Barbara Coloroso By Michelle Carlson

~ from one of her International Bestsellers, Kids are Worth It! “Our children are counting on us to provide two things: consistency and structure. Children need parents who say what they mean, mean what they say, and do what they say they are going to do.” ~ from one of her International Bestsellers, Kids are Worth It! - Talk about today’s society parents. Some parents trust that teachers can teach and learn everything from them; parents are in charge of feeding the kids and bringing/taking them to school. Her book, Kids are Worth It is about how to get rid of the “quick fixes”. This book helps students to develop self discipline by owning up to their mistakes, thinking through solutions, and correcting their misdeeds. It guides parents to help those parents that have “strong-willed”, very opinionated, and self defiant kids. It helps the kids to grow into a responsible, resilient, and resourceful adults. This book also has many examples of how to help students what are being bullied, dealing with parents that have abused them (verbally, sexually,) or are abusing (drugs or alcohol) to even deal with sibling rivalry and teenage rebellion.

Biography Was a classroom teacher, lab school instructor, University professor, and an educational consultant International bestseller author Appeared on Oprah, CNN, CBS, ABC Featured in New York Times, U.S. News, and Newsweek Lives in Littleton, Colorado Winner of Parent’s Guide Award from Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media. www.kidsareworthit.com www.Kidsareworthit.com – is her website. Which features everything about Barbara Coloroso from her press photos to her lectures to quick tips for parents to ordering everything(books, CD’s, video’s and DVD’s) online. For the past 38 years, she has been an international speaker preaching about her ideas and theories, while advertising for her books. Parents guide to children’s media award promotes excellence in children’s book, dvd’s, cd’s, and etc. which help to aid and promote advice for students and their parents.

Inner Discipline Teaching students to have a sense of responsibility and self-control Teaching students to accept ownership of their own problems Teaching respect and dignity Three R’s of discipline : Resolution, Reconciliation, and Restitution Teacher’s should method Inner discipline is acquired through learning how to think, not just what to think. Students will not always make the right decisions, but they will see what has gone wrong and will learn from it (which will then be taken over in their lives through the decisions that they make). Students should respect the rights of those around them (they go hand in hand).

3 R’s of Discipline Resolution – figuring out a way to have the same behavior not appear again and correcting it Restitution – doing what is needed to correct the damage that was done(physically, emotionally, or to the relationship) Reconciliation – establishing a plan that can heal a relationship that was hurt or offended by the behavior that occurred Although, she Coloroso believes in the 3 r’s in discipline, she also thought of steps in discipline. She stated that a teacher should show the teacher what they have done, give them as much ownership of the problem as the student can handle, give them options to solve the problem, and then live their dignity intact (meaning don’t be rude/being the bigger person about the issue) let the students handle the situation as much as possible. The teacher does not intervene when the students are communicating a way to figure out the problem that had occurred unless the decisions lead to dangerous circumstances (otherwise it’s all the students). A student will be asked to make decisions about future behavior, follow up accordingly, and then learn from the results of the decisions.

Teacher should Method A teacher should: Be a mentor/guide to the students Treat students the way that they want to be treated Avoid punishment, rewards, and threats (only when effective) Use assertive confrontation Use a four step method for discipline Avoid “killer statements” Be treated with respect Teachers should try to monitor their responses to be sure to not anger the students (saying hurtful comments) and contribute to conflicts. A teacher shouldn’t rescue a child from their problems because doing so will lead the students to believe that the students lack the ability to make decisions and follow through with it. Assertive confrontation- tell thoughts and opinions about the situation (talk it out).

4 Step Method of Discipline Show the students what they did wrong Give students ownership of the situation Suggest strategies for solving the situation Make sure the student’s dignity is intact These steps help students to have integrity, wisdom, compassion, and mercy – which all promote inner discipline. School is to be a place where it’s a community of which everyone can relate to, grow, and create. (not teacher controlled) A student may become annoying (nag, whine, beg, and cry) only when the consequences are involved however the child shouldn’t get their way be doing so.

Questions?

References www.kidsareworthit.com http://www.poemhunter.com/quotations/famous.asp?people=Barbara+Coloroso Building classroom Discipline Book (10th edition) by C.M. Charles