Discipline With Purpose (DWP)
DWP understands self-discipline in the light of the Gospels and Jesus’ relationship with His disciples. Jesus empowered His disciples to reflect on their attitude, actions, behaviors and feelings in such a way that they were able to change and grow in the Good News of God’s love.
In the same way, our style of discipline is an approach toward discipleship with Christ. Through discipline, we empower our students to reflect on their behaviors, attitudes, decisions and actions that are Christian or unchristian so that they can choose to change, establish healthy boundaries and limits, and grow in God’s love and become productive citizens.
In order to infuse self-discipline into our school we implement the 15 skills on the developmental process called, “Discipline With Purpose.”
Early Childhood
When asked to use good listening skills, students will:
1. Stop what they are doing or saying.
2. Attempt to clear away all distractions.
3. Look at or toward the person speaking.
4. Begin to tell the person what they heard.
5. Begin asking questions about what was not understood.
6. Attempt to do the task the speaker has requested.
When asked to follow instructions, students should:
1. Practice good listening skills.
2. Begin to repeat the instructions to himself or herself, or to someone else.
3. List or say the first thing you would need to do to begin the task.
4. Start to work.
1. Begin to ask questions.
2. To feel comfortable asking questions that enables an understanding.
3. Begin to ask questions that have not been asked before.
There are four things that must be shared:
1. Time
a. Wait your turn.
b. Begin tasks at the appropriate time.
c. Begin to limit conversations during group discussion so others can talk, too.
2. Space - Learn how to share common spaces with other people.
3. People - Learn how to share the teacher with other children who have needs.
4. Things - Possessions, crayons, limited resources. Begin to share limited resources and return things in good condition.
1. Begin to use courteous manners, say please and thank you, and use good table manners.
2. Begin to dress themselves.
3. Begin to attend to personal hygiene.
4. Begin to initiate language skills.
5. Begin to give and receive compliments.
6. Use greeting and leaving skills.
7. Begin to recognize strangers and or visitors.
Kindergarten – Third Grade
When asked to use good listening skills, students will:
1. Stop what they are doing or saying.
2. Clear away all distractions.
3. Look at or toward the person speaking.
4. Be able to tell the person what they heard.
5. Ask questions about what was not understood.
6. Do the task the speaker has requested.
When asked to follow instructions, students should:
1. Practice good listening skills.
2. Repeat the instructions to themselves, or to someone lese, or write them down.
3. List or say the first three things you would need to do to begin the task.
4. Start the work on time.
5. Stay on task the entire work time.
6. Evaluate the task and how instructions were followed.
Good questions are ones that:
1. Have not been asked before.
2. The speaker hasn’t already told us about.
3. Other people might need answered.
4. Make the speaker feel comfortable and not ill at ease.
5. Help people think.
There are four things that must be shared:
1. Time
a. Wait your turn.
b. Begin tasks at once.
c. Limit conversations during group discussion so others can talk, too.
2. Space - Hallways, between desks or tables and common areas (playground, lunchroom, bathrooms) are all places to keep neat so others can enjoy them too.
3. People - The teacher, friends and loved ones.
4. Things - Possessions, crayons, limited resources. Share limited resources and return things in good condition or the same way or better than they were found.
1. Use courteous manners, say please and thank you, and use good table manners.
2. Dress appropriately.
3. Attend to personal hygiene.
4. Carry on a conversation.
5. Give and receive compliments.
6. Use greeting and leaving skills
7. Help visitors/newcomers feel comfortable.
Fourth – Sixth Grades
Cooperation is to work and act with others for the good of everyone. In a school setting, one way to show cooperation is to follow the school rules and be willing to take the consequences if the rules are not followed.
When cooperation is occurring, everyone will:
1. Recognize there is a job to be done, and set a goal.
2. Agree on a strategy and assign tasks to everyone.
3. Complete your share of the task on time.
4. Talk about how the group did.
1. Know the rules and ask if you don’t understand the reasons.
2. Acknowledge that the reasons for rules are more important than personal feelings about the rules.
3. If you don’t like a rule, use the right way to suggest changes.
4. Follow the rules because you know the reasons, and help teach them to younger or less mature people.
1. Younger children can practice this skill by following the system others put in place.
2. Older students demonstrate this skill when they begin to figure out how to do something on their own.
3. Explore ways to solve a problem.
4. Accept constructive feedback.
A leader is a person who:
1. Sees the needs of others and considers them important.
2. Stands on the side of truth, even if they stand alone.
3. Acts on behalf of another, even if they are inconvenienced.
1. Recognize and use proper verbal and non-verbal communication.
2. Use good listening skills.
3. Respect different points of view.
4. Avoid sarcasm, put-downs and gossip.
5. Ask questions that begin with “w” or “h” to discover what is important to other people. End on a positive note and thank others for communicating.
Seventh – Eighth Grades
Four things a student can learn:
1. TIME
a. Be aware of time schedules and value them.
b. Plan ahead and follow through.
c. Evaluate the success of time management.
2. SPACE - Keep the environment orderly.
3. PEOPLE - Know parliamentary procedure and other ways to conduct orderly meetings and gatherings.
4. THINGS - Recognize opportunities to simplify and order material things.
1. Recognize when a problem exists and attempt to identify the cause.
2. Explore all the facts.
3. Brainstorm possible ways to solve the conflict and use “what if” thinking to explore the consequences.
4. Discard unrealistic solutions.
5. Choose a solution, follow through, and evaluate the results.
When a person takes the first step to resolve a problem, these guidelines can be helpful:
1. Always go to the source of the problem.
2. Talk it through with a neutral person if you need to.
3. When you need to speak to an adult or peer, make an appointment.
4. Put your thoughts in writing.
5. Be clear about the results you are hoping for.
Remember, you cannot fix a problem by making a problem for someone else.
DISTINGUISHING FACT VS. FEELING
1. Admit to yourself how you feel; name your feelings.
2. Don’t blame yourself for feeling that way. Feelings are neither good nor bad.
3. Report your feelings to the person best able to help you in the situation.
4. Start your sentences with, “I feel _________, when you __________”
5. Put the conversation on hold until you have sorted the facts from feelings.
SACRIFICING / SERVING OTHERS
A sacrifice is an act of giving something up in order to gain something equally as good or better.
1. Two or more valuable things cannot be held at the same time (Things can be time, space or an item)
2. Compare the things according to the needs of others or what is best for most people.
3. Decide which to keep and which to let go of.
4. Focus on the satisfaction of the choice for the greater good or for the benefit of someone other than yourself.
SCHOOL WIDE ANTI-BULLYING POLICY
Anyone can be a bully. The child who invites every classmate except one, to a birthday party, is exhibiting a primary tactic bullies often use. Bullies deliberately choose to exclude others. The pre-teen who uses slang or words such as "Da, "So?", "Whatever!" dismisses the opinions of others with one sweeping expression. When a popular student does this in front of other peers they persuade others to discount the contributions that person might make. When jokes are told that poke fun of nationalities or cultural differences the bully seeks to cut their target off from their social support system.
Anti-bullying policies can educate adults and students on the nature of the problem. We can teach children that there are four types of bullies:
1. Physical Bullies
2. Verbal Bullies
3. Relational Bullies
4. Relative Bullies
Students must be taught that everyone has the potential to be a bully, then they are more likely to reflect on their own behavior rather than think of the problem as outside of their realm of influence.
¨ They can examine themselves to see if they act the same when no adults are around as they do when adults are present. Most bullying occurs when an adult is not around.
¨ They can identify times when they intentionally exclude others from group membership.
¨ Young children can be taught the difference between hurtful and helpful messages. They can report when they gave a helpful message to another person. They can practice ways to include everyone in a group rather than say or do something that would exclude.
¨ Intermediate grade students and middle graders can reflect on bullying as a negative social skill. They can learn the criteria of true leaders and the difference between being bossy or being a leader. They learn when tattling and peer reporting is acceptable and when it is a negative form of communication that is not appropriate for their age. They are taught to value diversity in ethnic and cultural backgrounds. They explore related issues such as gossiping, cheating, putdowns, and how these contribute to bullying. They can identify inappropriate words and actions that are part of their peer relationships and work to root out bad habits.
¨ Finally, all students are given an opportunity to apply the knowledge they are learning about bullying by reflecting on real-life stories, and by setting personal and group goals to combat negative social skills.
WHAT DO BULLIES LOOK LIKE?
4 Types of Bullies
1. Physical Bullies
¨ Push, shove, kick or hit their targets
¨ Enjoy taking or damaging their target's property
¨ Believe violence is an acceptable way to solve conflict
¨ Have often been hurt themselves
2. Verbal Bullies
¨ Use words to hurt or humiliate their targets
¨ Use teasing, name-calling, insults, or racial comments to injure their targets
¨ Leave scars that may not be visible but are more painful and last longer than bruises
¨ May have been emotionally abused themselves
3. Relational Bullies
¨ Convince peers to reject someone from their group
¨ Cut their target off from their social support system
¨ Devastate a target who now feels alone and unwelcome
¨ Girls most often tell false stories, say bad things behind people's backs, tell others not to be someone's friend, and try to persuade others to dislike a certain person
4. Reactive Bullies
¨ Have been picked on and have been targets for so long that hurt turns to rage
¨ May finally strike out at their attackers
¨ Can become bullies themselves
¨ Have been responsible for school shootings
Bullying is repeated and systematic harassment of a victim or victims by individuals or groups of individuals. Bullying can consist of a single interaction. If the bully is twelve years of age or older, bullying may be defined as a criminal act. In most cases of bullying there is a power imbalance, which ensures that the victim always gets the worst of the interaction. The victim and the bully both need intervention in order to stop the pattern.
To put bullying into perspective it should be clear that normal conflicts between and among students are not the same as bullying. When conflict arises between friends, it is usually accidental conflict and doesn't happen repeatedly as it does with Bullying. Both persons have an equal emotional reaction and both parties are willing to make an effort to resolve the problem and take responsibility for their actions. When bullying occurs, it is usually negative actions done repeatedly and with a purpose to harm or injure the target. The bully blames the victim and shows little remorse or effort to solve the problem.
In schools, social and cultural factors that contribute to the success of any anti-bullying program include these:
a) The social climate in the school is warm and accepting of all students.
b) There are high standards for student and teacher behaviors toward one another.
c) There is adequate adult supervision, especially in unstructured areas of play or unstructured group gatherings.
d) There are consistent and immediate consequences for aggressive behaviors.
e) Recognition is give for student's pro-social and helpful behaviors.
Students are more likely to report what they see or hear if they know
a) Adults encourage them to be active participants to stop bullying.
b) They won't get in trouble for reporting.
c) There is a standard reporting system either verbally or in written form that everyone is encouraged to use.
d) Something will actually happen with their report.
Sometimes it is helpful to group bullying behaviors into mild, moderate, and severe categories. A sample list follows. The adults in your school community may identify additional issues that fit each category.
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MILD
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MODERATE
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SEVERE
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Gossiping
Sexual or dirty jokes
Conversations that are too personal
Mocking
Graffiti
Public challenges
Embarrassing others
Hitting/Spitting
Howling, cat calls
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Spreading rumors
Taking other's things
Racial or ethnic slurs
Public humiliation
Verbal accusations
Teasing about appearance
Excluding from group
Stealing
Defacing property
Intimidating phone calls
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Assault or attempted assault
Verbal attacks
Threatening with a weapon
Maliciously excluding
Spreading malicious rumors
Physical violence
Bodily harm
Coercion
Rape
Defacing property due to ethnic or cultural issues
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SARASOTA LUTHERAN SCHOOL'S PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING DANGER TO SELF OR OTHERS
If a student
¨ knows of an abusive situation (sexual or physical),
¨ hears threatening statements of violence made,
¨ hears rumors of guns, drugs, or any other type of violence, he/she immediately:
1) Tells the homeroom teacher, or any teacher present when a situation occurs. If he/she is not comfortable doing this he/she may...
2) Request to see the Principal or Assistant Principal and report the information to them.
3) If he/she is not comfortable doing this, he/she may write a letter or fill out a reporting from explaining in detail the information including the name of the person in danger and/or the name of the student causing alarm. Give the letter to any of the above persons by leaving it in the office in an envelope.
Upon receiving the information, the administration will investigate the situation to the best of their ability. If not enough information can be obtained to take action, the situation will be closely monitored by the administration and teachers.
Please remember, that intentionally reporting false information is as severe as making a threat yourself.
COMFORTING THE VICTIM
It is helpful for all adults to know how to respond to victims of bullies. Everyone can use the four 'A' Response Process.
THE FOUR 'A' RESPONSE PROCESS
1. AFFIRM THE CHILD'S FEELINGS
¨ "You were right to report/get help from an adult."
¨ "I'm glad you asked for help with this."
2. ASK QUESTIONS
¨ "Tell me more about what happened."
¨ "Has this happened before?"
¨ "Did anyone try to help you?"
¨ "Are you telling me this to get someone in trouble or to keep someone safe?"
3. ASSESS THE CHILD'S SAFETY
¨ Determine what the child needs to feel safe now.
4. ACT
¨ Coach the child or refer the child for coaching.
¨ Tell the child what will happen next.
From: Steps to Respect: @2002 Committee for Children
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REMEMBER
¨ Don't accept the response, "It was all in fun" or "I was only teasing" from a bully.
¨ Praise the efforts your child makes toward non-violent, responsible behaviors.
¨ Make sure your child is not seeing violence between members of his/her family.
¨ Take your child's complaints about bullying seriously and report them to the school officials.
¨ Look for signs such as fear of going to school, physical symptoms, lack of friends, missing belongings and increased anxiety as indicators of bullying.
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General
Because teachers believe that confrontation (coming face to face) is a part of their task as disciplinarians, they welcome opportunities to help students help themselves. The adult witnessing the behavior routinely handles all disruptive behavior on the spot.
Each classroom teacher works with the students to make sure rules are understood and the reasons for the rules are taught. Students learn that each adult may have different procedures in helping them follow the rules.
When a procedure becomes so important that the membership of the group depends upon everyone following the procedure, it becomes a rule. Each class establishes its own norms for classroom management. Students are tested orally and in writing to ensure that they know and understand how rules safeguard each person’s rights.
School rules that affect the daily living together of all members of the school community include these:
1. Respect yourself, others and your school.
2. Contribute to the learning environment.
3. Follow classroom procedures.
Individually, teachers develop adoptions of specific procedures that explain how the rules will be followed. Taking into consideration the developmental age of the students, “T” charts are made listing how the rule will LOOK AND SOUND AND NOT LOOK AND SOUND. Some sample items that might be included are these:
1. Be prepared for class.
2. Complete assignments and make up work due to any absences.
3. Do not re-enter the building during recess, lunch periods or after dismissal without an adult’s permission.
4. Walk inside and outside the building and proceed quietly.
Both students and the adults understand that the long-range goal of achieving self-discipline gives direction and purpose to the short-term consequence a person incurs when a rule is broken.
Total School discipline
Occasional removal from the group is necessary to protect a student and / or the learning environment of the school. This is necessary when a student:
1. Is in physical or psychological danger or puts another in danger.
2. Is abusive in speech, or gesture.
3. Pushes beyond the limits of respect in speech or actions.
If possible, the adult who removed the student will work quickly to help the student regain self-control. If this happens, the two parties can continue to work together to redirect the inappropriate behavior. * If regaining control does not happen, the student will be sent to the principal’s office and a Four Step Discipline Cycle will be set in motion. This cycle is outlined here so that it is clear and consistent for all students, parents, and staff members.
* Early childhood students will be dealt with in an age appropriate manner, and K-8th will begin the Four Step Discipline Cycle.
The student and teacher / staff meet
1. Together they begin the referral form.
2. Student completes referral form and returns it with parent’s signature.
3. The student is held accountable for the plan developed.
4. The teacher determines if the action warrants a detention.
If a student receives three (3) forms within a one-month period, all the written documentation that indicates the work the student has already completed will be forwarded to the principal.
1. The student meets with the principal.
2. The student notifies a parent by phone or note.
3. A conference is held with a parent, teacher (s), student, and principal to write a plan with a measurement for progress to assist the student in developing self-control.
4. The discipline cycle is reviewed with the parent.
5. The principal determines if the action warrants a detention.
If a student is sent to the principal a third time within a two (2) month period or in extreme cases when the principal determines the seriousness of the action warrants starting at Step Three.
1. The student meets with the principal.
2. The student notifies the parent that a suspension of up to three days has been earned. Then the principal will determine length and type, in school or out of school.
3. A recommendation may be made to have the family visit with a counselor or other specialist.
4. All schoolwork missed during the period of suspension is to be completed on the scheduled date of return, however no grade numeration will be awarded for required work during the suspended time.
5. A probationary time period to monitor and review progress is set once the student is ready to return to class.
Step Three can be repeated as long as a student is able to demonstrate that learning from mistakes is occurring and shows willingness to contribute to a positive learning environment. When little or no change is evident and school personnel have exhausted all available means to affect changes, the student will move to Step Four of the cycle.
The principal recommends expulsion.
1. The decision to expel a student rests with the principal and school board in consultation with the pastor.
2. If expulsion is the decision, the student’s parents are notified in writing, the reasons for expulsion are given and the right to request a hearing is explained.
3. The principal and school board may reconsider the expulsion in consultation with the pastor when the parent makes a written request for a special hearing.
Serious infractions such as possession of drugs, knives, weapons, guns, setting fire, severe physical or moral misconduct will result in an immediate move to Step Four.
Detention Policy
After-school detention is a positive disciplinary measure taken for the benefit of teaching children responsibility and consequences of negative or unacceptable behavior. By following this disciplinary measure, our children will benefit from the positive results that come from the acknowledgement of taking responsibility for negative actions.
Detention will be used for the following reasons at the teacher’s discretion:
· Four or more tardies
· Three late homework assignments
· Behavioral offenses that have been observed, warned, given measures of discipline, and have shown no improvement.
Detention is held before or after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week. Parents will be notified of a detention period prior to the date of detention.
Electronic Devices / Nuisances
No electronic devices should be brought to school. These include video games, pagers, cellular phones, radios, CD players, etc. If any of these electronic devises are found, they will be immediately confiscated. Gum chewing is not allowed on campus.
Care of Building
We have every reason to be proud of our facilities. We can show our appreciation by not marring the walls, furniture, floors, restrooms and equipment. Any person found guilty of damaging or attempting to damage or deface school property will need to repair the damage or purchase new materials to replace what has been damaged. Willful damage to, or destruction of, school property is grounds for suspension and/or the loss of use for a time period, such as computers.