ETEC 597 Journal # 3 - November 12

I am so excited about all the technology I learned this semester through this course. There were at least two technologies that I will integrate and continue to use. Those two technologies are Blogger.com and WetPaint.com. I have plans to use a blog site for my students so I can get them to journal and really make the site their own. Through blogging I hope to engage my students in learning especially by expressing their thoughts. I am especially excited about utilizing a classroom web page. I have seen a need to create a web page for my students and their parents. I will create a classroom site where my students will be invited to post comments and view the district calendar of upcoming holidays, as well as, testing days. I plan to post extra credit opportunities that my students can complete at home and bring to class. I believe that by doing this my students will be in the practice of being responsible since they will need to remember to bring the assignments to me. I also have plans to continue to update my WetPaint Wiki called "Friendly Connections." I am currently in the process of getting teens to join and get on board with viewing the site on a regular basis. I post upcoming events and class discussions. I plan on posting prayer requests and praises so that the teens can continue to pray for others. I didn't even know that these two technologies existed. Now that I have been exposed to these two technologies I will continue to use them and share them with others.

Some of my "Aha" moments have to include the MAPit activity. I was in awe at the amount of false information posted on the Internet. I was always under the assumption that what I pulled up on the Internet was, for the most part, true. I used numerous amounts of information I pulled off the Internet for research papers I completed in my undergraduate studies. Through the MAPit activity I learned to "weed out" the bad stuff and it opened my eyes that I truly can't believe everything I read. It has made me realize that I need to check for validity on everything I find especially if I am going to pass the information on to my students and others.

I will continue to utilize Blogger.com. I may not update my current one with new assignments unless we are informed to while continuing our graduate studies. I do plan on creating a new one for my family and friends. I will post information about events going on in my life and places I have been. I will pass on the website to my family and friends so that they can view it for updates. I noticed that once I created the blog for this course most of my friends had already created one. I have seen that a blog is not just informational for me, but a way to connect to others. I have been able to see what is going on in the lives of some of my old college friends and I have been able to stay connected with them. I have thoroughly enjoyed this course. There were times when it became overwhelming, but once I stuck with it and took the time to figure it out, I enjoyed all the new technologies.

Discipline Journal # 5 - My Discipline Model

My Discipline Model Name: The "Lemonator" Discipline Model ("When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!")

Brief, narrative description of the model

My model was named the Lemonator because it eliminates behavior problems that surface in my classroom as well as sports my last name. I think of my discipline model as a giant melting pot where I put several ingredients in to make one huge pot of "goodies." I use several of the discipline models that we learned about this semester. The Lemonator Discipline Model utilizes most of the discipline models. Each one of my students are different and what works for one student may not work with another. With that being said, I have to pick and choose different discipline models to use on my students.

I have listed the models that have been implemented in my classroom and have resulted in positive results for me.

Love & Logic Model
I have always enjoyed the Love & Logic Discipline Model by Jim Fay. Love & Logic focuses on the teacher becoming an instrument in getting students to find solutions to their own problems instead of relying on the teacher. The teacher's primary action is to confront while questioning. This action leads to the student to produce a logical and productive solution to his own problem. Dr. Levy sees misbehavior as a result of the student's poor sense of self-worth and the desire to avoid pain. The Love & Logic Discipline Model involves building the student's self esteem up so that they will feel more capable and better about themselves even after they are disciplined. As Dr. Levy explains, students are rational, capable, and want some control. He believes that their behavior is due to a self-conceived deficiency. I have discovered in my 4 years of teaching that my students are all capable of doing what I expect of them, but their acting out has something to do with problems at home or a lack of attention. When I use Love & Logic it is to keep from becoming trapped in a power struggle. I have many students who have to get the last word and who enjoy arguing. When one of my students smarts off or complains about my class I just give them a smile and give them a famous one liner: "Thanks for sharing." Each time I used it the student would completely shut down from arguing with me. Now I have found that my students will tell each other, "thanks for sharing."

Positive Discipline Model
The Fred Jones Model of classroom management consists of four elements. These elements are needed to make this model a success. They consist of limit setting, responsibility training, omission training, and a backup system. I use many of the elements from this model. I use proximity a lot in my classroom. While my students are doing independent learning activities I walk around the classroom. I pay especially close attention to my disruptive students by watching their every move. When I notice one of my students off task I walk up to their desk and help them find the answer to the problem. I reach in with my finger or with my hand to get them back on task. I may point to a particular sentence or I may turn their book to the correct page to find an answer. When I am lecturing or explaining a concept and some students begin to start talking I stop what I am saying and I "camp out" on my cart. I await a reaction from the class. Eventually the students who figured out that I was waiting for talking to cease will tell the other students to be quiet. Another component from this model I use is the eye contact. If I have a student who is misbehaving while I am sitting at my desk I look up at them and make eye contact. The student immediately stops what he was doing that was inappropriate and begins to work. I have always been a teacher that will take one of my misbehaving students out into the hallway, which I call my office, for a discussion on their behavior. I have found that taking the time to speak to them about their behavior makes them aware that the behavior they are displaying is inappropriate and will not be tolerated. I am amazed at how much those little private conferences help eliminate their acting out.

Assertive Discipline Model
This model created by Lee Canter consists of stating and teaching expectations early before problems arise. It also focuses on the teacher developing a positive relationship with her students. On the first day of school I immediately begin to discuss my expectations. I walk my students through a powerpoint that I created which go over the Mesquite ISD Code of Conduct and my classroom rules. I keep my rules posted up in the classroom so that they will always be reminded what is expected. I try to keep my main rules to a minimum of 5 so that they can be easily remembered. I would say that I have an excellent rapport with my students. I have never had a student tell me that they don't like me. I have developed the relationship at the beginning of the school year. At the beginning of the school year I may not be a very soft teacher, but my students understand my rules and expectations. Once I realize that my students understand those expectations I am able to lighten up on them. My students may think of me as mean the first few months of school because I do not let anything slide by me. I write them up for everything out of compliance with my rules or the Mesquite ISD rules. Then once my students understand that I am consistent with discipline they begin to do as I expect. I built rapport with my students by engaging them in conversations about their weekend or their interest. I have students who tell me everything about their life, the good with the bad where they wouldn't share it with any other teacher. I have found that it is difficult for some teachers to develop a relationship with their students because they do not treat them with respect. I have a couple of students who cannot get along with any of their other teachers. I have discovered that they cuss out the teachers, walk out of the classroom, and become disrespectful to them. However these same students are some of my favorites. One in particular always addresses me with respect and adheres to my expectations. It isn't hard to develop a relationship with students. They just have to know that you really do care about them and not just a paycheck. My students constantly ask me if I will be their teacher next year. I ask them why and they tell me it is because they don't want any other teacher. One student stated that if I wasn't his teacher next year he was going to drop out of school because he wants me to teach him until he graduates. I take that as a compliment. Besides teach, the only thing I do for my students is listen without judging. Most of the time they want to fill me in on their lives, but without criticism.

Discipline Preventative Model
The teachers in this model demonstates "with-it-ness," overlapping, smoothness, momemtum, and group alerting. In my classroom and in the hallways I have always practiced "with-it-ness." I just didn't know what it was called until I was introduced to this discipline model. I am constantly aware of what is going on around me. Most people describe it as observant. I can credit my ability to be observant to my undergraduate studies. I majored in Sociology so most of my classes required us to go out into the world and observe how people interacted with one another. I have found that I cannot just simply sit at my desk and play on my computer as most teachers do. If I am using my computer for anything I am constantly aware of what is going on in my classroom. I pick up on every noise, giggle, snicker, etc. This skill of "with-it-ness" has made my job as a teacher stressful at times. I am always the one who has confrontation with students and has broken up altercations in the hallway. While most of my colleagues choose to ignore student's behavior out of the classroom I am the one left to handle the problems. One teacher teases me that I am always in the middle of something. When I am helping one student at her desk I look around to make sure the rest of the class is working. I am like a constant radar detecting every misbehavior and every movement my students make. Another concept of the preventative discipline that I use is smoothness and momentum. Once my lecture is over I leave my students to complete their independent learning activities. If there are announcements that I need to make I either make them before I begin my lecture or I wait until the last 10 minutes of class when my students are beginning to prepare for their next class. I have trained my students to follow the lesson plan on the board. I have posted on the board everything we will accomplish during that class time. I even go to the lengths of numbering each activity. My students know that as soon as they come in the room they grap a book and begin with whatever #1 says then so on. They are not allowed to move on to any questions until after we have read the section aloud. Once I have read the section and lectured, my students know to do the remining of the objectives on their own. Once they finish the bell ringer or the section reviews, they know to go on to the next assignment. I also pre-sort all the worksheets and handouts so that I don't waste time passing them out individually. I count out the number of papers I need for each row and then I have my students pass them back. When I utilize group alerting I randomly call on students to read or answer my question. I used to just go down the row until I learned about this model. Now I have sort of a "stick pull" where I pull out random names to participate. Once a name has been called they go into the discard pile until they are all used up and then I start drawing from the discard pile.

Overt Teacher Behaviors
Empathetic response
Posted classroom rules/expectations
Verbal recognition
Skeeter Shout Outs
One Liners
PAT Time: Review basketball, BAM boards

Covert Teacher Behaviors
One Sentence Interventions
"Camping Out"
Proximity
"Evil eye"
Palms on desk
Moving In
Circle room
Mentioning student's name

Educational Insights
What glimpses, indications, signals, warnings, or advice would you offer to a new teacher based on your experiences and your new knowledge gained from this course?

When I think back on my first year of teaching I can't help but wish I could go back to that year. I wouldn't want to go back to being unexperienced, but I would like to go back and correct my mistakes. I am sure my students 4 years ago knew that I didn't know what I was doing. I have been teaching for 4 years and I feel that I have matured so much in these 4 years. I feel that I have learned so much from my experiences and mistakes. I have more control of my students and I feel like I know what I am doing.

I would offer several tips to new teachers such as,

1) Do not be afraid to discipline your students. My first year I don't think I wrote but 3 referrals the whole year because I didn't want confrontation and I didn't want to hurt my students' feelings. I wanted them to like me so that I could be their favorite teacher. I quickly learned in my second year of teaching that I had to be stern. I discovered that students will still respect you even after you discipline them.

2) I would tell them not to be afraid to change discipline methods. I think too often some teachers keep their same discipline techniques from year to year. The technique that worked 20 years ago when they started teaching doesn't work for this generation of students. I would encourage the new teacher to combine several aspects from different models to use in the classroom. Each model has important elements that can be used in the classroom. Just as we do with food, we have to sample many different things to see what we like and don't like. Every 7 years even our taste buds change. What we didn't like 7 years ago is something that we do like now. What discipline model we didn't like 7 years ago may be worth trying again.

3) I would also tell them not to believe what other teachers say about students to be true. It is obvious that some teachers just don't enjoy their job and their attitude conflicts with others especially students. I have found that some of my colleagues' worse students have turned out to be the ones that I look forward to seeing in my classroom. It has been my experience that I would hear a group of teachers discussing a particular student in lounge and I would believe that the student they were discussing was just awful. I would panic when I noticed that same student on my roll for the following year. I would have a preconceived notion that this student was going to be horrible, but then I gave him a chance to prove himself to be good. Once I saw for myself that this student was not so bad I quickly stopped judging students.

4) I would inform them to take the time at the beginning of the year to establish their expectations with the students. Instead of doing fun getting acquainted activities the first 2 days, go over the school's rules and your own rules. Instead of compiling a list of rules that they would forget I would tell the new teacher to come up with no more than 5 good ones. I always make one of my rules to comply with the Mesquite ISD handbook and that takes care of all the extra rules.

5) It is important to develop a good rapport with your students. They tend to do as you ask if they know that you care for them. Each student comes with a heavy load on their shoulders and a lot of responsibility at home. When they come to school they feel that they can do nothing right. If they feel that their teachers care about them then they will feel safe. They will no longer have to put up protective barriers to isolate themselves. I have found that I seem to have less discipline problems in the classroom because my students enjoy me as much as I enjoy them. Sometimes we have down time when we discuss issues and they share with me things going on in their lives. I have found that each time my students open up to me they share a private part of their lives which helps me understand how I can help them both academically and emotionally.

Strengths
Some of the strengths of my discipline model is being flexible. I am not set in stone on how I handle a situation. Each student is different and each situation is different. By being able to be flexible and rolling with the punches, my model allows me to take care of numerous discipline problems that arise. By developing a rapport with my students the discipline problems cease and become rare. By always being aware of what my students are doing in the classroom the potential of behavior problems decreases. When a student knows that his teacher is constantly moving around the classroom he won't have time to come up with a plan to act out or do something out of compliance to the class or school rules.

Limitations
If a teacher doesn't build a rapport with her students then my discipline model will not be as successful. It requires more patience than most teachers are willing to give. When I had trouble with some defiant students in my classroom I would handle it in my classroom. I would separate the group or move one of the students to my desk. I would put up with a lot of frustrations, but I dealt with it. Some of my fellow teachers would constantly remind me that I didn't have to put up with what happened in my classroom and they would encourage me to send the student straight to the office. I always gave my students second and third chances to straighten up. I believe that my patience has also be a contributing factor to my classroom discipline model being successful.

Why do you believe that your model will work with students?
I believe that this will work because I have been doing it for the past couple of years and I haven't had near the amount of discipline problems as my peers. I teach students with disabilities that range from ADHD to MR. My toughest classes are always my freshmen class during 3rd period, however, the problems I have with these same group of freshmen doesn't even come close to the problems these same group of students give their other teachers. My model treats students with respect which I in turn receive from them. It gives them a second chance to prove themselves as respectful students who are capable of adhering to my expectations.