Behavior Plan, Do you have one in your classroom?

As a teacher I think what guides my behavior plan is conscious discipline. By using this method we are providing solutions for social-emotional learning, with the goal to help parents and schools reach and teach every child. If it is implemented correctly this method can provide a lifetime of skills that will positively impact generations to come. Punishments in my opinion do not work. Punishments are more about our own personal judgement on the child’s behavior rather than how the child’s actions and how the behavior impacts others. By just punishing them we are not teaching the students to reflect on their behavior or take responsibility for their actions, we aren’t teaching them how to learn from their actions. Conscious Discipline will teach the children how to manage their emotions, teach the students those missing skills and intrinsically motivate students to change their behavior. I do not believe in scaring the students into behaving, I want students to behave well because they have learned a better way. Punishing students will also teach them to rely on others judgements to dictate their behavior which is not how we want students to do. I believe students need to be taught that mistakes are opportunities to learn, how to solve problems, to rely on reflection and personal responsibility and to be able to control their emotions. By putting conscious discipline at the center of my behavior plan I believe I can teach my students all these skills, which will help them not only in the present but in the future as well!