Assertive Discipline (Canter and Canter)

Assertive Discipline (Canter and Canter, 1997)

Teachers should gain control of the classroom through insistence on students' appropriate behavior. Student infractions should be dealt with assertively.

* Assertive - "Sit down on your chair and do the seatwork now."
* Tell the student the expected behavior straightforwardly. No passivity nor hostility. Canter and Canter recommends saying the order up to three times, ignoring the distractions students will do - crying, cursing, excuses.
* Student: "I will sharpen my pencil first, teacher." Assertive teacher: "I understand. But I want you to sit down on your chair and do the seatwork now."
* Student: "Why are you always picking on me?" Assertive Teacher: "I understand what you feel, John. But I want you to sit down on your chair and do the seatwork now."
* Maintain eye contact and refer to the student with his/her name. Sometimes, we beat around the bush, perhaps for fear of embarrassing the student (especially in High School). But Canter and Canter maintain that we should refer to the misbehaving child immediately and by name. "Timothy, I want you to sit down and do your work." This the teacher says looking at Timothy straight in the eye. But there should be no hostility.
* Ignore the distractions of the students. "Sir, I am just borrowing pencil." "I understand, but you have to sit down and do your work." Focus on the rule and the behavior.
* If all else fails, do not be hostile. Do not curse. Deal with the misbehavior in a democratic way - through the rules. Remember that we are trying to grow democratic and law-abiding citizens in the classroom. They must also learn the penalty for breaking the norms and the law. But of course, there must be an appropriate punishment for every mistake. By appropriate, I mean that you cannot suspend a child for merely standing up. You cannot send him or her to the principal's office for merely disregarding your express wishes. You must be particular on the rules. The school must have its rules, and these must be clear on the students. If the issue is disobedience and disrespect, you must deal with it swiftly and justly. Else, all the other students will not respect you anymore. Be firm and considerate at the same time.
* Don't make excuses for the children. Don't let inadequate parenting, poor health and all else make excuse for a misbehavior. Treat all students fairly and equally. That's how it is in real life anyway.
* Don't disrupt the classes because of the misbehavior. Implement the consequence as simple as possible.