Product Description

Discipline With Dignity for Challenging Youth is based on five fundamental principles and seven goals that are the foundation of all effective discipline strategies. The five principles are: 1. Teachers have a responsibility to teach all students. 2. Difficult behavior should be viewed as opportunities to educate for change; leverage should be reserved for excessively disruptive or dangerous situations. 3. More motivation means less discipline. 4. Discipline is just another form of instruction. 5. Numerous strategies and lots of heart are necessary for success. Responsibility is another central element of the book, and five proven approaches are presented to help educators teach responsibility. Ten strategies for increasing student motivation are introduced, as well as 21 drug-free strategies for helping students with AD/HD improve their focus. Differences between crisis, short-term, and long-term discipline interventions are discussed. Specific strategies are described for addressing nine of the most common reasons for student misbehavior. Because each strategy is explained in context, readers learn not only what to do, but why a given action is necessary.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #196103 in Books
• Published on: 1999-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 180 pages

About the Author
Allen N. Mendler, Ph.D., is an educator, school psychologist, and the parent of three children. He has worked extensively with children of all ages, with an emphasis on developing effective strategies for educators and youth professionals to help challenging students succeed. Dr. Mendler is the author or co-author of several books, including As Tough as Necessary, What Do I Do When...? and Power Struggles: Successful Techniques for Educators. Richard L. Curwin, Ed.D. is known internationally for providing thousands of educators and parents with practical, proven ideas to effectively manage children s behavior in a manner that respects the dignity of each individual. Dr. Curwin is co-author of As Tough as Necessary (with Dr. Mendler), and the author of Rediscovering Hope: Our Greatest Teaching Strategy.

Customer Reviews

Helping teachers reach difficult students
Allen N. Mendler and Richard L.Curwin have written an effective "how to" book dealing dealing with disciplining who they term "challenging youth." The book features specific methods to use with children who are beyond normal classroom management techniques. While presenting some of the theory behind their proposals, the authors focus intead on what the classroom teacher actually does to help these children become more productive members of the classroom.

Mendler and Curwin state that all behavior serves a purpose for the student. However, that purpose is different for each student. Thus, educators must come up with different methods for dealing with different children in the same circumstances. They denounce "zero tolerance" methods as weak and ineffective. For discipline to become educational and not merely punishment, educators must develop strategies that work with individual students. Each teacher's actions must have meaning for the individual student. They state that educators need to ". . .do the right thing, not the same thing when students break rules" (p. 109).

The authors also present a workable strategy for motivating difficult children and avoiding power struggles. By sharing power and giving it to the student, they understand that a "win-win" situation can be developed from what usually is a "lose-lose" situation.

I found this book interesting and useful. I think other special educators would also.