Customer Reviews

Discipline Without Stress Punishments or Rewards : How Teachers and Parents Promote Responsibility & Learning

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I purchased this book after an extremely challenging year of behavior problems in first grade. As a teacher who had previous success using rewards (giving plastic money that could be redeemed in a class store) and punishment (taking away recess time), this new class had so many problems that nothing seemed to work! During the summer, I read everything on behavior management I could find in preparation for my new third grade class and found this book while searching the web. Needless to say, this past year was the best year of teaching I've had in my short career of five years. Using the daily class meetings--the students' favorite part of the day--to solve problems and asking disruptive students to tell me "their level," I found that most problems went away quickly and students didn't get resentful of me because they had to reflect on how they were acting. Using the agenda for students to write down issues that bothered them was a great way to deal with tattling. I also linked the system with students who would forget homework. Rather than punish them, I would give them the Level 1 Essay to reflect on why they forgot their homework and what they could try so they could remember it. It worked! I also recommend buying "Positive Discipline in the Classroom" (Nelson) as a companion to this book if you want more step-by-step instructions for the classroom meeting. It picks up where Dr. Marshall's book leaves off regarding class meetings, especially on how to introduce it at the beginning of the year. One more thing: parents LOVE this system and will love you for using it!

I began using Marvin Marshall's "Discipline without Stress" behavior plan even before the book went to press. It completely revolutionized my classroom. Before my eyes students turned from disruptive, uncooperative, discipline problems into caring and cooperative responsible citizens. I am no longer a stressed-out teacher. When other teachers see the results, they ask "what are you doing?", "how do you manage your classroom?" and more often than not, "tell me about the plan."

This is one of the best books I have read about relating to kids. As a school psychologist it is a landmark book in making the shift away from using punishment and consequences to a mindset of working with kids in more positive ways to facilitate responsible behavior. I highly recommend this book to parents and educators.

As I read Marshall's book, I found myself wishing that I had had this as required reading in graduate school! There is so much to discuss, from self-awareness (i.e. whoever asks the questions controls the conversation) to classroom management to parent education. As a faculty, we chose this book as our summer reading. Everyone...and I mean EVERYONE...(approx. 25 faculty members) felt this was one of our best picks yet...and we've read some awesome books over the years! In addition to faculty discussions, we hosted a parent session to have a conversation on the parenting chapter. By and large, the parents were so excited by the stimulating conversation, that they asked for ways in which they could integrate the concepts at home! Marshall's concepts and strategies have the best interest of the child in mind. Truly a win-win...for students, teachers and parents!

Discipline Without Stress, Punishments Or Rewards: How Teachers And Parents Promote Responsibility & Learning by education and child development specialist Marvin Marshall is a highly positive guide for teachers and parents seeking to helping young people learn without putting overwhelming pressure upon them in the process. Introducing a system to help parents foster accountability and positive life skills, chapters of Discipline Without Stress, Punishments Or Rewards set forth very practical ideas in a reasonable, rational text easily accessible to lay readers. Discipline Without Stress, Punishments Or Rewards is first rate and thoughtful book, highly recommended to teachers and parents of children at all grade levels from preschool through high school.

This book emphasizes bonding with children and the need to guide them without punishment. "Children don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." After reading the book and attempting the strategies, I discovered that I was having more success and more fun teaching. If you truly want to take the stress out of discipline, you may wish to give this book a try. It is an easy read, informative, and is the best approach to discipline of children that I've seen in my 35 years of teaching. After reading the strategies in this book, you will find yourself thinking about all the "GREAT" teachers you've known and realizing that they were practicing much of what this book emphasizes. If you want to get rid of checkmarks and taking away recesses this is the book for you.

Marshall makes a compelling case for giving children tools to evaluate their own behavioral options and make positive choices. I am looking forward to empowering my kindergarteners to be their best selves.

The book is very readable and the content is practical. I can see that I will be referring to it again and again.

This book clearly presents how discipline--self-discipline, the only type that really matters--is encouraged and developed. If you agree with Alfie Kohn that most punishment (and rewards) in school is truly only for the benefit of the one imposing the hurt, but find Alfie's approach a bit distant from real school, then Marvin Marshall might be the answer.

This book is easy to read, practical, and insightful. For example, Marshall describes how adults can be authoritative without being authoritarian. Our actions teach our children more than our words. When schools are ruled through fear and intimidation, what our children learn is not discipline, but rather how to control others (their future children, spouses, and employees) by instilling fear. I also appreciated the insight that Marshall provides about the need for children to develop responsibility rather than have than have responsibility (or accountability) imposed by adults.

I have noticed that the Raise Responsibility System, set forth in the book 'Discipline without Stress', requires as much self-discipline from the parent or teacher as it does from the child. The more I use it, the more I enjoy my roles as both teacher and mother. Whenever I have a problem I can't figure out, I like to go back and reread this book. They say that a classic is something you can refer to again and again, and get something new out of it each time. 'Discipline without Stress' truly fits that definition.

At first, the price steered me away from purchasing this book, but at the encouragement of some other teachers, I bought the book for some summer reading. I am only half-way into the book and undoubtably, this is the best information anyone has ever offered me in regard to the behavioral issues teachers (and parents) deal with in today's society. I will recommend Dr. Marvin's book to every teacher I know and to my administrator also. I will implement his philosophy into my teaching this coming year...no more bribing students and resentful feelings. Dr. Marvin has renewed my enthusiasm for the difficult and complex job of teaching!