Creating the Conditions: Student Discipline
“The proper question is not, ‘How can people motivate others?’ but rather, ‘How can people create the conditions within which others will motivate themselves?’ ” — Edward Deci
In the past number of years we have gone through a very positive and significant transition at our school. Through the work of the staff (current and previous), we have moved from a punish and reward mentality to one that is focused on creating the conditions for students to learn the skills to be successful. We have gone from long line ups of students at the office at the end of lunch to maybe one or two students ‘arriving’ at the office during an entire day. Most of the issues we now deal with are minor and dealt with in the moment in a learning manner, away from “the office”.So how has the staff of our school worked to create these conditions?
A few teachers and special education assistants often talk about “backing up to where they are” when working
