Mutual Respect in the Classroom

An excerpt from Positive Discipline by Dr. Jane Nelsen

Mutual respect incorporates attitudes of: (1) faith in the abilities of yourself and others; (2) interest in the point of view of others as well as your own; and (3) willingness to take responsibility and ownership for your own contribution to the problem. The best way to teach these attitudes to children is by modeling them. You will see how the concepts of timing and winning cooperation can be merged with the concept of mutual respect.

Jason, a student in Mr. Bradshaw’s fifth grade class, often lost his temper and would loudly express his hostility to others, including Mr. Bradshaw, during class. Mr. Bradshaw had tried several forms of punishment, which only seemed to intensify Jason’s outbursts. He had tried sending him to the principal’s office. He had tried having Jason stay after school to write five hundred sentences about controlling his temper. He finally tried demanding that Jason leave the room to sit outside the classroom on a bench until he cooled down. Jason would slam the door on his way out. Sometimes he would pop up and down in front of the window, pulling faces. When he came back into the room, his demeanor was one of belligerence, and he would soon have another angry outburst.