Dr. Marvin Marshall - Discipline Without Stress Punishments or Rewards ( Revised): How Teachers and Parents Promote Responsibility & Learning

T om Sawyer inspired others to whitewash Aunt Pollys front fence. Tom was a better psychologist than any behaviorist.

Behaviorists believe that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. They rely on external sources to actuate change. They completely neglect the internal, which is a prime reason that neuroscientists do not rely on these approaches for humans.

Unfortunately, a carrot and stick approachused to train rodents, birds, and animalsis employed in much of education and parenting. Although behaviorism is touted for special education students who are given tangibles to reinforce desired behaviors, this approach is often used now (and in some cases mandated) for all students.

Although external sources can control, they cannot change people. People change themselves.

In addition, external sources focus on obedience, but obedience does not create commitment.

In contrast to using external, manipulative, and reactive behaviorist approaches, Discipline Without Stress is so successful because it is proactive, totally noncoerciveyet not permissiveand inspires, prompts desire, and drives commitment for responsible behavior and learning.

This fascinating, insightful book is more than technique; it has very practical suggestions on 100+ common issues most parents and educators face. It breathes a sound philosophy and way of thinking that empowers us, instead of our constantly looking to others for solutions.

Stephen R. Covey, Ph.D.

Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Marvin Marshalls insights, innovative ideas, and ingenuity provide a clear plan for raising responsible children. The benefits to schools and families are enormous.

Gene Bedley, National Educator of the Year

Author of Character Lessons for Life

The strategies that Dr. Marshall describes for developing humane, responsive, and responsible classrooms are grounded in research AND good practice. They link classroom management concerns to the more fundamental issues of how teachers can create powerful curriculum, teaching, learning, and lasting motivation. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to create a right to learn in all classrooms.

Linda Darling-Hammond, Ed.D., Professor of Education

Stanford University

Author of The Right to Learn

Director, National Commission on Teaching and

Americas Future

Discipline is not easy in our culture. Our Puritanical past has led to many wrong assumptions about how to channel behavior. In this book, Marvin Marshall shows us how to overcome these counterproductive patterns while promoting responsibility and growth in young people. It is an important work, and I highly recommend it.

Jim Cathcart

Author of The Acorn Principle: Know YourselfGrow Yourself

This book has great payoffs. It shows how to raise responsibilitya basic desire and need of our society. The quality of family life and school life will improve as the principles of this book are put into practice. School and workplace leaders will make many applications to management practices as well.

Steve Barkley, Executive Vice President

Performance Learning Systems

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to do a lengthy interview with B.F. Skinner. I concluded that I do not subscribe to much of what he taughtfor example, his rejection of all inferred states such as attitudes and motivation . Dr. Marvin Marshalls book addresses a fundamental problem that every society must solve: how to produce individuals who will take responsibility for doing the important tasks that need to get done. He focuses on what is the essence of good citizenship in the home, school, and nation. Using some of the latest findings of social science, Dr. Marshall has developed an approach that enables parents and teachers to help young people grow into responsible citizens and live satisfying and rewarding inner-directed lives.

Gene Griessman, Ph.D.

Author of The Words Lincoln Lived By

Marv Marshall makes a compelling argument that stress, punishment, and rewards are counterproductive in raising or teaching children. At best they merely create temporary compliance. More likely, they corrode relationships, deter risk-taking, overlook the underlying causes of behavior, and subvert the learning process. Marshall points the way to successful strategies such as reframing perceptions and initiating specific intervention techniques. Parents, teachers, and principals should read this bookand rush to do so.

Elaine Haglund, Ph.D., Professor

Education, Administration, & Counseling

California State University, Long Beach, CA

This book is a potent contribution to the field of child service. Not only has Dr. Marshall shown us a philosophy that works, he makes it easy to understand and implement. Everyone winsespecially our young people.

James Sutton, Ed.D., Child Psychologist

Author of If My Kids So NiceWhys He Driving ME Crazy?

Self-directed people are resourceful. They engage in cause-effect thinking, spend energy on tasks, set challenging goals, persevere, are optimistic, feel good about themselves, and control anxiety. To achieve this human potential, the focus of education needs to shift. Both teachers and students must become internally-driven learners: self-analyzing and self-modifying. Marvin Marshalls book provides the science, structures, and strategies that further this cause.

Arthur Costa, Ed.D., Professor Emeritus

California State University, Sacramento

Co-Founder, Institute for Intelligent Behavior

I have been struggling with my 5-year-old who knows his own mind. Coercion was not working. I was at a complete loss until I read your book. My son is responding very well, and the approach has improved our relationship. Thank you for giving me a practical method for teaching responsibility.

Karen McCormick, Norco, California

When Im stuck, I like to review Discipline without Stress. They say that a classic is something you can refer to over and over and still get something new out of it each time. Well, that definition fits here. The more I look back through it, the more it helps me to see things in a different light.

Anna Nyman Daley, Bluffdale, Utah

Marshalls system has major strengths beyond those found in other systems of discipline. It makes sense and rings true for teachers. It focuses on developing responsibility, an enduring quality that remains useful throughout life. It removes the stress that students and teachers normally experience in discipline. It is easy to teach, apply, and live by. It is long lasting because it leads to changes in personality. Educators find these strengths especially compelling; hence, the surge of interest in Marshalls model.

C. M. Charles, Building Classroom Discipline -8th Ed (Boston:
Pearson, 2005)

Knowing that one of the principles of the system is to be positive, I knew that I had to start using the hierarchy in positive situations. Now, I not only try to use the hierarchy a lot to acknowledge higher-level behaviour, but also to be proactive. In other words, I use it before a lesson, before an activity, before an event, etc. In that way the students are set up for success. They know EXACTLY what higher-level behaviour looks like, and I find that when you have helped them create that vision in their minds, they are motivated to reach for it. Thats when teaching becomes joyous. You start spending a larger percentage of your time acknowledging good choices, instead of dealing with problems. Thats what makes this system so extraordinary! Its an exciting way to teach!

Kerry Weisner
Duncan, British Columbia