Judicious Discipline
Table of Contents:
Overview of the theoretical basis
Basic tenets of the model
Overt teacher behavior associated with the
model
Key vocabulary terms associated with the model
Educational insights/
instructional implications associated with the model
Perceived strengths of the model
Perceived weaknesses of the model
References associated with the model
Roleplay of this model
See more Classroom Management Models
Overview of Theoretical
Basis:
We live in a democratic society in which all people have rights.
The basis of our society is carried over into the schools, where students
"do not shed their rights when they walk in the schoolhouse door."
Students maintain their rights, and Judicious Discipline is founded on
this premise. Judicious Discipline teaches children about the balance
between personal rights and society's interests. They foster a classroom
environment in which first, students learn about their rights and responsibilities
to their fellow students (which is to say their fellow citizens) and second,
disruption is minimized and learning is maximized. The students work
together to create their own classroom rules and procedures within the
guidelines of personal rights and societyís interests. The
creation on the classroom rules and procedure by the students provides
a motivating sense of ownership for the students.
Basic Tenets of Model:
· Students have rights. In the past, schools were able to
operate in a capacity called "in loco parentis" meaning the school stands
in the place of the parent. In the past 30 years, the Supreme Court
of the United States has decided that no longer do schools possess this
power to such a degree ñ but rather that "students do not shed their
constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate." The rights that students
possess in this model are drawn from the Bill of Rights; specifically the
first, fourth and fourteenth amendments.
· Society also has certain compelling interests that need to
be protected. In the schools, these compelling interests fall into
four categories:
1. Avoiding property loss and damage
· e.g., Treat all property with respect
2. Serving legitimate educational purposes
· e.g., Take responsibility for learning
3. Fostering health and safety
· e.g., Act in a safe and healthy way
4. Avoiding serious disruption of the educational process
· e.g., Respect rights and needs of others
· Business of the society (i.e., classroom) is conducted in
meetings. Who is allowed to call these meetings and when they are
allowed to call them is decided by the teacher early in the school year.
· Discipline follows the democratic judicial process.
Students have the right to:
· trial
· appeal
· counsel (representation by a fellow student)
· Any disciplinary actions need to adhere to these standards:
· Keep student in school
· Be a logical result of the behavior (commensurate)
· Question how discipline affects school
community and the student (compatible)
· Keep mutual respect
Overt Teacher Behaviors:
Setting it up:
· Explanation: on the first day of school, the teacher is responsible
for setting up this management system. This includes explaining:
· Rights: the teacher must tell the students that in the
US they have certain rights and that they keep these rights in school.
She needs to tell the students what these rights are, what they mean, and
how they apply in school.
· Society's Needs: The teacher must explain to the students
that society also has certain needs that must be fulfilled. The purpose
of the society is moot if these needs cannot be fulfilled. The student
must learn to weight the importance of his rights against the compelling
state interests (the needs of the society).
· Make up Rules" Together, the students and the teacher should
make up the society's laws (i.e., classroom rules).
These rules should fall under the aforementioned categories that
are:
· Avoiding property loss and damage
· Serving legitimate educational purposes
· Fostering health and safety
· Avoiding serious disruption of the educational
process
· After agreeing on the rules, the students sign a Statement
of Agreement and this Statement is posted in a prominent place in the classroom
Class Meetings:
· The person or people with the power of calling a class meeting
are predetermined by the teacher at the beginning of the year.
· Class meetings follow certain procedures or rules that include:
· No names (issues should be discussed, not individuals)
· Everyone sees everyone (sit in a circle)
· Students have a right to pass ñ they will never be
coerced into speaking
· The expectation exists that the meetings are to stay on task
· Students each maintain a private journal in which they record
thoughts, comments, questions, concerns and snide remarks
Judicial Process:
Students have rights to:
· Trial
· Appeal
· Counsel
In trials, students will be given:
· Appropriate notice
· Summary of evidence
· List of witnesses
· Right to testify
· Right to counsel
Outcome of trial should center around:
· What needs to be done
· What needs to be learned
· Punishments should benefit the community
Key Vocabulary:
· Rights - Something that one may properly claim as due,
2) The cause of truth or justice
· Amendments - The additions or changes in a document
or procedure; In this case we are referring to the additions and changes
to the Constitution of the United States. The first ten such amendments
constitute what is known as the Bill of Rights
· Judicious - 1) Having or exercising sound judgment,
2) directed or governed by sound and dispassionate judgment; characterized
by discretion (syn. wise)
· Compelling State Interest ñ In some instances,
the needs and interests of the majority carry greater weight than those
of the individual
· Commensurate - Consistent with, flow logically
from; Consequence must be Commensurate with the misbehavior in that the
consequence is consistent with and flows logically from the behavior.
· Compatible- Broader view; Consequence must be compatible
with the behavior in that the consequence takes into consideration issues
ranging from the studentís need for personal self-worth and academic
achievement to the effect of the studentís behavior on the school
or classroom.
· In Loco Parentis - When minor children are entrusted
by parents to a school, the parents delegate to the school certain responsibilities
for their children, and the school has certain liabilities. In effect,
the school and the teachers take some of the responsibility and some of
the authority of the parents.
Educational
Insights / Instructional Implications:
· This model explicitly teaches students about democracy, the US
government, and about their rights
· Teachers can acknowledge individual differences among students
while at the same time protecting the need for an educational environment
free from disruptive forces
· This model also teaches the students how to live in a democratic
society in hopes that they may learn to be more productive citizens when
the venture out in to the world after graduation. Democracy will not be
a new way of life to students taught by this management style. Those students
governed by a school system that teaches with an autocratic style of management
instead of a democratic one tend to be taken aback by the democratic society
they are emerged into after high school.
Strengths:
· It provides students a more valid sense of how violation of their
rights may be addressed after they leave school.
· It helps children understand how the legal system works in
a democratic society.
· It helps students learn to balance their rights against compelling
school interests.
· It helps students get a truer picture of their rights and
responsibilities in a democratic society.
· It provides a format for students to become actively involved
in school and community affairs, including learning the operation of the
legal system.
· More likely to respond at the autonomous stage of social development.
· Teacher is less likely to feel frustrated or to experience
high levels of work related stress.
· A common language is used among the whole school.
· No one size fits all set of rules and regulations.
Weaknesses:
· It takes considerable time for students to become involved in
the schoolwide aspects of judicious discipline.
· The application of personal rights and compelling school interests
may be confusing to students when they exit the school at graduation.
· While it may be enlightened policy to individualize the consequences
of rule-breaking, they say, when you do that, some students (and perhaps
their parents) will complain that you are not being fair and evenhanded.
· Teachers need to learn judicial process and democratic theory.
· No one size fits all set of rules and regulations.
Resources:
Butchart, R., & McEwan, B. (1998). Classroom discipline
in American schools: Problems and possibilities for democratic education.
Albany: State University of New York Press.
Edwards, C. (2000). Classroom discipline and management.
New York: John Wiley &Sons, Inc.
Gathercoal, F. (1990). Judicious discipline.
The Education Digest, February 2000, (5), 20-4.
Gathercoal, F. (1993) Judicious Discipline (3rd
Ed.). San Francisco: Caddo Gap Press.
Gathercoal, P. & Crowell, R. (2000). Judicious
discipline. Kappa Delta Pi, 36, (4), 173-7.
McEwan, B., Gathercoal, P., & Nimmo, V. (1997).
An examination of the applications of constitutional concepts as an approach
to classroom management: Four studies of judicious discipline in various
classroom settings. Chicago, IL: American Educational Research Association.
(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 418 031).
McEwan-Landau, B., & Gathercoal, P. (2000).
Creating peaceful classrooms: Judicious discipline and class meetings .
Phi Delta Kappan, 81, (6), 450-2.
Sample Roleplay (Making up Rules):
The Setting:
We have previously discussed the rights of the students and
that of the school society with the students and now are going into
the part
where the students will make up their class rules. The discussion
is
between the teacher, Mr.Bill E. Mancipate, and several students.
The Discussion:
Mr. Bill: Now class together we need to come up with our class rules.
First
lets talk about the four categories in which our school has a compelling
interest. These are: 1. Avoiding property loss and damage,
2. Serving
legitimate educational purposes, 3. Fostering health and safety, and
4.
Avoiding serious disruption of the educational process. [The
teacher writes
these on the board] What rules do you think we need in school
that might fall into these categories?
Amy: Everytime we say Massachusetts we
should bow in reverence.
Mr. Bill: Now Amy what category does that fall into?
Amy: Uhhhhhhhhhhhh, It doesn't
fall into any category.
Mr. Bill: That's right. Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Kelvin: Don't take stuff that's not yours.
Mr. Bill: Which category does that fall under?
Kelvin: The first one.
Sherry: I have one.
Mr. Bill: Ok what is your idea Sherry?
Sherry: Don't break other people's stuff, too.
Mr. Bill: What category does that fall into?
Sherry: The first one.
Mr. Bill: Good. Tim did you have something you wanted to
suggest?
Tim: TIMMMMY!!!!!!!!!
Mr. Bill: Ah yes I should have known. How about someone
else?
Courtney: Don't hit other people.
Mr. Bill: Which one does that go under?
Courtney: The third one.
Natalie: If you're bad the teacher can whip you with a belt.
Mr. Bill: Which category does that fall under?
Natalie: The second one.
Mr. Bill: Does everyone agree?
Arden: I understand but I disagree. I think that whipping
with a belt
would break the fourth category.
Mr. Bill: Why do you say that?
Arden: If you whipped someone with a belt it would be a serious
disruption
of my learning.
Mr. Bill: Ok, good, hurray!! I won't have to whip anyone this
year.
Steph: Um I have a question. Maybe I don't get it but why
would whipping
be a serious disruption? If we had the threat of whipping then
everyone
would behave wouldn't they?
Mr. Bill: What do the rest of you think?
Tammy: Y'all I don't know but whipping would scare me to death
and I don't
think the courts would approve.
Mr. Bill: That's right in the 60's the Supreme Court determined
that
whipping in school is corporal punishment and illegal in most states,
not
counting Governor Bush's home state of Texas. So we can't do
that here in
North Carolina.
The class: YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr. Bill: Does anyone have any more suggestions?
Susan: Uh, I have one.
Mr. Bill: Well what is it?
Susan: Do what the teacher tells you?
Mr. Bill: Which category does that fall under?
Susan: That falls under number two and it doesn't go against number
four
like Natalie's did.
Natalie: Hey (%&*/ @xu in a foreign language)
Jennifer: Hey, I have an idea y'all. How bout no cussin'
cause that's
gotta be breakin' number four, " a serious disruption of the educational
process."
Mr. Bill: That's a good idea Jennifer. If there aren't any more
suggestions
then we'll move on to the vote. Does everyone agree about these
rules?
[Everyone raises his or her hands] Does anyone disagree? [No one raises
his or her hand] All right then lets move on to the classroom meeting
rules.
Names of Theorists:
· Forrest Gathercoal
· Barbara McEwan
· Paul Gathercoal