1. Lauren McMaster EDUG 781 July 26, 2011
Judicious Discipline
Lauren McMaster
EDUG 781
July 26, 2011

2. Who is Forrest Gathercoal?
Professor emeritus with the School of Education at Oregon State University, Corvallis
faculty member in the Department of Educational Foundations and assistant dean of the School of Education.
Adjunct professor at Lewis and Clark College in Portland
Teaches educational psychology and school law,
Conducts workshops on civil rights and school discipline
Serves as a consultant to school districts, state education agencies, and colleges and universities across the United States.
Before working at Oregon state:
A 6th through 12th grade music teacher
Elementary and secondary school counselor and coach.
Coached tennis and golf at the high school level and women's golf at the university level.

3. Continued…
Author of numerous journal articles and book chapters on educational discipline and school law.
Author of many books including:
Judicious Discipline,
 A Judicious Philosophy for School Support Personnel
 Judicious Parenting
Judicious Leadership for Residence Hall Living
 Judicious Coaching,
co-author of Legal Issues for Industrial Educators,

4. What is Judicious Discipline?
Theory of discipline based on the Bill of Rights
Protects the basic human rights of individuals : freedom, equality, and justice.
Respects citizenship rights of the students in the classroom.
Deals with discipline by looking what the situation as the government would, with the student as a citizen.
Emphasis on the balance between the rights and responsibilities of the students in the classroom.
Order provides structure and security, while freedom provides flexibility.
Every student and every classroom needs both order and freedom

5. Judicious Discipline and Other Models
Judicious Discipline is intended to be a preventive guide & teaching model.
Less of a focus on the disciplinary actions involved.
Students learn the rights and responsibilites, and how those rights may be taken away if there is an infraction.
Does not talk about what consequences will be, but rather how to handle the situation
Gathercoal suggests to supplement his theory with the models of:
Dreikurs
Cooperative Discipline
Glasser
Gathercoal understood that his model must be combined with other discipline models to effectively create a classroom environment.

6. Why Judicious Discipline in the Classroom?
Students will behave better in democratic classrooms where they experience freedom and responsibility.
Teachers transfer some power to the students.
Students make their own choices.
Aware and active citizens.
Decisions are made in democratic class meetings.
Realistic – applied to home and real life.
Teaches students about social responsibility and democracy.
Students are sufficiently developed and mature to handle the freedoms associated with their constitutional rights.

8. Rights and Responsibilities
Justice
Freedom
Equality
Taught before responsibilities
Students are made aware of their rights, and identity as a citizen.
Responsibilities:
Property loss
Health and Safety
Educational Purpose
Serious Disruption
Taught after rights
Students see how their actions will affect the entire group.
Rights come with responsibilities.

9. Fundamental Right One: Justice
Students have the right to:
Fair school rules and consequences that apply to everyone.
Explain their side of the story when accused of breaking one of the rules.
A teacher who will listen to all sides of the story with respect and concern.

10. Fifth Amendment: In the classroom:
Student must be given opportunity to tell their side of the story
Teacher cannot accuse a student of breaking a rule.
Blank slate– once it has been handled, it cannot be brought up again even with new information.
Students should be given the change to take responsibility for their own actions first.
If they don’t, then proceed with dealing with the situation according to procedure.
No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Protects the rights of the accused
Due process
Double jeopardy
Self-incrimination
Private property
protects basic rights of life, liberty, & property. Must undergo due process of law.
cannot be tried twice for the same crime, making new evidence invalid.
accusing oneself of a crime either directly through interrogation or indirectly (voluntarily), and then being arrested for it. Refusal to testify in own case. Rights must be read first.
– cannot be taken unjustly.

11. Fundamental Right Two: Freedom
Students:
Can express themselves through opinions, discussions, and behaviors.
Are able to be themselves.
Have the right to make choices for themselves, and the teacher respects this choice.
Individuality is embraced and protected in the classroom by the teacher.

12. First Amendment: In the classroom:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Freedom of speech
Freedom of religion
Freedom of press
Freedom of peaceably assembly
Right to petition to the government
As long as there is no serious disruption or it does not cause safety issues, students are entitled to these rights.
Students cannot be punished for speaking out against something within a school paper or written assignment.
Students cannot be punished for speaking out against policy within the school or questioning rules.
Students have the right to petition for change.
Students have the right to be exempt from school days for religious purposes, to wear religious dress, and to refuse to participate in religious exercises or lessons that undermine their religion.

13. Fundamental Right Three: Equality
Every student must be given an equal educational opportunity to succeed in school.
It DOES NOT mean that treating every student the same.
Students who require special services or resources must be given them in order to succeed.
The individual needs of each learner in the classroom must be met by the teacher to give the equal educational opportunity to succeed.

14. In the Classroom: Fourteenth Amendment
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Protects all citizens’ civil rights
Prevents discrimination in the classroom:
All students, regardless of race and gender, must be given equal educational opportunity.
Students may not be expelled without some sort of hearing.
Similar to rights guaranteed under the 5th Amendment.

15. In loco parentis… Loco Parentis: acting in place of a parent.
Before the court case Tinker vs. Des Moines, teachers were allowed to act in place of a parent.
After this case, teachers could no longer act in place of parents.
Parents are allowed to upheld certain rules for the sake of values.
Teachers are not the sole authority.
Students may question rules if they feel it violates their constitutional rights.
Teachers must work to understand each individual case in relation to the constitutional rights and the effects it has on other students.

16. Now the responsibilities…
What do the students need to be held accountable for in order to protect their rights and the rights of others in their school?
There are four social responsibilities of each student in the classroom:
Health and Safety
Education Purpose
Property Loss
Serious Disruption

17. Health and Safety: How can this be broken in the classroom?
Why is it important in the classroom?
Children’s safety in school is always a first priority.
It is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure the students feel safe in the classroom.
Not only physical but emotional and psychological as well.
Tolerance and respect must be taught and emphasized while teaching the class about social responsibility.
How can this be broken in the classroom?
Beating another student up
Throwing objects across the room
Reckless behavior
Jumping down the stairs
Running around the classroom potentially knocking things over
Bullying
Harassment
Alcohol / drug abuse
Drug dealing
Gang activity

18. Educational Purpose What does this look like in the classroom?
Coming prepared to class
Completing class work and homework
Good Attendance
Why is it important?
Education is an integral part of our society.
It is a right of the students to receive the best possible education.
Students must be responsible for taking advantage of the opportunity to learn.
Such problems as failing to attend class, coming late, coming unprepared, and not putting forth effort undermine the student’s right to an education.

19. Treat all Property with Respect
How might this be broken in the classroom?
Stealing supplies from another student
Drawing on desks
Destroying classroom resources
Throwing food in the cafeteria
Why is it important?
Students must be taught exactly how to treat classroom property.
Students must accept responsibility if and when they damage to lose another’s property.
It is unfair for another to take or destroy what rightfully belongs to another.
The rights of others are being violated when their property is mistreated or destroyed.

20. Serious Disruptions Why is it important?
How can this be broken in the classroom?
Loud talk that effects others’ ability to do work
Screaming, yelling, temper tantrums
Constant jokes that negatively effect instruction
Wild attire that significantly distract others from doing their work
Why is it important?
Students must learn that their behavior effects others.
If they are loud it effects the rights and needs of other students in the classroom.
Students must decide what constitutes a serious disruption.
Crosses the line

21. How do I Implement this in my own Classroom?
Gathercoal gives seven steps on how to implement this within the classroom:
Step 1 – Teacher commitment.
Step 2 – Teach democratic principles.
Step 3 – The teacher teaches the 1st , 4th, & 14th Amendments through directive teaching.
Step 4 – Establish class rules.
Step 5 – Teach social responsibilities.
Step 6 – Teach rules of the group vs. individual rights.
Step 7 – Teach/explain judicious consequences and attitudes.

22. Step 1 Teacher commitment:
The teacher must be committed to running a democratic classroom.
Must teach principles of due process, amendments and group/individual rights.

23. Step 2:
This step only applies to a teacher that is not confined to a fifty minute period.
Post questions on what rights the students have in the country and in their school.
They will then compare the rights on both lists.
The teacher should guide the class in preparing the lists by posting questions and prompting.

24. Step 3: Direct Instruction on the Constitutional Amendments:
First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments
Must be done with direct statements and clear instruction
Must be related to their own learning

25. Step 4: Establishment of class rules.
The list of rights and rules made in step two need to be compared to Constitutional Amendments.
The rights and rules established between this comparison will become the class rules.
Must be displayed where everyone can see them
The teacher, students and parents must sign the rules established.
The rules become part of the Student Handbook.
The students must use what was discussed about rights and responsibilities to form their own set of class rules.

26. Step 5: Explicitly teach social responsibilities:
Property Loss
Health and safety
Educational process
Serious disruption
Done through use of questions and scenarios to demonstrate how and when rights may be taken away.

27. Step 6: Teach the rules of the group vs. the rights of the individual:
Direct instruction
Use of models to demonstrate the difference between the two.
Remind students of their own rights that cannot be taken away.
Can be taken away if the principal, or teacher has to intervene.

28. Step 7:
Reinforcement:
Explicitly teach and explain the consequences for an infraction.
Explain the importance of a judicious attitude.
Teach the students how to model social responsibility for others.

29. Actions and Consequences:
A state can deprive someone of established rights if a compelling state interest can be shown with regard to:
(1) property loss or damage – e.g., breaking windows, digging holes in the desktop
(2) legitimate educational purpose – e.g., not bringing appropriate materials to class, not completing assignments according to schedule
(3) health and safety – e.g., not wearing appropriate gear in a Chemistry lab, running in the halls, sticking pencils in the ceiling
(4) Serious disruption of an educational process – e.g., loud talk that interferes, dress that is disruptive, political protests, anything that generally interferes with learning
If a students behavior violates one of these rights, the following procedure should be met a student should…
(1) be given adequate notice of the charge(s)
(2) be provided a fair and impartial hearing
(3) be provided evidence that support the claims against a student
(4) have an opportunity for a defense
(5) have the right to appeal
Judicious discipline uses rules and consequences to build an educational community that fosters citizenship as a central part of the curriculum.

30. Democratic Class Meetings:
Essential to Judicious Discipline.
Provide students with a sense of value and belonging.
Provide excellent opportunities for developing and discussing goals, expectations, and relationships within the educational setting.
Democratic class meetings work to share power; and as a result, these do much to avoid power struggles by providing every student with an opportunity to express their concerns and delights.
When students feel that they have some power in the organization and operation of their class, they are less likely to "act out.
When decisions are made in the class meeting, and if there is action to be taken, students are more likely to participate because they feel like they were an important part of the decision-making process.
Democratic class meetings are opportunities for teachers to model respect and trust by actively listening to and valuing their students' ideas.

31. The Key Elements to a Democratic Class Meeting:
Determine who can call a class meeting and when they should be held All students and the teacher should be seated so everyone can see the faces of the others in the class meeting. 
Set the ground rule/expectation that we will never use names during the class meetings.
Set the ground rule/expectation that we will stay on the topic and carefully guard any sharing about our families during the class meetings. meeting. 
Students should never be coerced to participate in the class meeting. 
It is a good idea for each student and teacher to have a class meeting journal. 
It is important that the teacher participates by writing in his or her journal. 
A good way to begin class meetings is to write in your journal for a few minutes. 
Give guidelines or categories for writing in the journals and display these guidelines for all to see. 
After everyone has had time to write in their journal, assemble in a circle and use the journal entries as the agenda for the democratic class meeting. 
It is a good idea for the students and the teacher to set and write down the goals they set for themselves after or during the class meeting. 
Writing goals down is important.
Never direct members of the class to share their goals with others. 
Self-assess the goals individuals have set. 

32. Grading and Homework:
Points may not be deducted from grades as a consequence for misbehavior
Why do you think?
Homework should not be graded or reflected in a final grade.
Why?
The grade is perceived as a summative measure of achievement.
The grade may be used as criteria for college admission, gifted program placement, etc.
Discipline action that lowers the grade may ultimately deny a student educational opportunities he or she would have had.
Students who have more resources at home will produce better homework, therefore it is not a direct reflection of one’s understanding of the material presented in the class.
Students may be denied an opportunity because he or she did not complete homework as good as a child from a home with better resources.

33. Limitations:
May not be suitable with severely conduct disordered students or students with cognitive impairments.
Highly verbal, abstract concepts that must be explicitly taught.
May be too involved and hard to use with primary grades.
Does not have any real place for parent involvement.
To be truly effective, should be done school wide.

34. Case Study 1:
In Miss Ryan’s Kindergarten classroom, while working in the block area, James and Maria are building a castle.  James gets upset about Maria adding her baby dolls to the castle.  He proceeds to demolish the castle.  Maria gets upset and asks Miss Thomas to hold a classroom meeting.  During the meeting, the class brings up Johnny’s destructive nature, for this is not the first time Johnny has demolished the block projects.  Johnny gets very defensive and refuses to be a part of the meeting any longer. 
How could this situation be handled differently using the Judicious Discipline model?
What aspects of the model do you see already in place?
Are there other components you may have used instead?

35. Case Study 2:
 Susan is a problematic 5th grader in a general education classroom.  She disrupts class on a daily basis by having very loud conversations with herself, or attempts to involve her classmates seated around her. When Mr. Burke reminds her to be quiet, she will stop for a short period of time, but then will begin again disrupting the lesson.  The teacher does not believe in sending students to the hallway to work and recommends Susan be sent to the principal’s office for a hearing about her behavior When confronted, she states that believes she has the right to freedom of speech.
Is Susan correct in asserting her amendment rights in this case?
How can the principal handle the situation according to the school wide policy of judicious discipline?