The Opposite of What You Expect

In our previous four segments we have examined “Meaning Business” – calmness,  keeping your mouth shut when dealing with backtalk, and the power of your response. These skills will serve you well not only in the classroom but throughout your life whenever you are in a position of leadership.

However, no set of skills comes with a guarantee. Certain individuals in...

Upping the Ante

In our previous segment we became familiar with the various types of “whiny backtalk.” Familiarity reduces the element of surprise in backtalk and helps us remain calm.

But staying calm in the face of whiny backtalk is a piece of cake compared to staying calm in the face of nasty backtalk. If we can think of discipline management as a poker game in which the student raises the dealer...

Eliminating the Element of Surprise

In our previous segment we learned the Cardinal Error of dealing with backtalk. The Cardinal Error of dealing with backtalk is backtalk – your backtalk. Becoming involved with backtalk only makes the problem worse – which produces our first rule of backtalk:

It takes one fool to backtalk.

It takes two fools to make a conversation out of it.

In this segment we will l...

Upset Is Weakness

In our previous segment we learned that calm is strength and upset is weakness. To put this statement into perspective, ask yourself the following two questions:

• If you are calm, who is in control of your mind and body?

• If you are upset, who is in control of your mind and body?

Management of discipline problems in the classroom is first and foremost emotional. You will n...