Lee Canter Assertive Discipline

1. Lee Canter Assertive Discipline Amanda Cahill

2. Biography • Lee attended California State University, then completed a master’s degree at the University of Southern California. In 1970 he began serving as a psychiatric social worker for children in southern California. • Assertive Discipline has sold more than 1.5 million copies and trained more than a million teachers. • Has been a guest on the Today Show, Oprah, and many other talk shows. He has over forty best selling books.

3. Basic Tenets • The classroom has a well developed and meticulously followed behavior management plan. • Consequences, both negative and positive, are predetermined and immediately awarded. • No student’s behavior is allowed to distract from the learning of another.

4. Teacher Responsibilities • The teacher must have a well formed behavior management plan before students ever step in the door. Consequences should be predetermined and fair for all students. • Teachers must explain and make sure all students understand the plan and the consequences. • Teachers should reward good behavior with immediate praise to encourage other students to be well behaved. • Teachers must help their students understand that the students have a choice to follow the rules, but will face the repercussions for not doing so.

5. Student Responsibilities • Students must learn what is expected of them, and the penalty for not following the rules. • Canter believes that students make the choice to misbehave and should be held responsible. • Students should encourage each other to be well behaved, because some teachers use a whole classroom behavior approach where rewards are given when the class behaves well as a whole.

6. Key Vocabulary • Assertive- a teacher must run her classroom in a firm, but positive manner. • Compliance- Students must make a choice to follow the rules that have been set for them. • Consequences- Immediately follow a behavior, whether good or bad. They can consist of time out or a treat given to a well behaved student.

7. Pros • The classroom has fair, well established rules, which makes students feel safe. • Students know the consequences for misbehavior and are held responsible. • There is no room for argument about punishment , which can be distracting to other students.

8. Cons • Many teachers only follow the negative consequences. • Some teachers take assertive discipline too far and create a negative environments. • Teachers may see physical punishment as an appropriate form of discipline.