Love and Logic

My classroom management teacher told us about this philosophy in management technique called "Love and Logic." I've done a little research on it, and here's the website to the company she was referring to:

http://www.loveandlogic.com/

You can follow them on twitter!

The philosophy is based on the goal of raising responsible children, and the company does seminars for both parents and educators. The concept is based on the philosophical writings of Charles S. Pierce, an American thinker and innovator.

In our class, she told us about four main skills that a teacher needs while managing a classroom:

1. Neutralize student arguing.

This is done mainly two ways:

A. Ignore the problem. Sometimes, students act out because they are seeking unhealthy attention. When they do not get it, they may stop.

B. Repeat a one-liner, like, "I know." During class, the main point is to keep the learning environment going. If a student is having personal problems, you can pull them aside later and talk with them.

2. Offer a choice.

Students are very aware of their peers, and want to save face more than anything. A confrontation with a teacher can be very embarrassing, especially if the student feels like they were not treated like an adult. Giving the student a choice is treating the student like an adult, so that they can chose to comply with the rules and procedures of the classroom without embarrassment (she didn't MAKE me stop, I CHOSE to stop!).

These choices should be two "reasonable and acceptable" choices. IE, when a student refuses to hand over a cell phone that has been used in class, the choices could be "either hand me the phone, or take the phone to the office."

3. Delayed consequences.

This is not a threat. It is a statement of fact, and a following through with that statement. When a student is disruptive, this skill can manifest as simply as telling them, "this is a problem. We'll deal with it later, but right now I'm teaching," or, "this is a problem. We'll talk later," and then taking them aside after class and discussing the problem with them.

4. Empathy.

Students are people, too. They deserve sincere empathy. They also deserve the right to be responsible for their actions, even when that responsibility entails negative consequences. When students are not held responsible for their words and actions, they are being given a great disservice.

Before telling students about the consequences to their actions, a teacher should extend their sincere, simple empathy. The student should be given choices when possible. The teacher can ask the student to state the consequences, to clarify that they understand. Show confidence in the student.