Blog

Overwhelmed Student Teacher

I am in a school where screaming at all students is the norm. I have a kindergarten assignment and students are humiliated and degraded in efforts to control their behavior. I was able to show some positive discipline techniques to the teacher the first week by modeling and the students had several teachers from their classes call or come into comment on what a great two days they had. However, at the end of the first week, the teacher took off and I had total control of the class. None of my usual stuff worked and there was total chaos.

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Old Class Question

I am a home day care provider and mother of a 16-month-old boy. The problem I am having is that he refuses to share any toys with the other children. As soon as a child picks up a toy, he screams and takes it away from them. As soon as they move on to another toy, he does the same thing. I have tried everything from giving him the extra attention he needs to telling him the importance of sharing. I realize that he is too young to really understand this concept, but I want this daycare situation to work out so that I can continue to raise my son and earn money at the same time.

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Humiliation in the classroom

Q. My son (Talen) currently attends a Catholic school. He is in the Kindergarten. He has a very strong personality and wants his way ALL of the time in class and wants to do things in his own time. He gives his teacher a hard time and sometimes gets very angry (arms tightly crossed over his chest, red face, crying). This is the problem: About 3 weeks ago, 4 boys in his class were "acting up" (including my son), and they were all reprimanded in front of the entire class by their teacher.

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How to Approach a Teacher Who Uses Punishment

I am a parent of a 6 yr. old boy in the first grade who has had a few occasions of being reprimanded for talking during class. This happened this past week and his desk was moved away from the other students (along with 3 other class talkers). I felt that this consequence was acceptable and made sense. What happened next is what is unacceptable to me. Later in the afternoon there was a birthday party and the birthday girl's mom brought in cupcakes, chips and drinks for the kids.

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High Schools and Positive Discipline in the Classroom

Question:

Was just wondering if your program has components for high schools as well as elementary and middle schools. Dave

Answer:

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Class Meetings Learning Curve

Q. I attended your parenting lecture last night. I thought what you had to

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Class Meetings in Middle School

Question:

Dr. Nelsen,
I have been trying the class meetings for about 15 weeks now. Some classes 
have come along okay, but others still say that I need to take more control 
of the classroom because they are still not convinced that the meetings are 
working. How would I address this issue? I have already gone through all 
of the building blocks.

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Class 115

Dear Dr. Nelsen,

First, I would like to say that I appreciate all of the effort and energy you put into writing both the first and second editions of Positive Discipline. I have read and enjoyed both editions. The skill that has been most helpful for me to learn as a parent is winning cooperation because the process gave me an understanding of what to say after feelings have been affirmed. And the process has taught my children how to move on after they experienced the feeling. Thanks again.

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After School with At Risk Children

I need help in applying the principals of positive discipline in an after school setting with at risk children that are 8 to 11 for the most part. Some are from homes where corporal in the norm and one or two may be from homes where the adults are violent with each other. Most come from homes where they are supported but the destructive behavior of a few hurts us all. Unfortunately, these are the children we are trying most to reach. When they refuse to follow clear guidelines, it doesn't seem fair to anyone.

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8-Year-Old With Classroom Problems

Dear Kristin, I have several Certified Positive Discipline Associates who help me asnwer questions. If you read any of the Positive Discipline books, you will find that we don't advocate punishment of any kind. Rather we use methods that are respectful and designed to teach life skills that help children develop good character. Christine Haymond has done an excellent job (to follow) of respectfully answering your question. Jane Nelsen

School Problems

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Online Learning

Positive Discipline offers online learning options for parents, teachers, and parent educators. Learn in the comfort of your own home and at your own pace. You have unlimited access to our online streaming programs, so you can watch and re-watch the videos as often as you like.

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