academic achievement: http://www.MarvinMarshall.com
• This site explains how using external approaches are counterproductive to promoting responsibility: http://www.AboutDiscipline.com
• This site gives details on the book "Discipline Without Stress, Punishments or Rewards": http://www.DisciplineWithoutStress.com