A Reader Asks... Elementary School Discipline

A reader asks:

SC,

I would like to find out the new statues regarding elementary school discipline (Texas). What sites do you suggest that would be most beneficial?

Thank you.

SC Response

The “go to” source for you is the T.E.A website. Student discipline is addressed in Texas Education Code, Chapter 37. In my opinion, Chapter 37 is required reading for all school administrators. Additionally, you can check with the Texas Association of School Boards for policy recommendations that align with the statute.

I would like to point out two sections of the statute that are of relevance to all elementary schools.

37.001 (8) A Student Code of Conduct provides, as appropriate for students at each grade level, methods, including options, for:

(A) Managing students in the classroom and on school grounds;

(B) Disciplining students; and

(C) Preventing and intervening in student discipline problems, including bullying, harassment, and making hit lists.

37.006 (F)(f) Removal of an elementary student: Subject to Section 37.007(e), a student who is younger than 10 years of age shall be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative education program under Section 37.008 if the student engages in conduct described by Section 37.007. An elementary school student may not be placed in a disciplinary alternative education program with any other student who is not an elementary school student.

Now, for a couple of recommendations:

1. Student discipline is all about pre-teaching expectations and coaching students to be successful. It has nothing to do with punishment.

2. Student discipline is all about maximizing recognition and reinforcement of the behaviors we want to see. And minimizing the recognition and reinforcement of the behaviors we don’t want to see.

3. The elementary brain is hard wired to process positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is not processed effectively or efficiently. Meaning that punishment is a waste of time.

4. The longer the student is removed from the classroom the further he or she falls behind. It spite of the convenient lie that we tell the public, and ourselves, there is no academic acceleration in discipline settings. The best that you can hope for is that focused remediation is provided.

5. The best adult revenge is for the student to successfully do his or her work. Any solution that facilitates that result in the shortest amount of time is the definition of win/win.

I hope this helps you.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Top LYS Tweets from the Week of July 31, 2011

Recently I was talking to a group of math teachers that were attending some “innovative teaching” training sessions. The primary push was how to integrate the use of a SmartBoard in their classes. After they explained what they had learned and what they planned on doing this year, I asked them if they were also going to attempt to integrate the use of bootleg technology in their classes. The answer was universal, “No. Administration would never allow that.”

I am going to disagree and here is why. Yes, currently the use of bootleg technology is not allowed. But if a group of enthusiastic teachers presented a plan to use student owned devices in class, I think the answer would be, “Yes.” Almost every administrator I have ever worked with wants to say, “Yes,” to excited teachers with a well thought out plan.

I do have to admit, the whole exchange made me a little sad. When I was in school, math class was where all the cool stuff was happening. My generation went from slide rules, to calculators, to digital watches, to Commodores, to Apples. It was our math teachers that introduced us to this emerging world of changing technology. If the math teachers for this generation are not leading the way, who is?

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us. To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of July 31, 2011, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse.

1. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the heroes who sacrificed for our nation. (By SenJohnMcCain)

2. Fall book study for my campus is the @LYSNation book, "The Fundamental 5.” Look forward to my teachers growing and benefiting from its knowledge. (By blitzkrieg607)

3. I need energetic, optimistic teachers who will work every day to make a difference. If I can’t convince them to stay, shame on me.

4. If you are a poor or vulnerable American these days, your government basically says its your fault and deal with it. Very disappointing. (By blitzkrieg607)

5. Just met a LYS’er in a new district who is applying for a principalship. The LYS Nation is everywhere!

6. There is a difference between "not engaging" and "avoiding." If you are avoiding, you are not leading. You are going backwards.

7. If junior high teachers keep coming to our trainings enthusiastic with positive attitudes, they are going to ruin their tough guy reputations.

8. When you are surprised by how much content is in the scope and sequence, it's hard to argue that you have been following the scope and sequence.

9. Tonight's Run Thought: The complexity of your plan and the chance of successfully implementing said plan are inversely correlated.

10. Tonight's Run Thought: Most of the success of you and your team is related to how soon and how often you open your can of QUIT.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A Reader Submits... UIL Disconnect - Part 2

A LYS Principal submits:

So, a student on my campus misses a whole day of school to attend a track meet, days before TAKS test. This student is a prime candidate to score commended on TAKS given a few test-taking skills, which we are in the middle of teaching. This student participated in the track meet for one event, a total of less than 12 minutes. THIS IS INSANE!

School leaders should be screaming at UIL for this travesty! Where is our outrage? Athletics cannot be allowed to either drive or interfere with the learning process. I am more convinced than ever that the demonstrated (not written) goals of UIL and athletics are totally incompatible with student academic achievement.

SC Response

This is where are views begin to diverge again. I still believe athletics has a place in the academic environment. But I do think that place should be re-evaluated on a regular basis. And I think now is the time for a re-evaluation. Given our current budget and accountability environment, athletics as usual is difficult to defend and even more difficult to sustain. However, any significant change will have to be led by principals.

The coaching community has a vested interest in winning. The superintendent community has a vested interest in keeping school boards happy. The principal community has a vested interest in making sure that the schools are academically successful. Until there is a critical mass of principals that are willing to stand up and say “enough is enough” the vested interests of the first two groups will continue to trump the vested interest of the third.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A Reader Writes... (More on PLC's - Part 3)

In response to the 6/28/11 post, “More on PLC’s – Part 2,” an old school LYS’er writes:

I understand the initial skepticism towards the power of the Fundamental Five. When the Fundamental Five was discovered, and it was discovered - not invented, it was difficult for even Cain to accept the fact that improving student outcomes could be that simple.

We already had Cain’s Foundation Trinity, which dates back to the early days of the high school restructuring program put in place by Commissioner Neely. There have always been lots of good ideas about how to improve schools, some more practical than others. But it was Cain and Brown that identified the elements common to the ideas that actually worked. Then, they were the first to understand the power of the integrated implementation of those components. While PLC’s were evident in some successful improvement initiatives, they were not common to all successful improvement initiatives. Bottom line, though useful, PLC's are not the end all of instructional improvement.

Granted, it is easier for me to embrace the concept and power of the Foundation Trinity and the Fundamental Five because I was there at the beginning of all of this. I am proud that I was on one of the many campuses that contributed to the development of both. I lived it and witnessed it, and my students have been better off because of it.

When my staff gathers to discuss improving student outcomes, the ONLY framework they need to confine themselves to are the Trinity and the Five. It really is that simple, and yes, those two things alone ARE enough to improve your student outcomes rapidly and drastically.

SC Response

I think what is comes down to is that there are many things that we can consider and do that are a benefit to students in some shape, form or fashion. Which is part of the problem. If I just keep my students safe and treat them with dignity, I have done something positive that day. But the Foundation Trinity provides a mechanism to maintain organization focus on doing the things that make a positive impact on student academic performance. It keeps us from being distracted from our primary mission, educating all students at high levels.

The Fundamental Five focuses on the instructional delivery practices that the teacher controls that maximize teacher effectiveness. Again, providing the entire organization with a filter to separate the practices that are generally not detrimental from the practices that are specifically advantageous.

Simply put, the Foundation Trinity makes sure that the entire organization is playing the same defined game and the Fundamental Five makes sure that the individual actors within the organization are effective and efficient in the execution of their craft.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

Recruiting New Teachers

Recently, I read the following quote in Education Week, “Teach for America is a scourge. We need teacher programs that attract people to teaching as a career, not as a bullet point on a resume.”

The quote was presented as is, with neither preamble nor further explanation. So honestly, I don’t know the context of the statement. But overall, I have to say the gentleman could not be more wrong. Teacher programs do not attract people. The job attracts people. And right now, the job sucks. Low pay, high stress, and no appreciation from the public and our elected leaders for the work we do (remember actions speak louder than words). So any organization that advocates and encourages public service is an asset. One that actively recruits bright and motivated graduates to fill the ranks of our profession, based on the nobility of serving your fellow man, is an ally. Because, quite simply, the idea of serving the greater good is one of the few selling points that our profession has going for it right now.

Granted, a lot of these Teach for America teachers only teach for a couple of years and then move on. But the same can be said of teachers who come from the colleges of education. If there is complaint that one could have about Teach for America, it is that it could do a better do of preparing its candidates for life in the classroom. But TFA does a much better job of understanding that the classroom requires specialized training and support than any politician. Our current crop of politicians and policy makers believe that teachers are a commodity and that teacher preparation is unnecessary. Want proof? ACP programs, certification waivers and vouchers underscore their belief that teaching is simple and anyone can do it.

So, if Education Week were to quote me, I would say, “I need energetic, optimistic teachers who will work every day to try to make a difference. If after three years, I can’t convince them to stay in our field, shame on me.”

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation

A Reader Submits... UIL Disconnect - Part 1

A LYS Principal submits:

As of this year, I have finally concluded that UIL has utterly disconnected itself from the educational process. In baseball and softball we play a determined number of pre-season games, during the school day, in the form of tournaments. Those are generally two-day, all-day tournaments that occur during a three-week period. Then we move to track. There was a time when track meets were on Saturday. Not anymore. Now we do them during the week. Thus, during the final push towards the most important contest of the year (TAKS), many of our teachers and students are at district track meets. How is that good for anyone?

SC Response

As you well know, in our regular debates on the topic of athletics I generally take the pro side and you take the con side. But dare I say you are at least nudging me back to center. I have always believed that a successful athletic program should serve as a supplement to the academic program. It should teach students about hard work, perseverance, sportsmanship and character. All which should make them more successful in the classroom. Personally, I learned more about how to be a leader in a huddle than I ever did in any classroom. Great Head Coaches and Athletic Directors understand this.

Unfortunately, great is a rare commodity. Thus, a number of athletic programs are focused solely on wins, instant gratification and adult needs. My advice is that as a principal, it is your responsibility to advocate for the academic program as aggressively as the head coach /AD advocates for the athletic program. Because if you won’t, no one else will. Plus, I can't remember a time when I saw a coach stand beside a principal and take responsibility for taking students and teachers out of the classroom when campus accountability scores took a hit.

But I want to know, Ol’ Ball Coach and E. Don Brown, what do you think?

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation