The Journey to Self-Regulation, My Grasshoppers (google “Kung Fu” 1972)

The goal of discipline is not to have control over the community of learners, but to engender self-control and self-regulation in each member of the community for the good of the continuation of the learning process. Here are some positive things to do that will reduce the number of negative behaviors in your learning community:

• Be strong in maintaining the values of good health and nonviolence and firm in curtailing harmful behaviors. The rule may be “Use Your Gentle Hands”, but it means “No Hitting, No Kicking, No Biting, No Spitting!”
• Model behaviors that epitomize and clearly represent the program values. Behave Yourself!
• Have developmentally appropriate expectations for behaviors. Know Your Kids!
  Spend more time affirming positive safe behaviors than looking for and correcting negative ones. Let it Go, Let it Go!
• Use positively stated rules for behavior. Tell them what TO do, not just what NOT to do.
• React quickly, firmly, and with the strongest consequences for breaking rules about unsafe and harmful behaviors. NO!
• Use sensible consequences that have relevancy for the children. Throw toy =loss of toy.
• Use intangible feedback rather than prizes for appropriate behaviors.
• Encourage independence, no matter how messy, and give them ownership of their behaviors.
• Encourage children to work out differences and solve problems. Offer words and make suggestions, but let them figure it out.
• Allow harmless but meaningful natural consequences to occur without saying, “I told you so”.
• ALLOW NO PERSON TO DEMEAN OR BELITTLE A CHILD FOR HIS APPEARANCE, ABILITY, EMOTIONS, LEVEL OF MATURITY OR ANY CULTURAL ASPECT OF HIS LIFE
• Make continuous connections with parents to compare home and school behaviors

Want more specifics? Next blog: From 40 Years in the Trenches, Part One