D.U.I. Disciplining Under the Influence

The blog comments on the right of this page are much appreciated, this profession needs dialogue from all perspectives and you who comment are creating a meaningful exchange. I encourage everyone to check out the comments to widen all of our perspectives on the toughest teaching issue, classroom management and discipline. Now for today's topic, D.U.I., what I refer to as "Disciplining Under the Influence."

When we get stuck, when we are simply new at something, or we're just under prepared, we take the first most logical step and seek help from someone who is successful (or appears to be) at what we want to be successful at, and right away! We have all done this in teaching, especially when it comes to classroom discipline—we ask the veteran down the hall. So what's wrong with that? Sometimes it's great, the problem is solved. All too often however, some one's take on your management problem does not yield the best and most lasting solution. Ultimately problems compound and it's a downward spiral. Why is that?

There are essentially two reasons why your answers won't solve my problems consistently and mine won't solve yours. The first is, someone else has not "lived" your problem, close yes, exactly, no. Your lived experience is packed with data that you cannot completely convey and may not even be fully conscious of, at least not right away. The second reason is, the methods employed by someone else may look real silly if employed by you. Does this mean we don't ask each other for help? Do we just suffer in a state if dis pare? Of course not! Let me tell a story, as an example first, then I'll help you figure out how best to seek assistance.

Over the years there has developed a sort of teaching legend, a myth that says, "Don't smile until after Thanksgiving", if ever at all because if you are foolish enough to smile, those kids will walk all over you and you'll never get any control! What? I'm a smiler! I can't do that! I'm doomed! I can't do the "mean thing". That's what went through my head when I first started teaching. I honestly believe that those teachers who do engage in such methods are secretly unhappy and suffer gastrointestinal problems from repression (I hope not, but maybe). Even if you have great classroom control from such tactics, are you really proud of that? Is that the story you want to tell at the end of the day, at the end of your career? I'm thinking, no, you don't.

If you let someone else "influence" you, that's what I mean by "D.U.I., Disciplining Under the Influence". You just can't wear the mantle of someone else's management plan. Someone who uses sarcasm successfully (this is rare but it happens) is probably not a method for you. So what do you ask for when you seek help from a colleague?

As we have discussed in previous blogs, it is all about asking "why". Go to a colleague and ask, "why". If, for example, you have a student who blurts out, ask your colleague why she/he believes that's occurring. Don't stop with asking a colleague, check the research—that's easy, no excuses, you can Google! The object is to consistently ask "why" and not "how". The "how" will follow and this means your solution will be accurate to your problem.

This is a reoccurring theme for this blog (you may have noticed this), but it is so critical. Asking "how" to solve a problem is where we go sideways. Students provide too many variables for generic answers. If this weren't true, classroom management would not continue to be the number one teacher challenge and reason why teachers quit the profession.

Think about this, it's tough to act out against someone you believe likes you. More on this another time.

Stef