I just finished reading Alfie Kohn's book "Beyond Discipline" and a few of his articles. I am a Power Teaching girl, but he has me confused. Anyone familiar with him? Not looking to bash his ideas, just want to clarify how I'll be teaching in Sept. Still tweaking my management skills. Oops. Mr. Kohn hates the words "classroom management".

Your question about Kohn and his beliefs is pretty intriguing. I read up on some of his ideology and my opinion is that, as teachers, we first have to manage student behavior before we can have any valuable conversations.

Student-generated rules that emerge from a deep and ongoing
conversation are likely to be valuable not because of the rules
themselves but because of the conversation that gave rise to them.
The process is the point (Kohn, 1996, p. 72).

From personal experience, I can facilitate learning in an atmosphere where students feel safe when they know what to expect. This is the preventative management that I choose to use. My students come from underprivileged communities consumed with violence and chaos. Communities where boundaries are not consistently modeled. Kohn’s theory lacks boundaries that my students need for success.

I am interested to hear from others. Great topic!

Roxi
WBT Intern, 2011-2012
wholebrainwithroxishayne.blogspot.com

I like a lot of Dr. Kohn's basic ideas, but I have to say that I think a lot of his suggestions are impractical in a regular classroom.

I make it a point to walk my middle schoolers through the why's on using WBT including a basic understanding of the way the brain works.

I also show them how the first four rules are applied in the classroom to their advantage, especially rule 2. They buy in for the most part from the very beginning, and as mackens says, they feel safe in an environment where they know what to expect.

It sure makes you think, though. He doesn't like any class rules. I don't know how to teach if I'm not reminding "Rule #1!" every so often. But does it make me too much of an authority figure? This quote is interesting:
"Just as memorizing someone else's right answers fails to promote students' intellectual development, so does complying with someone else's expectations for how to act fail to help students develop socially or morally. Kohn contrasts the idea of discipline, in which things are done to students to control their behavior, with an approach in which we work with students to create caring communities where decisions are made together."
Unless I missed something, he doesn't explain exactly how to get that caring commmunity. Maybe we're just meant to talk each problem out with the child?

I do like his article about why it's bad to say, "Good Job!" Totally agree with that.

His examples of "bad" discipline or natural consequences are extreme. For example, he tells of a kindergartener who bites her classmate being forced to wear a sign that says "I bite." That's ridiculous. Who does that?

Since he also doesn't like rewards, I wonder if that would include the smilies on the scoreboard?

Well, he's not going to touch my Class/Yes. It is the most hysterical and effective thing I do. The other teachers think I'm nuts, but it can quiet an auditorium filled with 5 years olds in 5 seconds.

I can relate, many of these methods miss the mark for the 2011 child. They do not have the internal skills to pull off self monitoring and need guidence. More than anything they need to communicate with each other and know that acts of kindness take place in a living and working community.

Class yes, I can work a room better than Las Vegas
Annette