ADS uses the Conscious Discipline program by Becky Bailey.
Conscious Discipline is designed to empower teachers to notice and foster our own emotional intelligence so we can better guide and facilitate our children’s. It’s more than a program, it’s a philosophy for professional and personal life.
Conscious Discipline is rooted in current brain and heart research. It’s about relationship-based teaching and building classroom community. The ultimate goal is connecting and creating a safe and caring environment for learning and growing-building our school family.
There are seven basic skills of discipline:
- Composure: Becoming the person you want children to be
- Encouragement: Building a school family
- Assertiveness: Saying “No” and being heard
- Choices: Building self-esteem and willpower
- Positive Intent: Creating teaching moments
- Empathy: Handling the fussing and fits
- Consequences: Helping children learn from their mistakes
In order to utilize these skills, there are powers for self-control that are associated with each:
- Power of Perception: No one can make you mad without your permission (Composure)
- Power of Unity: We are all in this together (Encouragement)
- Power of Attention: What you focus on you get more of (Assertiveness)
- Power of Free Will: The only person you can make change is yourself (Choices)
- Power of Love: See the best in each other (Positive Intent)
- Power of Acceptance: See the moment as it is (Empathy)
- Power of Intention: Conflict is an opportunity to teach (Consequences)
Emotional intelligence sets up a lifetime of success or struggle. Research says that children must feel safe, worthy, and connected in order for learning potential to be maximized. Conscious Discipline gives you the tools to create a school family environment that embodies this. It is easily adapted to all age and developmental levels and fully integrates with “academic” curriculum. It is not about gimmicks or tricks, it’s about being assertive with children in a respectful way, teaching them and empowering them to make healthy and helpful choices for themselves and others-emotional intelligence as well as “academic” intelligence.
ADS piloted the Tribes Cooperative Learning Program in 2007. Since then , we have successfully incorporated the Tribes principle school-wide. Each community member abides by the four agreements:
- attentive listening
- appreciation/no put downs
- mutual respect, and
- the right to pass
Students learn a set of collaborative skills so they can work well together in long-term groups (tribes). The focus is on how to:
- help each other work on tasks
- set goals and solve problems
- monitor and assess progress
- celebrate achievements
The learning of academic material and self-responsible behavior is assured because teachers utilize methods based upon brain-compatible learning, multiple intelligences, cooperative learning and social development research. The teachers and administrators in a Tribes school or district also work together in supportive groups. They too enjoy the participatory democratic process and creative collegiality.
