CT3: Program 1 - ORIGINS OF THE NO-NONSENSE

NURTURER CLASSROOM CULTURE COURSE

CT3: Program 1 - ORIGINS OF THE NO-

NONSENSE NURTURER CLASSROOM
CULTURE COURSE

The No-Nonsense Nurturer philosophies, theories, and the Course itself were developed to
answer a very simple question:

Why can some teachers establish a classroom culture where scholars are on task,
engaged, and achieving at high academic levels, while other teachers struggle?
The educators who significantly change the lives of scholars build life-altering relationships,
consistently communicate high expectations, and maintain empowering beliefs about their
scholars. They create No-Nonsense Nurturing classroom cultures that result in high academic
gains.

Approximately 90% of all teachers are raised in middle-class families (Howard, 1999).
Approximately 44% of scholars are raised in poverty (NCCP, 2010).
90% of all teachers are from a European-American ethnic background (Weinstein et
al., 2004).
Almost two-thirds of scholars raised in poverty are children of color (NCCP, 2007).

Experience and research tell us that when teachers and scholars do not share socioeconomic
and cultural experiences, conflicts regarding teacher authority and scholar behavioral
expectations are more frequent and severe (Walker-Dalhouse, 2005; Weinstein et al., 2004).
Such conflicts can be a major impediment to building life-altering teacher–scholar
relationships.

Effective educators acknowledged the differences and similarities between their personal
experiences and the experiences of their scholars. They worked diligently to learn and
understand as much as they could about the youth they serve and the scholars’ lives outside
of school. Essentially, they regarded their scholars as cultural competency trainers and
advisors for the communities they worked in.

"Transformation begins with a profound relationship with what is so."

- Anonymous

No-Nonsense Nurturers exemplify a life-or-death attitude towards delivering

consistent management practices, a positive classroom culture, life-altering
relationships, and opportunities for academic achievement. This “no-nonsense”
persona is most prevalent when these teachers are giving directions, conducting
instruction, or providing consequences to scholars who choose to be off task or
disruptive. Their motivation to ensure every scholar’s success drives them to learn,
repeat, and perfect their own best practices.

No-Nonsense Nurturers also make it a top priority to go out of their way to nurture
strong, life-altering relationships with all scholars. They recognize that without
constant outreach, especially during those interactions they find most challenging,
they will never be able to reach many of their scholars. This “nurturing” persona is
most prevalent when these teachers are interacting one-to-one with a scholar or with
a small group, both in and outside of the classroom.

Please Note This Key to Your Success: As an educator you will find some scholars more
challenging than others. It is the scholars whom you find most challenging that you need to
build the strongest relationships with! These are the scholars who will teach you the most
about your teaching practice and who must have a life-altering relationship with their teacher
in order to succeed academically.

No-Nonsense Nurturers’ ability to develop life-altering relationships that motivate

scholars to reach for high levels of academic achievement does not come out of
nowhere. It is a direct result of mastering effective “Yin and Yang” interactions with
scholars.

The Yang represents a teacher’s ability to maintain a “no excuses” attitude

when scholars’ actions are not in their own best interest and/or disrupting the
 learning culture of the classroom.

The Yin represents a teacher’s ability to focus on positive scholar interactions,

listen empathetically, and provide empowering mentorship experiences.

The challenge of any great educator is to adapt strategies that work for their personality type
while also serving the needs of all of their scholars.
Summary of Key Points:

For many teachers serving communities enduring challenges associated with poverty
and oppression, developing life-altering relationships that influence scholars’
academic achievement can be daunting.

During teacher preparation programs, most educators are not taught the importance
of building life-altering relationships and establishing a positive classroom culture,
especially in traditionally underperforming schools.

Highly effective teachers are identified as No-Nonsense Nurturers.

No-Nonsense Nurturers have a no-nonsense attitude when giving directions,

conducting instruction, or providing consequences to scholars who are disrupting the
expectations of the classroom.

No-Nonsense Nurturers tend to be more nurturing in one-to-one or small-group

interactions/settings.
 No-Nonsense Nurturers have learned how to adapt the best practices in this Course
to their personalities and to the needs of the youth they serve.

No-Nonsense Nurturers actively work to identify and address any disempowering

mindsets they may have to best serve their scholars.

The No-Nonsense Nurturers we studied often noted that they learned humility through
the life-altering relationships they built with their scholars, and developed a better
understanding of the needs of their communities.

CT3: Program 2 - UNINTENDED

ENABLERS AND NEGATIVE
CONTROLLERS

Unintended Enablers

Many teachers are not comfortable taking a firm stand in their classrooms, thereby allowing
scholars to be off task and disconnect from learning opportunities. We identify teachers with
this tendency as Unintended Enablers. These teachers essentially “enable” their scholars to
fail by lowering expectations for them. They amass a series of excuses for why the scholars
cannot rise to high academic standards. The lowered expectations and excuses quickly
catch up to the scholars and ultimately harm their ability to succeed in school and society.

Attributes of Unintended Enablers

Unintended Enablers are reluctant to assert their authority and take charge of their
classrooms
 Rather than clearly communicating expectations to scholars — such as saying
“There is no talking at this time” — and, if appropriate, providing a disciplinary
consequence, Unintended Enablers may do one of the following:

Make weak, ineffectual disciplinary statements

Please listen to me.

Come on, I can’t teach if you’re talking.

Threaten to discipline but then don’t follow through

I’m tired of you constantly talking when I’m trying to teach. I will give you
detention so don’t keep testing me.
Next time you talk back I’m calling your mom. I mean it this time.

When scholars get upset, Unintended Enablers tend to back down

If you calm down and stop crying, I won’t call your grandmother.
If you stop giving me attitude and get back to work, I’ll give you another chance
and you won’t have to serve detention.

Unintended Enablers hesitate to push scholars academically

If scholars are academically unengaged and ignore assignments, Unintended
Enablers often avoid holding the scholars accountable because they do not
want to be “too hard” on them. They often make excuses for their scholars.

Johnny has a really hard life. He is being raised by his grandmother and
he really misses his mom. How can I expect him to complete all of his
homework?
Shayla has always struggled in school. Now that she’s in tenth grade,
 how can I expect her to keep up with the class?

Unintended Enablers often attempt to be friends with scholars

In an effort to be liked by their scholars, Unintended Enablers often attempt to
be friends with them by:

Overly praising scholars for the smallest accomplishments

Sharing too much personal information with scholars

Trying to be “cool” by pretending to share the scholars’ tastes in music,

video games, etc.

Motivations of Unintended Enablers

Unintended Enablers often have their hearts in the right place but their actions, unfortunately,
are counterproductive. These teachers’ behavior is motivated by any of several factors that
may cause unintended outcomes.

Unintended Enablers often feel sorry for their scholars

Some Unintended Enablers feel their scholars have so many problems that the last
thing they need is a teacher being “mean” by putting extra pressure on them to
consistently stay on task and reach a high level of academic performance
(Weinstein, 1998).

Possible Outcome: The scholars fall further and further behind academically each
year, often crippling their future academic success and ability to break the cycles of
poverty and/or violence they are living in.

Unintended Enablers wish to be liked by their scholars

Some Unintended Enablers feel that if they are “cool” and not “too hard” on
 scholars, the scholars will be motivated to listen to them.

Possible Outcome: These “unwritten contracts” between teachers and scholars

corrupt the scholars’ ability to achieve and the teachers’ ability to make a difference
in their lives. The “cool” persona often causes mediocre expectations and mediocre
outcomes.

Unintended Enablers may be afraid of their scholars

Some Unintended Enablers are physically and/or psychologically afraid of their

scholars and want the scholars to like them so that the scholars will not give them a
hard time in class (Baldwin et al., 2007).

Possible Outcome: These fears often arise from communication differences

between teachers and their scholars. If teachers do not create clear
communications and positive relationships, then the classroom culture is void of
consistent expectations. Disruptive behaviors become the norm and opportunities
for academic achievement go unfulfilled.

Impact of Being an Unintended Enabler

Unintended Enabler tendencies cause detrimental consequences:

Scholars engage in behaviors that are ultimately harmful to their own academic
success (Patrick et al., 2003; Ross et al., 2008).
Scholars don’t offer and teachers don’t earn the respect critical to building life-altering
relationships.
Teachers end up frustrated by their inability to influence the academic achievement or
social development of scholars, and often leave the profession (Berry et al., 2002;
Haberman, 2004a).

While a sense of empathy for scholars is commendable, Unintended Enablers often

rob their scholars of the high expectations they deserve to achieve in school and
society.
 Negative Controllers
Some teachers exhibit a negative, controlling attitude when interacting with their scholars.
They often create this persona to ensure all scholars are on task and working toward the set
academic standard at all costs. We have identified these teachers as Negative Controllers.
Teachers with Negative Controller attributes tend to teach content instead of scholars. They
may see their scholars as “empty vessels” that they need to fill with knowledge.

Negative Controllers are generally dissatisfied with their jobs, their schools, and the broader
community. They may aggressively advocate for ineffective and repressive school policies
such as zero-tolerance discipline policies (Duncan-Andrade, 2007). Their inability to
successfully manage learning environments is associated with a desire or need to control all
elements of the classroom and a fear of change or of the unknown.

Attributes of Negative Controllers

Negative Controllers overzealously assert their authority and take charge of their
classrooms.

Rather than clearly communicating expectations to scholars—such as saying

“Class voices are at level 1 at this time”—and, if appropriate, providing disciplinary
consequences, Negative Controllers may do one of the following:

Make aggressive, sarcastic statements

What, are you deaf today?

I don’t get it, Anthony, you seemed smart yesterday.

Discipline scholars too quickly

I’m tired of you being constantly off topic. Get out of my classroom now!

I can’t deal with you and your attitude today, Diamond. Go to the dean for the
remainder of the period.
 When scholars get upset, Negative Controllers threaten them

If you don’t calm down and stop crying, I am going to make sure there is something
you are really sorry for.

Stop giving me attitude and get back to work, or you will be seeing the inside of the
detention room for a week.

Negative Controllers push scholars academically but their lessons often lack relevance

If scholars are academically disengaged and ignore assignments, Negative

Controllers are likely to hold the scholars accountable but in a punitive way.
Because these teachers expect all scholars to be engaged, no matter what, they
rarely take responsibility when their lessons are not relevant to their scholars and
the scholars lose interest.

Marquis has a really hard life but so do all of the other kids. He needs to bear
down and get his work done or he is going to fail at this game we call LIFE!

Cecilia has always struggled in school. It is about time she catches up because
high school graduation is only a few years away.

Negative Controllers can forget to humanize their scholars

In an effort to stick to content, Negative Controllers prepare their lessons to teach

content while forgetting to teach their scholars.

I don’t understand why Jose is failing American History. When I was in school I
loved this topic.

I prepare my lessons every day. It is up to the scholars to decide whether or not

they want to learn the material. I have no control over that.

Motivations of Negative Controllers

As their name indicates, Negative Controllers are motivated by the need to control the
classroom. These teachers fear that if they do not remain the center of attention in the
classroom, scholars’ behaviors will quickly get out of hand and the academic content will not
be learned.
Negative Controllers often fear their scholars’ reactions

Negative Controllers worry about giving their scholars independence. Their fear is
that if they give scholars a voice in the classroom, then the class will become
chaotic.

Possible Outcome: If scholars are not invited to engage in discussion and

experimentation at high levels in the classroom, deep learning will never happen.

Negative Controllers are concerned with how others perceive them

Many Negative Controllers worry about the perception their administrators and
peers have of them. Their need to be in control of all scholar actions and all aspects
of learning is motivated by their desire to be respected by other educators.

Scholars rarely work to their potential when they are fearful of their teacher.
However, Negative Controllers’ scholar data often outpaces the data of Unintended
Enablers, so school administrators may praise them above their colleagues for
scholar achievement.

Possible Outcome: While these teachers work to be well-respected by their

colleagues, peers, and scholars, they are often perceived as being mean or
judgmental instead. Negative Controllers also tend to garner more complaints from
scholars’ family members.

Negative Controllers often speak in a demeaning, sarcastic, or angry tone to

compensate for culturally irrelevant lessons

Some educators lack patience with their scholars when they ask questions or
“don’t get” the content the first time it is taught. Negative Controllers often react to
this in a sarcastic way through their words or body language (rolling eyes, shaking
head, etc.).

Possible Outcome: If scholars don’t feel cared for by teachers, it is unlikely learning
will take place. Scholars often misinterpret sarcasm as statements of truth.
Aggressive tones of voice and negative body language often impact scholars even
more than teachers’ actual words.

Negative Controllers do not understand how to discipline fairly and consistently

 It is common for Negative Controllers to inconsistently discipline their scholars.
These teachers often believe that scholars should complete a task the first time
even if directions are given poorly. Negative Controllers think that if a certain
procedure or activity has been completed in the classroom before, from then on
scholars should be “mind readers” of their teacher’s expectations.

Negative Controllers’ loss of patience frequently results in inconsistent discipline

practices because they don’t realize they have not set clear expectations/directions
for scholars. If a task isn’t completed properly, one scholar’s consequence may be
a mild rebuke while other scholars receive more severe consequences (often times
because of difference in past behaviors or the way the teacher “feels” about the
scholar). This is a symptom of ineffective classroom management and poor
relationships with scholars.

Possible Outcome: Scholars have a keen sense of social justice. When youth feel
they or their peers are being treated unfairly it often shifts their focus onto injustices
in the classroom, distracting them from academic engagement.

Negative Controllers believe their role is to teach academics only

Negative Controllers may see their job as solely to teach academic content. Subject
matter becomes more important than relationships for these teachers.

Possible Outcome: Scholars won’t engage with the academic content because they
are not humanized or do not see themselves in the subject matter.

Impact of Being a Negative Controller

The conduct of Negative Controllers in the classroom has major shortcomings:

Their counterproductive interactions with youth create roadblocks towards building

strong, life-altering relationships (Duncan-Andrade, 2007).
Scholars may initially stay on task out of fear, but eventually they may attempt to get
back at the teacher through overt or covert disruptions.
The classroom culture is not conducive to motivating scholars to reach a high level of
academic engagement and achievement. Often the work in these classrooms bogs
 down at the knowledge and comprehension levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
While the academic achievement of scholars in a Negative Controller’s classroom
often outpaces the results from an Unintended Enabler’s class, the teacher’s need to
control makes much of the learning superficial and scholars do not retain it as they
should.

Program 2 Summary

Attributes of Unintended Enablers

Motivated by a desire to be liked by the scholars or by feeling sorry for them

Reluctant to assert their authority
Do not academically push scholars
Struggle to establish a classroom culture that promotes high academic achievement

Attributes of Negative Controllers

Motivated by a desire to be in control of the classroom

Engage in negative and/or unfair interactions with disruptive or off task scholars
Do not push unmotivated scholars academically
Provide superficial learning

CT3: Program 3 - NO-NONSENSE

NURTURERS

Introduction
No-Nonsense Nurturers are teachers who set high expectations for themselves and for their
scholars. They consistently develop life-altering relationships with scholars and leverage
those connections to achieve academic goals. Using the specific strategies of precise
directions, positive narration, and providing consequences (positive and negative), No-
Nonsense Nurturers communicate with scholars through a common language of high
expectations. These strategies lay the groundwork for developing relationships with youth,
especially those who have been marginalized in schools. While the strategies seem simple
they are actually quite elegant and evolve over time. No-Nonsense Nurturers become
facilitators of critical thinking and support scholars in developing their voices in the classroom
and in the community.

Motivation of No-Nonsense Nurturers

No-Nonsense Nurturers have a desire to influence the lives of their scholars

Most No-Nonsense Nurturers state that they are motivated by a burning desire
to make a difference in the lives of their scholars. This desire often arises from
an intense sense of social justice and activism, as well as a belief that
education is a civil rights issue (McAllister & Irvine, 2002; Milner, 2006).

Many of these teachers talk about their work as a matter of life or death for
scholars who are overcoming challenges associated with poverty, violence, and
limited opportunities (Haberman, 2004a). No-Nonsense Nurturers understand
that education provides scholars with the choices they need to help break the
cycles of poverty and oppression. These teachers realize that without an
education, all too many of their scholars will be void of choice and opportunity
(Irvine & Fraser, 1998).

No-Nonsense Nurturers hold high expectations for scholar behavior and achievement

Across the board, No-Nonsense Nurturers understand that their relationships

with scholars, high expectations, and a “no excuses” attitude drive strong
 scholar achievement. These teachers don’t accept failure. They meet each of
their scholars where they are and push them to achieve more.

No-Nonsense Nurturers hold scholars accountable for completing all academic

assignments

Scholars are not allowed to opt out of participating during class. No-Nonsense
Nurturers motivate scholars to be engaged in the assignment and work to the best
of their abilities. If scholars do not meet the teachers’ high expectations, these
teachers will take the actions needed to ensure the scholars do not miss out on
learning opportunities (Adkins-Coleman, 2010; Wilson & Corbett, 2001).

No-Nonsense Nurturers use as strong a teacher voice as is appropriate

When dealing with scholar behavior, No-Nonsense Nurturers often use their “strong
teacher voice.” Teachers using a strong teacher voice exhibit the following
characteristics:

They speak in a firm yet respectful tone that communicates to scholars

that they “mean business” when it comes to how scholars engage in
activities in their classrooms (Wilson & Corbett, 2001; Bondy & Ross,
2008; Brown, 2004).

They use an “economy of language” when delivering precise directions

and consequences. These teachers understand that the fewer words
they use, the more scholars listen (Lemov, 2010).

After giving directions, these teachers never get sidetracked by engaging

in any off task discussion or arguments with scholars (Brown, 2004). In a
strong voice, they narrate scholars that are following directions and
expectations before they provide consequences or attend to
differentiated scholar needs.

No-Nonsense Nurturers take the time to build life-altering relationships with scholars
and their families

No-Nonsense Nurturers make it a priority to put in the time and effort to

build strong, life-altering relationships with scholars (Milner, 2006; Weinstein
et al., 2004; Wentzel, 2003). They realize that scholars need to know their
teachers care about them before the scholars will place importance on
academics. In essence, for many of the scholars relationships and trust are
prerequisites to their learning and academic success.

In addition, No-Nonsense Nurturers consistently reach out to scholars’

family members because they understand that family members are the most
important people in the scholars’ lives. Family support influences scholars to
stay on task through challenging academics and achieve at higher levels
(Epstein et al., 1997; Henderson & Mapp, 2002).

No-Nonsense Nurturers have an expanded view of the role of teacher

No-Nonsense Nurturers redefine their role as educators. They do more than

merely provide academic content in their classrooms. They also provide the
extra support needed to help their scholars succeed (Kopp, 2011).

Having an expanded view of their role helps these teachers nurture life-altering
relationships with their scholars. This commitment to life-altering relationships is
critical because for scholars a positive relationship with the teacher is a
precondition for meaningful school experiences (Brown, 2004 Jenson, 2009;
Milner, 2006; Valenzuela, 1999).

No-Nonsense Nurturers see themselves as important and caring adults in the lives of
their scholars

Many No-Nonsense Nurturers have the attitude that while at home scholars have
families to care for them, at school “I’m the parent figure” (Weinstein & Mignano,
2003). Like families, these teachers care for the emotional health and welfare of
their scholars.
 No-Nonsense Nurturers view parents and family members as their scholars’ first
teachers. They make it a habit to partner with family members to ensure that all
scholars in their classroom succeed.

No-Nonsense Nurturers demonstrate a “different kind of caring”

Having a No-Nonsense Nurturer view of teaching requires the demonstration of a

“different kind of caring.”

Many teachers feel that caring is simply being nice to their scholars by talking with
them, making positive comments to them, and interacting with them during the
instructional day (Weinstein, 1998).

No-Nonsense Nurturers recognize that demonstrating caring to scholars often

requires them to go beyond being nice. Caring equates with accepting nothing less
from scholars than their best academic effort and behavior (Gay, 2000; Weinstein, et
al., 2004).

Many important benefits arise from how No-Nonsense Nurturers interact with their scholars:

No-Nonsense Nurturers are able to build life-altering relationships with scholars, which
enable them to academically challenge their scholars.
These teachers establish mutually respectful, academically achieving, equitable
classroom cultures that empower scholars to take risks and learn (Ross et al., 2008;
Delpit, 2012).
These educators do not suffer from the stress and frustration that result from
constantly dealing with disruptive or underachieving scholars (Weinstein et al., 2004).
No-Nonsense Nurturershave positive, life-altering experiences that result from the
relationships they develop with scholars.
No-Nonsense Nurturers never give up on their scholars. They believe each can
succeed and exceed academically and they portray this in their words and actions
toward scholars (Ladson-Billings, 1994; Bondy, Hambacher, & Acosta, 2013).

No-Nonsense Nurturers consistently call upon their scholars to put forth their best
efforts, resulting in higher academic achievement and confidence.
Summary of Key Points

No-Nonsense Nurturers are motivated by a desire to make a difference in the lives of

all their scholars.
No-Nonsense Nurturers:

Have high expectations for their scholars, both academically and behaviorally
Use as strong a teacher voice as is appropriate
Hold scholars accountable for their behaviors and for completing all academic
assignments
See themselves as a “second parent” at school
Demonstrate a different kind of caring
Schedule time to build life-altering relationships with scholars and their families

CT3: Program 4 - EMPOWERING

MINDSETS

Introduction
The empowering mindset of a No-Nonsense Nurturer centers on holding high expectations
for 100% of scholars and developing positive, life-altering relationships with scholars and
their families. However, for many teachers disempowering mindsets are a significant
obstacle, preventing the teachers from influencing scholar achievement, sustaining safe
classroom cultures, or forging life-altering relationships.

In this Course, “mindsets” are beliefs that affect teachers’ attitudes and how they view,
interpret, and respond to their interactions with scholars and their families. Mindsets are
influenced by one’s cultural beliefs and impact one’s point of view, values, and assumptions.

As we discussed in Program 1, most educators come from white, middle-class backgrounds.

Many of these educators mistakenly regard their own cultural norms as “neutral” and view
their white, middle-class expectations for interacting with scholars as “the normal and right
way” (Fram, 2003; Trumbull et al., 2001; Weinstein et al., 2004). We are not discussing this in
order to place blame, but rather to identify a dangerous paradigm that exists in education
and notably privileges some scholars while disenfranchising others.

“A fish in water does not realize it’s in water.”

The same can be said for many educators who don’t recognize their own privileges
and subconscious values — values that continuously impact their beliefs about and
actions toward scholars who might not share the same background.

The problem with “middle-class bias” appears when educators fail to be aware of or
interrogate their own views. It leads to operating from cultural perspectives the teachers
perceive to be normal, right, or superior to the cultural perspectives of scholars and their
families. This bias often manifests when teachers start talking about what scholars should
know or should be doing. These “shoulds” come from the teachers’ own cultural
perspectives, which are often significantly different than those of the scholars and families
whom the teachers serve (Irvine, 1990; Monroe & Obidiah, 2004; Thompson, 2004). In reality,
white, middle-class bias limits perspectives and obstructs the ability to leverage assets that
scholars bring into their learning environments (Delpit, 2006).

In our efforts to develop teachers with mostly middle-class experiences who are serving
diverse scholar populations, we have found that previous teacher trainings have not
confronted disempowering mindsets and white privilege. The No-Nonsense Nurturing Course
is intended to push teachers beyond these mindsets so that they avoid serious stumbling
blocks in their interactions with scholars and families.

Disempowering Mindset: I don’t want to be “mean” or “strict.”

Cultural differences between educators and their scholars often create misunderstandings
when teachers try to get their scholars to meet classroom expectations, such as following
directions. Research that uses family income as a primary indicator of how parents and family
members raise their children suggests that the children’s teachers often exhibit unintended
enabling and negative controlling behaviors.

The work of Dr. Lisa Delpit helps to clarify this issue. She postulates that, in general, most
educators raised in middle-class homes were typically spoken to in an “indirect” manner by
their parents or guardians. The parenting/education literature defines this indirect approach
as “authoritative” and more democratic in nature, as adults may allow children to express
their opinions, ask questions, and/or negotiate rules and expectations.
For example, if an “authoritative/indirect” parent wants her child to take a bath, she might
say:

Parent: (Question) Would you like to take a bath now?

Child: Hmmm …

Parent: (Statement of Opinion) I think it’s time to take a bath.

Child: But I’m in the middle of a game.

Parent: (Negotiation) Thenhow about getting in the bath when your game is over?

Even though the parent’s words are “indirect” — that is, couched as a question, a statement
of opinion, and a negotiation — both the adult and child understand that it is a “directive” to
“take a bath.”

In contrast, some parents or family members choose to communicate with their children in a
more “authoritarian” manner, which may be an unfamiliar practice for some teachers (Bradley
et al., 2001; Brooks-Gunn & Markman, 2005; Jenson, 2009). These parents or guardians
often speak to their children in a direct, firm, and some might say, “demanding” manner
(Delpit, 2006).

For example, if an “authoritarian/direct” parent wants his child to take a bath, he might say:

Parent: (Demand) It’s bath time. You need to get in the tub.

Child:But I’m in the middle of a game.

If the child tries to negotiate or argue, the response is typically direct:

Parent: Don’t argue with me … in the tub now.

Thus, a child raised by a more authoritarian parent/guardian typically learns that if a loving
adult expects the child to listen, s/he does not ask questions, state opinions, or negotiate.
Rather, the authoritarian parent/guardian gives a directive, often in a firm tone of voice,
stating what s/he wants done.
Why is this distinction so important for teachers to understand?

Empowering Mindset: I get “into my scholars’ listening.”

For many if not most educators, a precise or more direct manner of speech sounds like it is a
“mean” tone to use with scholars. The issue is this: these educators may often be sending
scholars signals that they are not confident, prepared, well-meaning teachers. This is
especially true when the scholars have been acculturated to believe that competent adults
who love them will speak in a direct, urgent manner when they want them to comply.

When teachers speak with these scholars in a less firm and less direct manner, the scholars
often have difficulty “hearing” that their teachers mean business or that the teachers care
about them (Thompson, 2004). Therefore, they lose confidence in the teachers’ ability to lead
(Delpit, 2006). Meanwhile, the teachers, believing that they have been clear and direct with
their expectations, tend to get frustrated with the scholars. They perceive non-compliance
and often end up in verbal confrontations or disciplining the scholars in a harsh manner.

The teachers and scholars, while speaking the same language, are not communicating
because the teachers are not speaking in a tone that communicates caring and authority to
the scholars. The scholars interpret the tone as one of choice, meaning they have a choice to
follow the teachers’ directions.

Here are two scenarios that illustrate this point:

Scenario One

Teacher: (matter-of-fact tone) Scholars, I think we’ve spent enough time on this
assignment. Let’s put your work away and take out your journals and get started.

Scholars hear: The teacher thinks they’ve spent enough time on their assignment, and
when they are ready she would like them to take out their journals. Thus, some of the
scholars feel they can choose what to do and don’t comply with the directions, to the
consternation of the teacher.

Scenario Two

Teacher: (strong teacher voice) Scholars, you have spent enough time on your
assignment. Silently put it away and take out your journal and get started ... now.
 Scholars hear: The teacher expects them to put their assignment away and take out
their journals now. They do not interpret the words as “mean.” The firm tone sends a
message the scholars can hear, and they are more likely to follow the directions.

In all probability, for you to get all of your scholars to “hear” what you are saying, you will
need to speak in a firm enough tone to get “into their listening.” The scholars must
understand that you are “no-nonsense” when you need them to listen to you and follow your
directions.

Many of the No-Nonsense Nurturers we studied have learned that what they originally felt
was the “right” way to speak to scholars was not, in fact, what their scholars needed. These
teachers tell us that what they once considered to be a “mean” tone was interpreted by many
of their scholars as “caring.”

One last point needs to be made on this subject:

In no way are we saying that teachers must always speak in a firm, strong teacher voice,
especially without taking steps to develop positive, life-altering relationships with
scholars. In fact, there are many times during instructional periods when this tone is not
necessary. However, when setting expectations or giving directions, be sure to use a
tone that gets into every scholar’s listening.

Rule of thumb: You must speak in a strong enough teacher voice to “get into the
listening” of the scholar(s) you find most challenging.

Why?

All it takes is one misinterpreted expectation for a scholar to disrupt the learning
environment in your classroom.

Disempowering Mindset: Scholars should respect me.

Many teachers enter the classroom believing they should be granted authority by the nature
of their position as “the teacher.” On the other hand, many scholars expect teachers to earn
their authority through their words and actions (Obidah & Teel, 2001). Much conflict can arise
over issues of authority between a teacher who expects to receive respect and scholars who
will only give respect if the teacher earns it.
Empowering Mindset: I need to earn the scholars’ respect.

No-Nonsense Nurturers recognize that in many classrooms, teachers earn scholars’ respect
by asserting authority in a firm, fair, caring manner (Brown, 2004; Weiner, 1999). Effective
teachers understand the need to take charge of the classroom and provide strong and
supportive guidance if they want the scholars to respect them and follow their directions
(Marzano & Marzano, 2003).

Disempowering Mindset: I can’t expect scholars with so many

challenges to achieve.
Many teachers fall victim to the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” They believe their scholars
face so many challenges, such as poverty, neglect, violence, etc., that lowering the demands
they place on the scholars is fair and compassionate (Farr, 2010).

The challenges encountered by many scholars raised in poverty are real. Do these challenges
make it harder for them to be successful at school? Of course. But what is the cost of
lowering expectations for these scholars? Limited choices and opportunities for the rest of
their lives!

Empowering Mindset: My scholars can achieve.

No-Nonsense Nurturers have a “no excuses” mindset. They work to understand the
challenges their scholars face but they do not allow those challenges to derail their high
academic expectations. These educators believe that getting an education is crucial to each
scholar’s future and thus, they keep the bar for the scholars’ achievement at a high
level (Irvine & Fraser, 1998; Wilson & Corbett, 2001).

Disempowering Mindset: I am afraid of how my scholars may react when I hold them
accountable.

There is a misbelief among some teachers that because some of their scholars may react
physically or emotionally to a situation, that teachers should “pick their battles” rather than
hold all scholars accountable. If scholars are believed to be reactionary when a teacher
provides a consequence, teachers may choose to overlook or ignore inappropriate behaviors,
often rationalizing their lack of follow-through. By doing so, these teachers ignore the
behavior and therefore do not hold all scholars accountable for their behaviors and/or
learning expectations.

In short, some teachers harbor a fear that they will not be able to handle or react
appropriately if a scholar threatens or yells at them.

Note: If a teacher feels a scholar will get physical, other interventions should be taken to
support this scholar. However, if a teacher is afraid a scholar will throw papers or talk
back/curse, this is an indication that there is something missing in the scholar–teacher
relationship and it is up to the teacher to work to develop a better relationship with the
scholar.

Empowering Mindset: All of my scholars can achieve and will be held to high
expectations.

Remember, No-Nonsense Nurturers have a “no excuses” mindset and a big part of that
mindset is in the way they develop relationships with their scholars. No-Nonsense Nurturers
do not fear their scholars’ reactions. They know each of their scholars as individuals and
accommodate their needs. If a No-Nonsense Nurturer knows that a scholar gets upset when
given a consequence, s/he goes up to the scholar, resets the expectation, but still delivers
the consequence to the scholar, communicating care and high expectations. No-Nonsense
Nurturers have strategies—calm voice, broken record, nodding, proximity, “stay in the game”
conversations—to support scholars who talk back. They don’t lower their expectations;
rather, they hold expectations high for all scholars, communicating that everyone is
responsible and cared for in the class.

No-Nonsense Nurturers have found that providing consistent consequences often

communicates a belief that every scholar is capable of achieving great things. It is crucial to a
No-Nonsense Nurturer to invest time and energy into building relationships with all scholars
and their families, so that when the time comes to provide a consequence it is less likely that
a scholar will respond with an emotionally charged verbal or physical outburst.

“What do my actions in this situation say I believe about either my scholars’ potential
or my potential to be a great teacher?”

The truth is, a disempowering mindset not only holds scholars back, it sabotages your ability
to succeed.
Summary of Key Points
Disempowering mindsets obstruct the professional and personal growth of educators.
Some educators harbor a middle-class bias that hinders their interactions with their
scholars.
Educators must be able to speak in a manner that “gets into their scholars’ listening.”

Teachers need to earn the respect of scholars and their families.

Educators cannot allow the challenges their scholars encounter to be an excuse for
poor academic achievement or low expectations.
Educators must build life-altering relationships with all scholars, but especially those
who might present as more challenging in the classroom.

CT3: Program 5 - BUILDING LIFE-

ALTERING RELATIONSHIPS AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR

Introduction

No-Nonsense Nurturers build strong, life-altering relationships with scholars and their
families. They prepare to build these relationships before the school year even begins and
make it a top priority to form life-altering relationships with as many scholars and family
members as possible. In particular, No-Nonsense Nurturers intentionally reach out to scholars
who might have had difficulty establishing relationships with teachers in the past.

Strategy One:Get to Know Your Scholars

For many of the scholars in your classroom, feeling cared for is a pre-requisite for learning
(Bondy et al., 2007; Camangian, 2010). Your scholars will never believe you care about them
unless you get to know them.
For the first days of school, develop simple questionnaires to help scholars share their ideas
and understandings about school, their community, and their interests. Request general
information about their families, friends, interests, and hobbies. In addition, ask open-ended
questions such as: “If you had one wish, what would it be?” or “Finish this statement: I would
enjoy school more if …” or “What did your teacher do last year that you liked best? What did
that teacher do that you didn’t like?”

To build deeper relationships, base future conversations with scholars on this information you
gathered.

Other times to get to know your scholars:

Invite scholars to eat lunch with you

You have to eat and they have to eat so invite scholars to share lunchtime with you
in your classroom. It doesn't have to be for the entire period but this gesture can be
beneficial in your relationship-building.

Open your classroom before and after school

If you come to work early or stay after school, let scholars know they are welcome
to “hang out” in your classroom to complete homework or get extra help on
assignments. Many scholars just need a quiet place to work. You can do a quick
check-in with them but then all of you will be able to get your work done.

Attend their extracurricular activities

If your scholars participate in sports, art, music, or community-based activities, ask

them for a schedule of their extracurricular events. A teacher who attends an event
that is meaningful to scholars is demonstrating high levels of caring.

Use moments during class

Times will present themselves when you are working with large and small groups of
 scholars. Be sure to take moments during these opportunities to build relationships
during class but continue to facilitate an academic learning environment.

Strategy Two: Let Scholars Get to Know You

Scholars need to understand that you are a person with feelings, fears, hopes, a family,
and aspirations. Let scholars get to know you. Share appropriate information about your
family, where you grew up, your schooling, etc.

Don’t hide behind your job title or present yourself as cold and distant. Humanize yourself.
While it is easy for scholars to defy or clash with a “teacher,” it is not as easy to defy a
person they view as authentic and caring (Bondy et al., 2007).

Strategy Three: Make Sure Scholars Can Get in Touch With You

No-Nonsense Nurturers clearly embrace the “expanded role of the teacher” by making
sure scholars are able to get in touch with them for support and help or in case of an
emergency. For many No-Nonsense Nurturers this means giving out their cell phone
number and regularly checking their school email or voicemail. They tell scholars to call,
email, or text if they need assistance with homework or have a problem and need to talk
after school.

A guiding principle for relationship-building is that teachers must take the lead. Make
positive assumptions about your scholars and aim for reciprocity with them. For example,
at the beginning of the school year distribute business cards you’ve ordered from a local
or online office supply store. Your card should have your name, title, and the best way for
scholars and their families to get in touch with you.

When you give scholars your card, also distribute blank business cards for them to
complete and return to you. They can put their contact information on one side and
contact information for one family member on the other side. You can extend this activity
by having scholars design cards for themselves that feature the professional roles they
hope to hold one day.

Such an action makes a dramatic statement to your scholars. It tells them that you will be
there for them and that you care.

If you are not comfortable giving out your cell phone number, that is perfectly okay but be
sure to set up alternate communication systems. Scholars and their families need to have
a clear understanding of how to get in touch with you about questions or concerns.
Provide access with daily office hours and an email address, and always return messages
within 24 hours.

Another option is to use a free service such as Google Voice (www.google.com/voice).

This kind of service gives you a different phone number from your personal number that,
when called, will automatically ring on your own phone. It also allows for text messaging.

Strategy Four: Greet Scholars at the Door

Setting the tone for the day or each class period is important. Before each class, post
yourself at your classroom door. Greet each scholar with a smile and a quick, positive
comment such as: “Good to see you today” or “Looking forward to your contributions in
discussion” or “I saw your name in the paper for your cross-country record,
congratulations.”

Knowing something about each of your scholars is important and demonstrating that care
before class creates a supportive environment where all scholars want to learn and
participate.

Building Nurturing Relationships With Scholars’ Families

No-Nonsense Nurturers understand the importance of building strong, nurturing

relationships with scholars’ families at the beginning of the school year. If a family
member’s first point of contact with you is a positive experience, it will set an affirming
tone for the year and allow momentum to build. However, No-Nonsense Nurturers know
that relationship-building happens all year long, through various points of contact and
opportunities.

Strategy Five: Make Introductory Calls Before the School Year Begins
These calls will demonstrate that you are willing to go out of your way to reach out to
family members, which builds relationship capital. They will also allow you to begin your
relationships with family members on a positive note.

Follow these guidelines when making an initial call:

Introduce yourself

Let the family members know who you are and your goals for their child.

Get input from the family members: How do they feel you can help their child?

Ask the family members what you should know about their child and if they have
any ideas that would be helpful for you as their child’s teacher.

Establish the parameters of the relationship you want to build with the family

Right up front, let the family members know that you want to build a partnership
with them to help their child reach his or her potential. Affirm that they will play a
big part in their child’s success.

Let the family members know you will remain in contact about their child’s progress

Affirm that your communication with the family members will be an ongoing
process. Let them know you’ll stay in contact by phone, email, text, or personal
note to ensure they know how their child is progressing.
 If possible, speak with the scholar

Introduce yourself to the scholar and find out what s/he is looking for from you in
order to have a successful school year.

The overwhelming majority of family members and scholars have not had a teacher who
cares enough to call them before school starts (or shortly after the school year begins).
Such a nurturing call will go a long way to jumpstarting your relationships with the families
of your scholars.

Strategy Six: Convey Positive Messages

No-Nonsense Nurturers differ from their less effective colleagues in the frequency of
positive messages they send to family members (Walker-Dalhouse, 2005). We cannot
emphasize strongly enough the importance of letting family members know good news
about their child. The more positive news you share with family members, the higher the
probability that you will earn trust, respect, and support.

The first few days of school are typically a “honeymoon” period in which most scholars
are on their best behavior. Use this opportunity to convey good news to family members
and to start your communication with them on a positive note.

Make quick, positive calls

The backbone of your positive communication is the quick phone call (MATCH,
2010). Often you may get voicemail. If you do, simply leave your positive
message for the family members to hear later.

You can also make the positive call a “two-fer.” If the child is at home, have him
or her get on the phone when you deliver the positive news. This way, you get
double relationship-building points in one call.

Send positive emails

A simple way to deliver good news is to email the family members. For
 example:

Ms. Rashad,

I just wanted to let you know that Lewis is a star in class and today he
proved it again. He worked hard all day and had a lot to offer during class
discussions. I look forward to his continued success in our classroom.

Please let Lewis know I sent you this message.

Take care,

Terry Esfahan

Send positive text messages

A simple, brief text message can put a smile on a family member’s face and is a
quick way to note a scholar’s success. Consider taking a picture of the scholar
working hard in class or showing a test score to send with the text.

Create a weekly classroom newsletter

Classroom newsletters are an oldie but a goodie! Sending home weekly
newsletters to families is a great way to keep them informed about what is
going on in the classroom (e.g., standards being taught, materials needed,
upcoming events, etc.). It also lets family members see their child’s name in
print for something positive s/he contributed to the class (e.g., “During last
week’s discussion on the French Revolution, Joaquin related the experiences of
the French during the late 18th century to that of poverty-stricken
neighborhoods in our community. This conversation highlighted the importance
of studying history and how oppression continues to happen in our local
communities today.”).

Summary of Key Points

A key to the success of No-Nonsense Nurturers is how they put in the time and effort to
begin building life-altering relationships with scholars and their families at the beginning of
the school year. Strategies to nurture positive relationships include:

Getting to know the scholars

Letting the scholars get to know you
Establishing a point of contact so scholars and families know how to get in touch with
you
Making introductory calls to family members and scholars at the beginning of the year
or before the year

Communicating positive messages

CT3: Program 6 - ESTABLISHING A NO-

NONSENSE NURTURING CULTURE

Introduction
From the first day, No-Nonsense Nurturers lay the foundation for life-altering relationships
with scholars by establishing a mutually respectful, no-nonsense classroom culture that
promotes high expectations, academic achievement, and personal growth (Farr, 2010).

An often unrecognized attribute that contributes to these teachers’ success is the time and
effort they put into teaching their policies, procedures, and routines when the school year
starts (Farr, 2010; Bondy et al., 2007). Rather than just jumping into teaching academic
content, No-Nonsense Nurturers realize that solid routines and procedures serve academics
and, more importantly, scholars. If they are taught well, policies and procedures can save the
teachers and scholars precious time during the school year. No-Nonsense Nurturers spend
the majority of the first week or two ensuring that all the scholars master the policies and
procedures in the context of academic content (Marzano et al., 2003). This will help to ensure
a positive classroom experience throughout the school year.

Choosing Classroom Policies and Procedures

There are a myriad of activities, routines, procedures, and policies for your class, ranging
from how scholars enter the classroom, to how they should stay on task and engaged during
instructional activities, to how they transition out of class.

If you need assistance in establishing policies, procedures, and routines, please go to the
Resource Materialssection for additional guidelines.

Teaching and Practicing Policies, Procedures, and Routines at the

Beginning of the School Year
Highly effective teachers do much more than just state policies and procedures to their
scholars. They teach them how to follow the policies and procedures, and they make sure
scholars practice them in order to meet the objectives of these rules and guidelines (Ross et
al., 2008).

Teach behavioral expectations the first time you engage in an activity

The first time you engage in any class activity, instructional strategy, procedure, or
routine teach scholars how you expect them to behave. In the beginning of the year
create and execute lesson plans for how you will teach every procedure in your
classroom.

Introduce a rationale for your expectations

Your scholars are much more likely to meet your expectations when you explain
why following your directions is in their best interest. Detail the benefits for them as
individual scholars and as a class.

Describe the behaviors you expect to see and hear

Communicate your expectations clearly so the scholars know exactly what to do to

be successful. (You will learn how to give precise directions in Program 7.)

Demonstrate the behavior

Have the scholars demonstrate what it looks and sounds like to appropriately
respond during the procedure or routine. In addition, have scholars demonstrate
 what it should not look and sound like, if it is appropriate for your grade level.

Check for understanding

Make sure all the scholars understand how to succeed with each expectation for
the activity, procedure, or routine you are teaching.

Raise your expectations: “Perfect practice makes perfect procedures”

Follow these words of wisdom from legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi:
“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”

If No-Nonsense Nurturers teach appropriate behavior for an activity but later,

scholars do not meet the expectations, these teachers will have the scholars
practice the activity again until all the scholars do it perfectly (Lemov, 2010; Ross et
al., 2008).

Perfect practice does not mean penalizing scholars if they don’t get it right the first
time. Rather, this is a chance to introduce class incentives (see Program 9) and
reflect on how you can provide better direction and opportunities for your scholars
to succeed.

What Are Your Policies and Procedures?

The key message throughout this Course is that highly effective teachers take time in the first
days of school to explicitly teach policies and procedures, establish routines, and set a
mutually respectful classroom culture. These are all building blocks for high academic
achievement. The Resource Materials section contains Guidelines for Critical Policies,
Procedures, and Routines that will help you think about how to establish those procedures, or
how you might want to refine or tighten up an existing procedure.

Open up the Guidelines now and select one procedure you would like to look at more
closely. If you are having trouble choosing one, “transitions” are always in need of fine-tuning,
and there are so many opportunities to practice them throughout the day.

Using the template on pages 16–17 of the Implementation Guide, create a lesson plan for
explicitly teaching the procedure.

Script the words you plan to say when you are teaching the routine and envision how
scholars will respond. This rehearsal will help you uncover any potential misunderstandings,
identify and correct any directions that are out of sequence, and anticipate what you will need
to do and say to support specific scholars in order to be successful. Having a script will also
help you stick to the point and communicate efficiently.

At the beginning of the school year No-Nonsense Nurturers teach scholars the policies,
procedures, and routines that will establish a positive, orderly classroom culture.

Classroom policies and procedures include but are not limited to:

Instructional activities
Class-to-class transitions
Restroom breaks
Morning arrival
Regular and early dismissal
Contacting the teacher
Lining up
Moving from the rug to the desks
Retrieving science lab materials
Cleaning up after an activity
Performing classroom “jobs”
Passing out papers
Sharpening pencils
Breakfast/lunch
Classroom rules
Discipline Hierarchy
Classroom incentive systems
Starting and engaging in group work
Using technology in the classroom
Fire or emergency drills

Teach behavioral expectations the first time you engage in an activity:

Introduce the rationale for your expectations

Describe the behaviors you expect to see and hear
 Demonstrate the behaviors
Check for scholars’ understanding
Practice the activity until the scholars demonstrate proficiency

CT3: Program 7 - STEP ONE: GIVE

PRECISE DIRECTIONS
Introduction: The No-Nonsense Nurturer Four-Step Model
No-Nonsense Nurturers build on their foundation of life-altering relationships at the beginning
of the school year by continuing to interact with scholars in a firm yet caring manner
throughout the year.

The “secret” to how they do this is a systematic integration of four distinct strategies. This
dramatically increases their ability to maintain a positive, mutually respectful classroom
culture that promotes a high level of academic achievement.

The thousands of educators who have used these strategies refer to them as the No-
Nonsense Nurturer Four-Step Model (hereafter referred to as the Four-Step Model).

The Four-Step Model consists of these strategies:

Step One: Give Precise Directions

Step Two: Utilize Positive Narration
Step Three: Provide Incentives and Consequences
Step Four: Build Life-Altering Relationships With Scholars and Families

One of the key benefits to integrated use of these four steps is that it increases your ability to
motivate scholars to quickly get and stay on task. We know from research and experience
that there is a direct correlation between scholars’ on task behavior and their academic
achievement (Bondy & Ross, 2008).

Using the Four-Step Model at the Beginning of the School Year or When
Re-Norming Classroom Expectations
No-Nonsense Nurturers use the four steps with more intensity and consistency at the
beginning of the school year, when they are building a safe, respectful classroom culture.

Level of intensity

A No-Nonsense Nurturer’s strong voice is “stronger” and his or her response to

disruptive behavior is “firmer.” Through this extra intensity, scholars learn that their
teacher cares too much about them to let them act in a manner that could be
detrimental to their success.

Consistency

A No-Nonsense Nurturer follows the guidelines of how to effectively interact with

scholars in an exacting manner. S/he scripts precise directions, preps narrations,
teaches a Discipline Hierarchy for providing consequences, and implements
Classwide Incentive Systems. The teacher maintains a laser focus to ensure that a
positive classroom culture is quickly established. Demonstrating consistency in the
classroom and attentiveness to scholars’ needs immediately develops strong
relationships with scholars.

No-Nonsense Nurturers also use the Four-Step Model with a high level of intensity and
consistency when they are “re-norming” their classroom expectations later in the year. “Re-
norming” means raising expectations for scholar behavior, typically when there has been too
much disruptive or off task behavior. This often happens right before and after holiday breaks
or when there is a drastic shift in the school day.

In our discussion of the use of the Four-Step Model we will present:

1. The guidelines to follow if you are using the Model at the beginning of the
school year or while re-norming
2. The guidelines to follow if you are using the Model after a No-Nonsense
Nurturing culture has been established
Benefits of Precise Directions

The first step in motivating your scholars to quickly get on task and engaged is for you to
communicate, in a no-nonsense manner, the precise directions you want them to follow.
Precise directions are the roadmap to scholar success because they communicate what
success looks and sounds like. They give scholars the opportunity to feel successful and
allow them to use their valuable learning time efficiently and effectively.

Precise directions are also a simple way to build life-altering relationships with your scholars.
A teacher who plans for scholars’ success is communicating to the scholars that they matter.

Precise directions should be rooted in the teacher’s design of the instructional experience or
lesson plan. The more clearly directions are outlined for scholars, the more likely the scholars
will achieve success.

To effectively communicate your expectations for success to your scholars:

Tell Scholars “What to Do” and “How to Do It”

Teachers who are struggling with scholar behavior often fall into the trap of giving unclear
directions. Basically, they tell their scholars only what they want them to do. No-Nonsense
Nurturers tell scholars not only what to do but also how to do it.

Vague directions:

I want everyone to follow along.

I need all of you to get into your groups.

Precise directions:

Remaining in your seats, silently follow along and track me or your notes.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to work in our groups to complete problems
 one to fifteen. Take 15 seconds to move into your A groups using your level 1
voices. You will then work for the next 30 minutes in your level 1 voices to complete
the problems. If you need help, raise your hand but keep working.

The problem with vague directions is that you are leaving it up to your scholars to decide how
they will follow your directions. Consequently, some of your scholars may choose to follow
your directions in ways that are not in their best interest and will disrupt their classmates’
learning.

Deliver Directions Using a Strong Teacher Voice

Just as important as what you tell the scholars to do, is how you tell them to do it. No matter
how precise your directions are, you’ll most likely have scholars who will not listen unless you
deliver the directions using your strong teacher voice (Bondy et al., 2007). A strong teacher
voice is a tone that gets “into the hearing” of every scholar. It is your “I mean business” voice
and posture.

When giving directions:

Have all the scholars’ attentions before giving directions

Make sure you have complete attention before delivering directions. If needed, use
your attention-getting signal before you start talking.

Stop and square up

When giving directions, stop moving around the room. Square up your shoulders
and face the class. Make eye contact with your scholars. This body language sends
the message that you are in charge and expect the scholars to listen to you.

Use an economy of language

 When giving directions to scholars, the less you say, the more effective you will be.
Too many words can communicate to scholars that you are unsure of what you
really want. The next section will describe how to shorten your directions.

Give “MVP” Directions

An easy way to determine what behaviors your precise directions should include is to
remember the acronym MVP. This means, tell scholars the Movement, Voice level, and
Participation you expect from them (Witt et. al., 1999).

Movement

Inappropriate movement accounts for approximately 15% of the disruptive behavior

in most teachers’ classrooms (Jones, 2000). It includes scholars getting out of their
seats without permission, tapping their pencils, touching other scholars, running in
the classroom, etc. Thus, when you give directions you must tell the scholars
precisely what movement is appropriate:

Stay in your seat.

Walk directly to your seat.

Walk to the end of the line and keep your hands to yourself.

Voice level

We cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is to let your scholars know
the precise voice level or verbal behavior you expect in any activity.

Bottom line, studies and experience tell us that for most teachers at least 80% of
the disruptive behavior in their classrooms comes from inappropriate talking:
scholars talking over the teacher, shouting out answers, or discussing an
inappropriate topic during group work (Jones, 2000).

Thus, when you give directions you must include the precise verbal behavior you
expect:

No talking. (Or: Do this task silently.)

Raise your hand and wait to be called on before you speak.

 Use your whisper voice.

When answering, use your presentation voice.

Teachers often confuse “quietly” with “silently” when they give directions. “Quietly”
is a subjective term. What is quiet to the scholars may not be what is quiet to the
teacher. “Silently” or “without talking” is specific and leaves no doubt in the
scholars’ or teacher’s minds about what behavior is expected.

If scholars are allowed to talk “quietly” during work time, teach them a “whisper
voice,” “inside voice,” “level 1 voice,” or “12-inch voice.” This is a voice level where
only the people sitting next to you can understand what you are saying. By teaching
scholars what these terms mean you will communicate the voice levels that you
expect to hear.

At the beginning of the school year or when re-norming classroom expectations,

most No-Nonsense Nurturers limit any talking that could disrupt the classroom.
They ask scholars to enter the room without talking and to not talk during
transitions. Silent movement, particularly at the beginning of the year, often cuts
down on transition times and adds precious minutes to instructional lessons.

A very important point to keep in mind: in no way do No-Nonsense Nurturers ever

want to limit scholars’ purposeful academic verbal interactions during discussions
or partner and group activities. Instead, they teach appropriate voice levels so that
successful academic discourse can take place.

Participation

For most activities, especially those that are academic, you need to communicate
how you want the scholars to participate. Specifically, what do you want them to do
with their brains:

Do your own work.

Complete the assignment and then read your free reading book.

Discuss only the topic of the assignment with your group.

“Twofer” directions

As scholars begin to demonstrate mastery of your policies, procedures, and

routines, you can shorten your directions by using the expected voice level as an
adverb for the directions related to movement or participation:
 Without talking, go directly back to your seat and begin your journal entry.

Silently track me when I speak.

Using your 12-inch voice, work with your partner on questions one to twelve.

Check for Understanding, Focusing On Scholars You Find Challenging

Especially at the beginning of the year, always check for understanding to make sure the
scholars received your directions. Purposefully call on scholars who have a tendency to be
off task and/or disruptive during the activity. There are two reasons to do this:

1. You want to make sure the scholars heard your directions.

2. You want the scholars to know that you are paying attention to them, thus
dramatically reducing the likelihood they will get off task or not follow your precise
directions

Cue the Scholars to Start

Finally, make sure to establish when the scholars are to start following your directions.
Some of your highest achieving scholars will want to begin working before the directions
are complete. This can take away from the learning environment of those scholars who
need to hear all of your directions to be successful. Thus, you want to establish a cue that
indicates when the scholars are to start moving. For example: When I say “go” you will start
lining up.

More Examples of Precise Directions

Entering the Classroom

Enter the classroom without talking. Go immediately to your seat and start the
assignment on the board.
 Teacher-directed Instruction

When I’m teaching, everyone is silently tracking me or your paper while staying
seated. Be sure that you write what I write in your notes.

Whole-class Discussion

During our discussion silently raise your hand and wait to be called on. Track
the speaker, and when speaking use your presentation voice.

Working With a Partner

Face your shoulder partner, stay seated, and use your 12-inch voice to
complete activity seventeen.

Revise Directions After Establishing a No-Nonsense Nurturing Culture

After you have taught a procedure and scholars fully understand and comply with the
associated directions, you may be able to shorten the directions even further.

For example, during independent work assignments you have taught scholars this
expectation:

Without talking,work on the assignment, stay in your seat, raise a silent hand for help,
and read when you’re finished.
At some point in the school year, you notice 100% of your scholars are consistently on task
and engaged during independent work time. Now all you might have to say is:

We are now in independent work time.

These few words will be sufficient to clearly communicate your expectations to your
scholars.

What are Your Precise Directions?

“Give precise directions”: it is a simple idea. It even seems intuitive. Doing it consistently so
that your scholars eagerly expect you to tell them precisely what you want — that takes
concerted effort and practice. But it is the consistency that motivates scholars to achieve
whatever you set before them.

We’ve found that scripting precise MVP directions for common procedures, jotting them on
sticky notes, and keeping them handy for reference throughout the day is a dynamic way to
start building that consistency.

Try writing out your exact wording for directions on page 19 of the Implementation Guide.

Remember Economy of Language

The fewer words, the better. How concise can you be? Challenge yourself and pick a
routine that requires a mouthful of directions. Write it out the way you typically say it to
scholars. Then see if you can revise it and clean it up so there are fewer words but MVP
directions are still present. Play with it two or three different ways. Get it as concise AND
precise as possible, and then rehearse it until it sounds natural. Try it out with scholars
tomorrow!

A quick note to support writing MVP directions:

Start with an action verb. In your lesson plan, bullet-point the Movement, Voice, and
Participation for scholars to follow. When you give the directions, count out the directions
on your fingers. This will keep you succinct and give scholars a verbal and non-verbal
signal. This plan will be a roadmap for success for all of your scholars.

For example:

When writing an MVP direction in your lesson plan it might look like:

Action Verb: Write

Write in your journals for 10 minutes (Participation)

Stay in your seats (Movement)
Work silently (Verbal)

When giving a direction to scholars it might look and sound like:

Teacher: 1, 2, 3 … Eyes on me.

Scholars: 1, 2 … Eyes on you.

(attention-getting signal)

Teacher: (raises first finger) Scholars, when I say “go,” we are going to begin writing in
our journals for 10 minutes. The prompt is on the front board. (raises second finger) You
are to stay in your seats, (raises third finger) and work silently and independently. Go!

Summary of Key Points

No-Nonsense Nurturers use the Four-Step Model to establish a positive, orderly

classroom culture where scholars feel safe and cared for.
The first step of the Four-Step Model is: Give Precise Directions.
When giving precise directions follow these guidelines:
Tell scholars “what to do” and “how to do it,” using MVP directions
Use an attention-getting signal
Deliver directions using a strong teacher voice
Use “twofer” directions when appropriate
Check for understanding, especially with those scholars you find challenging
or at the beginning of the school year
Cue scholars to start
 After a positive classroom culture has been established, No-Nonsense Nurturers
incorporate more and more scholar talk time.
After you have established a No-Nonsense Nurturing culture, fewer and shorter
directions can be equally effective. However, if scholars start to struggle, go back to
using precise directions.

CT3: Program 8 - STEP 2: Positive

Narration

Introduction
In the first step of the Four-Step Model, you communicate the precise directions that your
scholars need to follow to be successful in the current activity. The next step is for you to
motivate all of them to follow these directions.

No-Nonsense Nurturers initially motivate scholars to follow their directions with a strategy we
call “positive narration.” After giving directions these teachers scan the class and “narrate” or
notice out loud the scholars who are successfully completing/implementing the directions.

Positive narration was one of the more powerful strategies we observed No-Nonsense
Nurturers using with their scholars. Let’s examine the benefits of using this strategy.

Benefits of Positive Narration

Positive narration creates positive momentum

 After you give directions to your scholars, your response to their response
profoundly impacts the type of momentum you create for them.

Ineffective teachers tend to immediately respond to those scholars who are off task
or disruptive. This affirms that not following directions is “the norm,” which
establishes a negative momentum.

No-Nonsense Nurturers put a great deal of effort into noticing scholars who are
following directions. This sets up the expectation that in their classrooms, the norm
is for scholars to follow every direction. The resulting positive momentum reduces
the teachers’ stress and improves the learning environment for the scholars.

Positive narration repeats your directions in a positive manner

Some scholars may not be focused when you initially give your directions for an
activity so they will have a hard time following them. Effective teachers recognize
that by narrating on task scholars, they give unfocused scholars a second chance
to hear and see what they need to be doing. With positive narration they can repeat
their directions without nagging, pleading, or begging scholars who were not
focused or who just needed to see a model of success.

Positive narration demonstrates positive “with-it-ness”

For the last 40 years the educational community has identified “with-it-ness” as a
tool of highly effective teachers (Kounin, 1970). With-it-ness is a teacher’s
awareness of what is going on with all scholars at all times in the classroom.

Positive narration requires a teacher to scan the classroom for scholars who are
following directions, so it helps teachers develop and employ their with-it-ness in a
positive manner.

Positive narration provides off task scholars with an informal warning before they
receive consequences

You are likely to have some scholars who will choose to ignore your directions.
These scholars can hear positive narration as a “warning” to get on track, especially
if you employ your strong teacher voice when narrating. This alerts them in a
positive way before you move to the third step of the Four-Step Model: providing
consequences.
Positive narration recognizes scholar behavior without the shortcomings of praise

Positive narration is often thought of as praise. Though both strategies can motivate
and build relationships with scholars, there are significant differences between
them. In short, positive narration is not praise.

Praise is judgmental

When you praise scholars you are making a judgment about their behavior:

I like how Sophia is doing such a good job working quietly with her
partner.

Elisha is doing an excellent job paying attention to me while I teach.

There are rarely recognized downsides to constantly praising scholars for

following directions.

Research tells us that scholars interpret frequent praise from

teachers as an indicator that they are not, in fact, doing well and
hence need extra motivation from their teachers (Dweck, 2007).
They interpret praise for simply getting to work or paying attention
as a clear message that teachers have low expectations for their
behavior.
Most teachers report that they eventually feel inauthentic when
constantly repeating such expressions as “I like …” or “Great job!”
or “Well done!”
Teachers who constantly praise scholars for doing what is
expected diminish the significance of praise they give when
scholars do something truly extraordinary. No-Nonsense Nurturers
save their praise for scholars’ academic resiliency, perseverance,
and achievement. Then their praise means more to their scholars
and motivates academic excellence instead of behavioral
expectations.

Izzie, I can see that you are really focusing on your topic
sentences and supporting details. Keep it up!

Tyler, I’m impressed with how much you have improved your
reading scores.

Jamila, your persistence paid off. You brought your score up

 from 65% to 83%. Excellent work!

Positive narration is descriptive

When you use positive narration you are stating a simple, non-judgmental
description of the behavior you are observing. This provides examples of
success for scholars to follow:

Sophia is working with her partner using her whisper voice.

Elisha is tracking me.

John is moving directly to his seat.

To effectively employ positive narration:

After Giving Directions Immediately Monitor the Scholars’ Behavior

As soon as you finish giving your directions, immediately monitor your class. Look for
scholars, especially those you find challenging, who are on task.

Quickly Narrate On Task Scholars

Within 2 seconds of completing your directions, begin positively narrating scholars who are
following the directions. If you wait too long, scholars will perceive that you are not “on top”
of what is going on, so it’s more likely they will begin testing your authority.

Make a Three-Part Statement

1. Scholar’s name: Jamal

2. Verb: is
3. Behavior: silently writing in his journal.

If you work with middle/secondary school scholars who do not want to be singled out, you
may choose to group scholars:

1. Name of scholar’s group: Row Two, Table Four, Cassie’s table

 2. Verb: is/are
3. Behavior: using their library voices and solving problem number two.

Narrate 2–3 Scholars, Including One Whom You Find Challenging

Narrating the behavior of 2–3 scholars will:

Repeat your directions to ensure that everyone understands them

Clearly communicate to all scholars that you are “with-it” and on top of their behavior

When scanning the class for scholars to narrate, always check if scholars you have found
challenging are on task. If so, choose at least one to narrate.

By “challenging,” we mean scholars who are frequently off task, disruptive, or possibly

defiant. These scholars have often not done well in school because their teachers
consistently allow them to “fall through the cracks” of our educational system.

Many scholars whom teachers find challenging often just need more attention than their
peers. By narrating them, you are calling positive attention to their successful actions. This
prevents them from causing a disruption to get the negative attention the system has taught
them to seek.

When these scholars know you are monitoring them, they are much more likely to choose to
get and stay on task. The more positive feedback you give to them, the more they will be
motivated to strive for success in your classroom.

Use a Strong Voice When Narrating

You want to be sure that all the scholars can clearly hear you as you identify scholars who are
following your directions. This will confirm for all your scholars that you are noticing whether
or not they are on task. Using a strong teacher voice while narrating communicates that your
high expectations are a priority and you are aware when those expectations are met.

Less effective teachers tend to immediately respond to off task scholars, thereby creating a
negative tone. Avoid this temptation. Use positive narration for on task scholars before you
attempt to provide consequences for off task or disruptive scholars. It will take only a few
seconds and can motivate many of your off task scholars to choose to follow your directions.
Narrate Every 60 Seconds During Instructional Activities

In addition to motivating scholars to follow your directions, positive narration motivates

scholars to stay on task during instructional activities.

Approximately once per minute during instructional activities, scan your class and positively
narrate scholars who are staying on task and engaged with their assignment. This sends a
clear message that you expect your scholars to stay engaged and that you will put in the
effort to motivate them to do so.

As scholars build their stamina over the school year, you may find you don’t have to narrate
every 60 seconds. However, if you find scholars are becoming disengaged, narrate before
you provide consequences.

When scholars are moving from one location to another, the likelihood of off task behavior
dramatically increases. To prevent off task behavior and allow a quicker transition, positively
narrate throughout the transition.

Narrate Throughout Transitions

When scholars are moving from one location to another, the likelihood of off task behavior
dramatically increases. To prevent off task behavior and allow a quicker transition, positively
narrate throughout the transition.

Follow the 3:1 Rule of Teacher–Scholar Interaction

No-Nonsense Nurturers have learned that a key to creating life-altering relationships with
scholars is the frequency of authentic positive interactions they have with the scholars. These
teachers live by the 3:1 rule. They take great pains to make three times as many positive
comments to scholars as negative ones. For example, if they provide a consequence to a
scholar for being off task, as soon as possible they find three opportunities to narrate the
scholar when s/he is on task.

Combine Positive Narration With a Classwide Incentive System

Utilizing positive narration in conjunction with a Classwide Incentive System can dramatically
increase your influence on the success of scholars, especially at the beginning of the school
year or when re-norming your classroom. As you positively narrate scholars the percentage of
the class that is on task will increase significantly. As on task behaviors increase, the scholars
will earn “class points” toward a meaningful incentive.

When scholars have mastered the policies and procedures of the classroom and off task
behavior is of little concern, redesign your incentive system to focus on academic goals that
the class can achieve and celebrate together.

Additional help with utilizing a Classwide Incentive System can be found in the Resource
Materialssection and in Program 9.

Phase Out Positive Narration As You Establish a No-Nonsense Nurturing Culture

As the school year progresses you will be building stronger relationships with your scholars
and feeling more confident in your ability to motivate them to get and stay on task. You can
then begin to decrease the frequency of your positive narration. You may consider using
narration:

After every other set of directions

Every 2–3 minutes during instructional activities
At the beginning of transitions

As scholars clearly master the classroom’s expectations you can reduce the frequency of
narration even further, but:

Consider keeping a high frequency of positive narration during transitions. These are
much more difficult times for teachers to keep scholars on task.
If you are providing consequences to more scholars than usual for disruptive or off
task behavior, increase the frequency of positive narration.
Be sure to increase the frequency of positive narration after a school break, such as a
holiday or vacation.

If you have some scholars you find especially challenging, positively narrate their
behavior throughout the year.

How Will You Use Positive Narration?

Positive narration is a powerful strategy but not intuitive for many of us. As the teacher, you
need to practice, practice, practice, so it becomes second nature!
In the table found on page 20 of the Implementation Guide, review the directions. Then
challenge yourself to write two or three narrations for each set of directions. Soon you will
notice that when you write out a set of directions, you also create a “cheat sheet” for
narrations.

Need a Challenge?

When you think you’re positively narrating consistently, or if you’re not sure whether you’re
doing it “right,” or if you’re not seeing scholars respond favorably, try this: Record yourself on
video for 15 minutes and count your positive versus consequence statements. If you don’t
have video access, invite a colleague, coach, or administrator to come in for a few minutes
and keep a tally for you. Use the data you collect to set your next goal for fine-tuning and
expanding your use of positive narration. Remember, your goal is to make at least 3 positive
comments for every redirection or consequence!

Summary of Key Points

After giving directions, No-Nonsense Nurturers scan their classrooms and positively
narrate the behavior of on task scholars.

Positive narration is a powerful strategy because it enables teachers to:

Create positive momentum in their classrooms
Repeat directions in a positive manner
Reinforce their expectations for scholars without the drawbacks of praise
Improve and demonstrate their “with-it-ness”
Give a “warning” to off task scholars before providing consequences

The guidelines for using positive narration at the beginning of the school year or when
re-norming classrooms are:
After giving directions, immediately scan the classroom and narrate 2–3 on task
behaviors
 Be sure to narrate on task scholars whom you find challenging
Make a “three-part statement” using a strong teacher voice
Use positive narration before providing consequences to off task or disruptive
scholars
Use positive narration throughout transitions
During instructional activities, narrate engaged scholars every 60 seconds until
scholars build their stamina
Consider combining the use of positive narration with a Classwide Incentive
System

Once you have successfully motivated scholars to stay on task consistently and
remain engaged, you will be able to dramatically reduce the frequency of your positive
narration.

CT3: Program 9 - STEP 3: Providing

Incentives and Consequences

Introduction

Incentives and consequences are often one of the most controversial parts of classroom
management but when done correctly, incentives and consequences provide a natural and
often expected balance in your classroom. Consequences are necessary to provide
boundaries, safety, and an environment where everyone can learn. Incentives should be used
classwide to build cultures of collaboration and achievement for everyone. This program first
investigates the use of consequences, something many educators are concerned about, and
the second part of the program provides supports for setting up a Classwide Incentive
System.

Guidelines for Providing Consequences

No matter how effectively you give precise directions and consistently use positive narration,
you are likely to have scholars in your classroom who choose to engage in off task or
disruptive behavior.

To establish a classroom culture that promotes academic success, you must communicate a
consistent tone of high expectations for all scholars, especially those who choose to be off
task or disruptive. Setting this tone requires that you provide consistent consequences to
scholars who do not follow your precise directions or meet your rigorous expectations.

As long as you provide consequences in a way that says, “I care too much about you to let
you fail,” versus a tone of “I am angry with you, therefore I am punishing you,” then your high
expectations and consistent consequences will support your relationships with all of your
scholars (Ware, 2001).

To effectively provide consequences when scholars choose to be off task or disruptive:

Respond to Disruptive Behavior Within 10–20 Seconds

You have approximately 10–20 seconds from the time you finish giving your directions and
positively narrating scholars who are following them, before you must provide consequences
to scholars who have chosen not to follow your directions (Bondy et al., 2007; Witt et al.,
1999). The longer you wait to redirect scholars, the higher the probability that more scholars
will join their off task or disruptive classmates (Kounin, 1970).

Rule of thumb: Narrate three scholars; consequence one, if needed.

Provide a Quick, Firm, yet Respectful Redirect (Verbal Warning)

When you observe scholars who are choosing to receive a consequence verbally redirect
their behavior:

Directions:

Scholars, you have the next 10 minutes to work on the journal prompt silently and
independently at your seats.
You may begin.

Narrate:

Kathryn is working silently.

Dimond is working on her journal silently.
Jaquan is working silently.

Consequence:

Scholar’s name: Ethan,

 Behavior desired: the directions are,to work silently.
Consequence: This is your one warning for today.

Let the scholar know that s/he has received his or her only warning. Be sure to
mark the warning down on a class behavior chart that is posted, on a clipboard, or
on a phone app.

Provide Additional Consequences As Needed

When you observe scholars who continue to be off task or disruptive after receiving a verbal
warning, remain calm, quick, firm, and respectful:

Scholar’s name: Ethan,

Behavior desired: you should be working on your journal entry.
Consequence: You’ve chosen to miss part of recess. Get started on your work
now.

Be sure to let the scholar know that s/he has “chosen” to receive a consequence by
engaging in inappropriate behavior. This communicates to scholars that they are
responsible for the consequences they receive and that you are not simply picking
on them (Farr, 2010).

As with a verbal warning, it is important to mark each consequence you provide on

a behavior chart or tracker. Keeping track of consequences helps to maintain
consistency in your disciplinary actions. It communicates to scholars that you care
too much about them to allow them to disrupt their learning time.

Please Note:Theless you say, the more effective you will sound. Teachers who are nervous
and unsure tend to ramble when providing consequences to scholars (Lemov, 2010). No-
Nonsense Nurturers use as few words as necessary to make their point without demeaning
the scholars, thereby demonstrating that they are in command.

Use As Strong a Teacher Voice As Is Needed

When redirecting scholars, you need to speak in a no-nonsense tone that communicates to
the off task scholars and their classmates that you mean business (Bondy & Ross, 2008;
Brown, 2004).

Your tone must be assertive enough to “get into the listening” of the scholar you are
redirecting. Thus, with some scholars you will have to speak in a stronger tone, volume, and
register than with others. You should never exhibit a loss of control by yelling redirections at a
scholar.

Be Aware of Your Body Language

What your body says when you deliver a message is as important as what you say (Jones,
2000). When providing a consequence:

Pause before you speak

If you are walking around while providing a consequence to a scholar, you are not
communicating that you take his or her behavior seriously. Stop what you are doing
before you provide a consequence.

Square up

Turn and directly face the scholar. Stand up straight or, if appropriate, lean in toward
the scholar if s/he is close to you. Let your body language communicate that you
are serious about how the scholar must learn to make better choices and use
academic time appropriately.

Make eye contact

Look right into the eyes of the scholar you are redirecting. When you call out the
scholar’s name s/he will most likely look at you, so it will be easy to make eye
contact. A direct gaze increases the impact of your verbal message.

Please Note: You need to know the cultural norms of your scholars. In some
cultures scholars being redirected will out of deference, not defiance, avoid making
eye contact.

Get as close as is convenient and appropriate

If possible, get in close proximity to the scholar you are redirecting. However, if you
are in the middle of teaching a lesson or working one-to-one with another scholar,
do not stop and take the time to walk over to the disruptive scholar. Making the
redirection from where you are standing is more efficient, and it communicates to all
 of your scholars that you hold high academic and behavioral expectations for
everyone.

Provide Consequences from Your Discipline Hierarchy

No-Nonsense Nurturers establish a hierarchy of disciplinary consequences. A

Discipline Hierarchy starts with a minimal consequence, such as a warning. If a
scholar continues to disrupt, the consequences become progressively more
significant.

Additional help with establishing a Discipline Hierarchy can be found in

theResource Materials section.

Sample K–3 Grade Discipline Hierarchy

1st Consequence: Verbally redirect/written warning

2nd Consequence: 5 minutes of Time Out
3rd Consequence: Change of venue/seat and reflection sheet*
4th Consequence: Call scholar's family member
5th Consequence: Send to principal**
After a Serious Disruption: Send to principal**

Sample 4–5 Grade Discipline Hierarchy (self-contained

classroom)

1st Consequence: Verbally redirect/written warning

2nd Consequence: Change of venue/seat and reflection sheet
3rd Consequence: Send to buddy teacher’s classroom or loss of
privilege*
4th Consequence: Call scholar's family member
5th Consequence: Send to administrator**
After a Serious Disruption: Send to administrator**
 Sample Middle/Secondary School Discipline Hierarchy (50-
to 180-minute class periods)

1st Consequence: Verbally redirect/written warning

2nd Consequence: Call scholar's family member and give
lunch/after-school detention or Last One Out*
3rd Consequence: Send to administrator**
After a Serious Disruption: Send to administrator**

*Indicates a good time to have a “stay in the game” conversation (explained in more depth in
Program 10). A “stay in the game” conversation is a 30-second conversation to remind a
scholar that you believe in him or her, that s/he is an important part of your classroom, and
that you expect him or her to be engaged and fully trying.

**Indicates the need for a restorative conversation (also explained in greater detail in Program
10). A restorative conversation happens after a scholar needs to be removed from your
classroom and before s/he returns to the classroom. This conversation lasts 3 to 5 minutes
and the caring communication restores the relationship between teacher and scholar.

Provide Consequences 100% of the Time

A mantra for No-Nonsense Nurturers is that they expect 100% of their scholars to follow their
directions 100% of the time.

The 100% stance is all about purpose, not power.

No-Nonsense Nurturers feel they need to demonstrate a low tolerance for inappropriate
behavior in order to better help their scholars reach their full potential, not because they
themselves are on a “power trip.”

Realistically, if you’re going to be consistent in redirecting all off task behavior, you will need
to “sweat the small stuff.” You will need to provide consequences to scholars who are
engaging in what most teachers consider “small” problems. Most importantly, you will need
to address inappropriate talking.

Remember, inappropriate or off topic talking accounts for up to 80% of your scholars’ off

task behavior. In addition, inappropriate talking is often referred to as a “cornerstone
behavior.” It is typically the first behavior scholars will engage in to test your high
expectations.

If the scholars see that you are not taking the “small stuff” seriously, there is a much greater
chance that they will test your resolve by getting more disruptive, perhaps by getting out of
their seats, refusing to complete assignments, or eventually talking back and becoming
defiant.

Please Note: We must distinguish between scholars who are off task or disruptive due to
incompetence — not understanding your directions and/or expectations — versus those who
are defying your authority. If scholars lack competence, you have a responsibility to practice
the appropriate behaviors with them. Re-teach the expectations they must master to succeed
in your classroom before you return to the process of providing consequences.

Document the Disciplinary Consequences You Provide

You must have a system to record every instance you provide a consequence to a scholar. As
a busy teacher, if you do not record all consequences you run the risk of forgetting to hold
scholars accountable, thus undercutting your effectiveness.

Use a clipboard. Many teachers find the easiest system is carrying a clipboard on
which they document every consequence they provide.
Use a posted behavior chart or color-coded yardstick. Many elementary school
teachers find it easiest to use a color chart to track scholar behaviors. This allows
each scholar to track his or her “color” for the day and be aware of how s/he is doing.
Every evening, scholars can report their colors to their family members as a way of
describing their behavioral successes in class.
Use a phone application. Several phone applications now exist to track scholar
discipline and incentives. Many No-Nonsense Nurturers like ClassDojo; however, we
suggest only using this app if you find it easy to access and use.

Please Note: No-Nonsense Nurturers do not allow scholars to earn their consequences
back. If the class earns an incentive, all members of the class always get the incentive. If a
scholar earns a disciplinary consequence, the teacher understands the consequence must
be provided. Otherwise, the teacher is inadvertently teaching scholars to manipulate the
Discipline Hierarchy.

Positively Narrate Disruptive or Off Task Scholars As Soon As They Get Back On Task

No-Nonsense Nurturers are also careful to continue responding to scholars who have been
disruptive or off task. These teachers consistently monitor scholars they have redirected. At
the first opportunity, they positively narrate these scholars’ on task behavior. This
communicates to the scholars that they will be recognized for appropriate as well as
inappropriate behaviors.
Scholars Get a Fresh Start

Every day is a new day on a discipline hierarchy. If a scholar in a self-contained classroom

earns a consequence on Monday, they get a fresh start on Tuesday. If a high school scholar
earns a consequence in first period, they have a new hierarchy with their new teacher in
second period. Why is this? We all have tough days. We all make mistakes. As No-
Nonsense Nurturers we realize that setting high expectations also means allowing scholars to
find success after they have reset. While sometimes resetting comes through a restorative
conversation with their teacher, other times a reset can be as easy a just having some time
away from the situation and being given a fresh start in their classes the next day. Grudges
have no places in the hearts of No-Nonsense Nurturers.

Guidelines for Providing Consequences After You Have Established a

No-Nonsense Nurturing Tone in the Classroom
Most teachers find that if they consistently provide consequences in the manner we have
discussed and have built life-altering relationships with their scholars, the need to provide
consequences diminishes significantly as the year progresses. At this stage, using less direct,
more subtle responses can quickly redirect wavering scholars to get back on task.

For example, rather than verbally redirecting scholars and/or providing consequences, you
can use one of these simple strategies:

Give “The Look”

If a scholar is off task or mildly disruptive while you are teaching, stop mid-sentence
and give a stern look to the scholar until s/he gets back on task.

Mention the scholar’s name

During the lesson, mention an off task scholar’s name.

I want everyone, including Cam and Leyla, to think about what the author’s
point was in the last paragraph.
 Move into proximity

When a scholar is off task, step into close proximity to him or her as you continue
teaching or monitoring the class while they work.

Guidelines for Providing Classwide Incentives

Classwide Incentive Systems

A Classwide Incentive System is an important step in building a collaborative classroom

environment, relationships among peers, and trusting teacher–scholar relationships. While
Classwide Incentive Systems should change as the school year progresses, simple systems
can significantly shorten the amount of time it takes scholars to learn the policies and
procedures in your classroom at the beginning of the year and support you in building a
collaborative culture.

No-Nonsense Nurturers have learned to keep Classwide Incentive Systems simple. Having
multiple systems can become cumbersome so most No-Nonsense Nurturers use one simple
system such as Points on the Board.

The general guidelines for incentivizing scholar behaviors are:

Goals for the incentive system have to be clearly stated

The incentive needs to be inexpensive and valued by scholars
Incentives need to be earned in a timely manner
The points must be tracked
Teachers must follow through with incentives quickly after they are earned
Celebrate!
Goals for the incentive system have to be clearly stated

All scholars need to know what they are working toward and the teacher must be clear on
which 1 to 3 goals s/he wants to reinforce. If goals are not clearly stated, ambiguity in the
system may cause the system to fall apart.

A Classwide Incentive System is relatively easy to set up. The first step is to identify cultural
or academic behaviors you want to improve in your classroom. At the beginning of the year
you might work on procedural behaviors, such as 100% of scholars to class on time, 100%
of scholars tracking the speaker, and 100% of scholars turning in homework.

Later on in the year you might change the focus of your incentive system to include academic
improvements, such as all scholars will improve their scores on the pre-test by at least 20%.
(Every scholar who does so then earns a point for the class.)

Here are suggestions for how and when to give out class points:

Voice levels meet your expectation for a minute or two

All scholars are on task while you are conducting instruction
A scholar you find challenging follows directions or is on task with the rest of the class
Scholars work cooperatively in groups
A majority of scholars volunteer to answer questions
Scholars answer difficult/rigorous questions
Scholars take academic risks
Scholars enter the classroom silently
A transition goes smoothly
Scholars walk silently through the hallway
Scores improve significantly on an assessment

The incentive needs to be inexpensive and valued by scholars

Once you have determined the behaviors you want to reinforce, decide with the class what
they would like to earn. This can be done through a class discussion, survey, or a brief exit
ticket. Be sure to give some examples and guidelines for considering possible incentives. For
example, it can’t cost a lot of money; it can’t take up more than 10 minutes of class time per
week; scholars must be excited about it.

Starting a plan with an incentive that the class does not want to earn will not reinforce
behaviors you want to improve.

Possible Incentives
 Scholars in grades K–8 Scholars in grades 6–12

Extra center time Free homework pass or

late homework pass

Extra PE time Bathroom passes

Lunch with the teacher/nutritio Locker passes

nal snack

Choice time/extra time with m 5 minutes of free time at end o

ath games f class

Visit to the treasure chest Nutritional snack

5 extra points on the next quiz Drop a quiz grade

5 extra points on next quiz

Use your notes on a test or qu

iz

Short movie related to the sub Short movie related to the sub
ject area ject area

Extra day/weekend to complet Extra day/weekend to complet

e a project e a project

Positive phone call home Positive phone call to family m

ember of choice

Technology Technology
 Incentives need to be earned in a timely manner

Determine the number of points that need to be earned. This may vary by grade level
and the goals you set for this class.

Below are some basic guidelines for earning points:

Grades K–1 Grades 2–3 Grades 4–5 Grades 6–8 Grades 9–12

Scholars shoul Scholars shoul Scholars shoul Scholars shoul Scholars shoul
d earn about 1 d earn about 1 d earn about 1 d earn about 5 d earn about 5
5–20 points an 5 points an ho 0 points an ho –10 points an –10 points an
hour and shou ur and should ur and should hour and shou hour and shou
ld earn their in earn their ince earn their ince ld earn their in ld earn their in
centive every ntive every 1– ntive every 3– centive every centive within
1–2 days 3 days 5 days 5–7 days 2 weeks

The points must be tracked

Most No-Nonsense Nurturers find a place on the front board to tally/track points earned
by the class. This makes it visible for everyone and the teacher can easily add points
throughout the class period.

Another easy way to keep track of the points is assigning a responsible scholar to keep
a class points record on his or her desk. Every time you give out a point, the scholar
makes a tally mark. At the end of the class, announce the number of points the class
earned and then track the points in your gradebook.

Teachers must follow through with incentives quickly after they are earned

This ensures the building of trusting relationships between you and the scholars in your
classroom.

Incentives need to be earned in a timely manner

 Determine the number of points that need to be earned. This may vary by grade
level and the goals you set for this class.

Below are some basic guidelines for earning points:

Grades K–1 Grades 2–3 Grades 4–5 Grades 6–8 Grades 9–12

Scholars shoul Scholars shoul Scholars shoul Scholars shoul Scholars shoul
d earn about 1 d earn about 1 d earn about 1 d earn about 5 d earn about 5
5–20 points an 5 points an ho 0 points an ho –10 points an –10 points an
hour and shou ur and should ur and should hour and shou hour and shou
ld earn their in earn their ince earn their ince ld earn their in ld earn their in
centive every ntive every 1– ntive every 3– centive every centive within
1–2 days 3 days 5 days 5–7 days 2 weeks

The points must be tracked

Most No-Nonsense Nurturers find a place on the front board to tally/track points
earned by the class. This makes it visible for everyone and the teacher can easily
add points throughout the class period.

Another easy way to keep track of the points is assigning a responsible scholar to
keep a class points record on his or her desk. Every time you give out a point, the
scholar makes a tally mark. At the end of the class, announce the number of points
the class earned and then track the points in your gradebook.

Teachers must follow through with incentives quickly after they are earned

This ensures the building of trusting relationships between you and the scholars in
your classroom.

Benefits of a Classwide Incentive System

 Adds impact to verbal recognition
Utilizes positive peer pressure
Helps ensure consistency
Adds impact to verbal recognition

When you monitor scholar behavior and observe scholars following your directions,
verbally recognize their behavior through narration:

Esteban has silently finished his first page and is moving on to his second.

This is a motivator for most scholars. If you add that the scholars have earned a point
that moves the class closer to its incentive, you get “more bang for your buck.”

Thaliana and Jose silently got right to work on their assignments; that brings us to
100% of scholars on task. You have earned a class point.

Utilizes positive peer pressure

You may find that older scholars do not want to be called out for “being good” for fear
that their peers may frown on their compliance. A classwide points system enables you
to counter this negative peer pressure.

When you enable compliant scholars to earn points that help their classmates achieve
an incentive they want, you defuse the likelihood they will be looked down upon by their
peers. In fact, just the opposite typically happens. Scholars will encourage their peers to
keep up their on task behavior, exerting positive peer pressure.

Helps ensure consistency

Providing positive recognition is critical to creating a classroom culture where scholars

are motivated to learn. Many teachers find they have trouble consistently providing such
positive feedback.

If you are using a classwide points system, you can review a record of how many times
you have provided positive feedback to scholars by simply looking at the total of points
the class has earned. If the total is too low, that is a cue to increase your positive
recognition.

When setting up a Classwide Incentive System it is important to know how often you
should incentivize scholar behaviors and reward scholars with something they would like
to earn. (Otherwise, the system is unlikely to succeed.) The guidelines above can help
you determine the frequency of your incentives.

A Note About Praise

Save praise for times when scholars demonstrate persistence, resilience, or
perseverance, not for scholar behaviors (unless you have a scholar with special needs).
When praise is used to reinforce scholars’ behaviors, teachers often unknowingly
communicate that they have low expectations for their scholars’ performance. Praise
used appropriately motivates scholars to work more consistently and continuously.
Praise used properly helps to build stronger relationships with youth and promotes a
growth mindset about their academic abilities and achievement (Dweck, 2007).

How do You Provide Consequences Effectively for Off-Task

Behaviors?

Are you giving too many warnings?

Do the scholars care about the consequences they choose?
Do you need to modify your Discipline Hierarchy? If so, visit the Resource
Materials section for examples.

Giving precise directions and utilizing positive narration and incentives should be
developing into habits at this point in the Course. You should be observing a rise in
scholars’ motivation to be on task and do their best. If you are not doing Steps One and
Two well, Step Three won’t be as effective; so keep working on being automatic and
consistent with your directions and narrations.

You probably still have a few scholars who are reluctant to meet your expectations.
Motivating these last holdouts requires providing consequences, which means you must
have a Discipline Hierarchy or consequence path. If you don’t have one, develop and
post one using guidelines from the Resource Materials section. If you already have one,
determine how to increase its effectiveness by reviewing Modifying Ineffective Discipline
Hierarchies in the Resource Materials section.

Incentive Systems: How Can You Maximize Your Positive Influence

on Scholars’ Behaviors Before You Start Giving Consequences?

The beauty of positive narration is that it often prevents inappropriate behaviors from
 happening. It helps scholars “catch” themselves before wandering off task, so that you
don’t have to manage them and provide consequences. Delivering positive narration is
pleasant and calming (for everyone, including you), whereas providing disciplinary
consequences is generally unpleasant.

Let’s focus now on “Positive Narration Plus.” Incentives — whole class and/or small
group point systems — are an additional preventive measure.

Do you have a simple, effective incentive plan/incentive system that motivates scholars
to meet your expectations? If not, creating one is easy if you use the organizational
structure on pages 21–23 of the Implementation Guide.

Summary of Key Points

Learning to handle off task and disruptive scholar behavior is a concern for many
teachers.
When redirecting off task or disruptive behavior follow these guidelines:
Within 10–20 seconds of giving precise directions and positive narration,
respond to disruptive behavior
Verbally redirect scholars in a quick, direct, and respectful manner
Make sure your body language is congruent with your verbal behavior
Use as strong a teacher voice as is needed
Provide consequences from your Discipline Hierarchy
Provide consequences for 100% of disruptive behavior
Document all the consequences you provide to scholars
Narrate disruptive or off task scholars as soon as they get back on task
Once you have established a no-nonsense yet nurturing classroom culture you
can respond to off task or disruptive behavior simply by:

Giving a stern look

Mentioning the scholar’s name
Moving closer to the scholar

CT3: Program 10 - Providing

Consequences for Scholars You Find Most
Challenging

Introduction
Even if you follow all the guidelines for the Four-Step Model, you may have a few scholars
who will continue to test whether you care enough about their success to hold them
accountable for meeting your expectations. If you are not equipped to effectively interact with
these scholars, it is likely that a negative, non-productive classroom culture will result.

As you work through this section, keep in mind that the scholars you find most challenging
are those who would benefit from No-Nonsense Nurturing the most. These are often the
scholars who have traditionally fallen through the cracks and who need life-altering
relationships with their teachers in order to achieve academic success. Once such
relationships are built, teachers can redirect their behaviors quickly and the scholars can
learn to redirect themselves.

The most common challenges that teachers report are:

Scholars who “talk back”

Scholars who argue
Scholars who continue to disrupt
Scholars who are openly defiant

No-Nonsense Nurturers use specific strategies in their responses to each type of challenge,
as detailed below.

Scholars Who “Talk Back”

After you redirect behavior a scholar may talk back to you with, for example, “I didn’t do
anything.”

Provide a consequence

Because the scholar’s action is not in his or her best interest and is disruptive to the
classroom, calmly give the scholar the next consequence in the Discipline
Hierarchy, using your strong teacher voice.
Scholars Who Argue

After you redirect behavior a scholar may test you by trying to argue with you. For example,
s/he might say, “You’re picking on me.”This scholar has learned that by getting agitated and
verbally engaging a teacher in an argument, s/he can manipulate the teacher and keep the
teacher from providing consequences s/he chose to receive.

Use the Broken Record Strategy

The Broken Record Strategy, which has been discussed and practiced for over 30
years, is highly useful for teachers to this day (Canter & Canter, 1976). When the
scholar is attempting to argue with you, use your strong, low teacher voice and
simply repeat your direction several times, like a record stuck on a turntable. By
repeating what you want, you maintain control of the conversation.

If it does not work, let the scholar know s/he is choosing to receive an additional
consequence for disrupting the class.

Scholars Who Continue to Disrupt

If you have already provided consequences to a scholar and s/he still continues to disrupt, do
not fall into these traps:

1. Resignation: ignoring the scholar’s behavior

2. Frustration: continuing to administer consequence after consequence until you finally
“kick out” the scholar

Instead, help the scholar redirect his or her behavior.

Have a chat with the scholar

If the scholar continues to disrupt more than once in a few-minute period, conduct
a 30-second chat to help the scholar redirect his or her behavior back on task. In
this brief discussion be sure the scholar understands two key points:

1. Your concern: you are concerned about the scholar and his or her academic
achievement
2. Your high expectations: you believe in the scholar, and you will not tolerate this
 behavior because it doesn’t represent the scholar’s potential. You care too
much about the scholar and his or her success to ignore this obstruction.

How you handle this conversation depends upon the age of your scholar.

With a younger scholar, have a quick desk chat

Choose an appropriate moment and go to the scholar’s desk to have
your short redirecting conversation. This will prove the least distracting
for your class.
With an older scholar, move away from the class
Choose a location away from the scholar’s peers to have your redirecting
chat. The farther the scholar is from peers, the less likely s/he will put on
a show to save face.

Scholars Who Are Openly Defiant

After you redirect behavior a scholar may become angry and defiant. This scholar is overtly
testing your authority to see if you are truly in charge of the classroom. How you respond is
critical to earning the respect of your class and establishing a no-nonsense persona.

When the scholar chooses to become overtly defiant, each and every scholar will be
watching with a laser focus to see what will happen. You need to show the class that you will
not allow this type of behavior. You also need to tell the defiant scholar, under no uncertain
terms, that you care too much about him or her and about the culture of your classroom to let
any scholar be this distracting.

Stay calm

No matter how upset the disruptive scholar gets, you must stay calm. In fact, the
angrier or more upset the scholar gets, the calmer you need to be.

Remove the scholar from the classroom

Defiance is a serious disruptive behavior and must be addressed with a meaningful

consequence, namely, sending the scholar to the designated disciplinarian at your
school. If you allow the scholar to stay in your classroom, you are sending the
message to your class that it is okay to defy your authority. The ensuing fallout will
seriously jeopardize the culture of your classroom.

Have a back-up plan

 An especially challenging scholar will “throw down the gauntlet” and refuse to leave
your classroom. Don’t fall into the trap of continuing to direct the scholar to leave.
The resulting “No, and you can’t make me” response will make this exchange a
fruitless exercise.

Let’s be clear: you know you cannot physically grab a scholar and remove him or
her from your room, nor should you. More importantly, the scholar and his or her
peers know this as well. If you try to stand “toe to toe” with the disruptive scholar
by demanding s/he leave, you will put yourself in a no-win position. The longer the
verbal exchange continues, the more your authority will diminish.

No-Nonsense Nurturers know they must have a back-up plan to ensure they will get
the support they need to remove a highly disruptive scholar from their classroom
(Charles, 1999). The back-up plan is usually a system that enables you to contact
an administrator or support staff who will safely remove the scholar.

A back-up plan is a major confidence-builder for teachers. In reality, if you do not

have such a plan, you will be reluctant to stand up to highly disruptive scholars out
of fear that the situation will get out of hand and you will be unable to deal with it.

However, what happens if you call the office or security and you cannot reach
anyone? What if the alerted support doesn’t show up as promised?

Simply acknowledge this communication glitch by stating the obvious. Then tell the
disruptive scholar what will happen if s/he still chooses not to exit your classroom.

Sally, it seems there is not a support person who is available to remove you from the
class right now. This gives you another chance to make the right decision and leave
right now. If you choose to stay, I am going to continue the lesson; and as soon as I
am able I will be getting support to remove you from the class. Consider your
actions.

“Stay in the Game” Conversations: Keep It Small

A “stay in the game” conversation can and should happen from time to time with all
scholars in your classroom. This is a 30-second to 1-minute conversation you have with a
scholar who either is having a rough day or has made it to the 2nd consequence in your
hierarchy. “Stay in the game” conversations remind scholars of your belief in them and
that you know they are capable of meeting the high expectations you set for them.

Below are two examples of “stay in the game” conversations:

Example 1

Teacher: Dori, I’m not sure what is going on today, but I know you can do better. Engage
with your group in a level 1 voice and be the leader I know you are. Any questions?

Dori: No. I will get focused.

Teacher: That’s the scholar I know and love. Lead on!

Example 2

Teacher: Andy, I have had to speak with you twice about your talking today. It is time for
you to move to the back table with your work. I know you are capable of doing better and
staying on task. Take 15 minutes to work on your own and get back on track. You can do
better, I know it.

Andy: I feel like you are picking on me. I am not the only one talking.

Teacher: Andy, our conversation is about you right now and my belief in you. I know you
can do better. Take your things to the back table. I will be back there in 5 minutes to make
sure you are doing better. Again … you’ve got this! (Teacher gently pats Andy on the
shoulder as a reassuring gesture.)

Andy: Okay. (He moves to the back table with his current work.)

(5 minutes pass and the teacher moves to the back table to check on Andy.)

Teacher: I see that you are getting some work done now. Excellent! That is what I always
expect from you. Keep this up and I will be excited to welcome you back to your group.
Do you need anything?

Andy: No. I am just ready to move back.

Teacher: Great. I will be back in a few so you can transition back. Keep working.

Restorative Conversations: Make Efforts to Restore Your

Relationships With Scholars
There are few aspects of teaching more stressful than dealing with scholars who
continually disrupt your class, defy your authority, or simply “check out.” It is a natural
inclination for most teachers to take this behavior personally and to distance themselves
 psychologically from these scholars. This inclination only makes a negative situation
worse.

No-Nonsense Nurturers recognize the important message that a scholar’s defiance holds
for the teacher. If a scholar is so disruptive that s/he must be removed from the
classroom, this is a warning sign that the teacher needs to immediately begin working on
restoring and rebuilding their relationship.

Before any scholar, but especially a scholar you find challenging, returns to your class,
talk with him or her either face-to-face or by phone. This conversation will allow you to
identify how to better help the scholar succeed in your classroom. Make sure the scholar
knows s/he is welcomed back to class and that you will not tolerate further disruptive
behaviors. Give the scholar a chance to say what is bothering him or her and ask if you
can help the situation in any way.

You should have a restorative conversation with any scholar who is sent out or removed
from your classroom. The conversation must happen before the scholar returns so both of
you can start the next learning period with a more positive attitude, leaving grudges
behind.

Elements of a restorative conversation(totaltime: 3-5 minutes for most scholars)

1. Restate the on and off task behaviors the scholar exhibited

2. Redirect for desired behavior
3. Listen to the scholar’s perspective and needs
4. Inquire or extend support to the scholar
5. Provide encouragement and reintroduce the scholar to the classroom

As discussed, situations will arise when you will need support from your administrator.
Getting administrative support can be fraught with discomfort for some teachers. They may
receive the message from administrators to handle their own scholar discipline problems, or
they may not know how to approach administrators for support.

Teachers Are Told to Handle Their Own Discipline Problems

In some schools, administrators will overtly or covertly send the message to teachers: If you
are competent, you should handle all issues with scholar behavior on your own, within the
four walls of your classroom. The only exception some administrators may make is for
scholars who are verbally or physically aggressive.

In other words, all too many teachers are dissuaded fromreferring scholars to the office, no
matter how disruptive the behavior, as long as it’s not violent. The result of such policies is
that teachers fruitlessly attempt to deal with a few scholars who disrupt their classroom.

How to Get the Back-Up You Need From Administrators

No-Nonsense Nurturers have strategies for getting administrative support with scholars they
find challenging.

Recognize that you need back-up for the sake of your scholars

No-Nonsense Nurturers do not perceive needing back-up as a shortcoming in their

professional competence. Rather, they understand the limits of their ability to
motivate some scholars and they approach administrators because they care about
their scholars’ success. They recognize that everyone on the school team needs to
pull together to help these scholars make the most of their educational experience.

When you approach your administrator, do not present yourself from a place of
weakness:

I’m sorry, I can’t handle Justin.

Instead, approach your administrator from a place of caring for your scholars:

We need to work together to help Justin improve his behavior, so that he does
better in my class and is not so disruptive to his classmates.

Establish a collaborative partnership

All too often, a scholar’s extremely disruptive behavior becomes either the teacher’s
problem or the administrator’s. In reality, for the sake of all involved, this kind of
behavior needs to be on everyone’s radar. While speaking with your administrator,
use language that emphasizes the collaborative nature of the relationship needed to
help this scholar.

Let your administrator know how you handle scholar behavior

The more your administrator knows exactly how you plan to deal with your
scholars’ behavior, the more likely s/he will be to support you. At the beginning of
the school year, share your Classroom Management Plan/Discipline Hierarchy with
your administrator. Make sure your administrator understands how your plan will
work and address any questions or concerns s/he may have.
 Deal with small disruptions before asking for assistance

A major reason many administrators make it known that they don’t want scholars
referred to them is that they’ve experienced too many teachers “dumping” scholars
on them without first attempting to deal with the behavior on their own. If you want
to get assistance from your administrator, you must consistently use each step of
the Four-Step Model before you send scholars to your administrator. Communicate
your highly effective practices with your administrator as part of your Classroom
Management Plan.

Document all of your actions

The more your administrator believes you’ve done all you can, the more likely s/he
will be to give you assistance. Keep detailed documentation of every consequence
you provide to scholars, as well as logs of positive calls to scholars’ families,
descriptions of how you have attempted to build relationships, etc. This can make
the difference in your getting administrative support.

If Your Administrator Still Does Not Back You

Despite your efforts, your administrator might still refuse to give you the disciplinary support
you need to motivate the scholars you find most challenging to make better choices. In this
circumstance, No-Nonsense Nurturers take it upon themselves to build a disciplinary support
system.

Self-administer

Set up a detention time during recess or lunch or after school.

Collaborate with peers

One of the most effective strategies you can use is to work with your fellow
teachers:

Establish a plan to send disruptive scholars to a colleague’s classroom.

 Establish an after-school or lunch detention room that is staffed on a
rotating basis by participating teachers.

Work with families of scholars

Often the best disciplinary resource available to you is a scholar’s family. Whether
your administrator is on board with you or not, family members are an important
part of the solution when trying to support any scholar.

The key when working with the family of a scholar you find challenging is to find the
family member who is most meaningful to the scholar. Establishing communication
with that family member is more likely to change the behavior of the scholar so s/he
can be more successful. Check in with the family member when the scholar is
progressing and achieving as well as when s/he is not meeting behavioral or
academic expectations.

In Program 13 we will discuss the steps you can take to get family members to
work with you to support their child.

How Can You Hold a Particular Scholar More Accountable for Actions
and Academics?

The reflection activity on pages 26–29 in the Implementation Guide will help you build a
profile of a scholar whom you find challenging, establish a course of action, and take notes
on how the scholar responds to your interactions with him or her over the coming week.

A Reminder: Be objective and compassionate in your description of this scholar. No matter

how offensive you find the scholar’s behavior, we are discussing a child and you are the
professional educator. It’s easy to take a scholar’s behavior personally or to become angry at
the threat to your authority, and begin to think of the scholar as an obstacle or enemy.

If you recognize that your feelings are keeping you from being objective in this moment, write
down what comes to mind. Then go back and edit it, using this question as a guide: “If this
were my child, how would I want someone to talk about him or her?”
Summary of Key Points

In some classrooms scholars continue to test their teachers’ authority even if the
teachers effectively use all steps of the Four-Step Model. No-Nonsense Nurturers
focus on these scholars the most as they build life-altering relationships with their
classes.
The most common challenges scholars present and the strategies to deal with them
are:
Talking back: Provide the next consequence from your Discipline Hierarchy in a
low, strong, calm voice
Arguing: Use the Broken Record Strategy
Continuously disrupting: Help the scholar redirect his or her behavior with a
quick desk chat (elementary) or move the scholar away from his or her peers for
a quick discussion (middle/secondary)
Open defiance: Remain calm and send the scholar to an administrator. Have a
back-up plan if the scholar refuses to leave the classroom.
Always have a restorative conversation after a difficult exchange with a scholar or if
s/he is removed from your classroom.
You may need administrative support with scholars you find challenging. To get
administrative support:
Let your administrator know your Classroom Management Plan
Take steps to deal with scholars’ disruptions before you go to your
administrator
Document all of your positive and disciplinary efforts with disruptive scholars
Establish collaborative partnerships with your administrator and scholars’ family
members
If you cannot get administrator support:
Develop self-administered consequences
Get the support of peer educators
Work directly with scholars’ family members

And the reason to make all of this extra effort:

CT3: Program 11 - EXEMPLARS OF

EDUCATORS USING THE FOUR-STEP
MODEL
Introduction
No-Nonsense Nurturers have learned how to integrate the use of precise directions, positive
narration and incentives, consequences, and relationship-building approaches throughout the
school day or class period. They adapt these strategies to the particular needs of various
classroom activities.

This Program includes narrated examples of common procedures throughout the school day.
The exemplars feature No-Nonsense Nurturers implementing the Four-Step Model. The
videos were filmed in grades 1–12 but can be easily adapted to any setting/age of scholars.

VIDEOS

How Will You Daily Integrate the Four-Step Model in Your Classroom?

It’s time for a very important progress check-in.

Return to the pre-assessment you completed on page 2 of the Implementation Guide. Make a
new set of marks on each continuum to represent where you see yourself today relative to
where you began and the star you set as a goal. Note the date under each mark. Be
thoughtful and reflective. Notice that your understanding of the questions may have changed
as you’ve progressed through the Course. These marks and the questions below will help you
determine your next steps.

In what area have you seen the most positive growth in your practice? Are there any areas
where you have already reached your goals? To what do you attribute your success thus
far? Take a few moments to record your thoughts on pages 30–31 of the Implementation
Guide.

CT3: Program 12 - STEP FOUR: BUILD

LIFE-ALTERING RELATIONSHIPS WITH
SCHOLARS

Introduction
In many ways, the secret of No-Nonsense Nurturers’ success is the importance they place on
building positive, life-altering relationships with their scholars.

High-Yield Relationship-Building Strategies With Scholars

Please Note: When we use the term “life-altering,” we are not implying that the relationships
built with scholars are solely for the benefit of the scholars. No-Nonsense Nurturers realize
that they get as much, if not more, out of the life-altering relationships they build with their
scholars. For scholars, relationships are often a pre-requisite to their learning (Camangian,
2010). For teachers, the relationships not only impact the learning of these scholars but of all
future scholars they will teach. Many No-Nonsense Nurturers note that when they build
relationships with their scholars, they learn much more about themselves as humans and
how they want to view the scholars who will walk into their classrooms in the future. In short,
scholars have the ability to impact our teaching practice but also how we see one another as
people.

Relationship-Building Strategies to Use During the School Day

Ask scholars questions about their cultures and communities

If you have questions regarding your scholars’ cultures or communities, ask them.
Be open about the fact that you want to learn from them as much as they need to
learn from you. This openness can go a long way when building life-altering
relationships with your scholars and with building your cultural competency for the
scholars you serve.

Do “weather checks”

During the school day, find opportunities to check in with your scholars about their
“emotional weather.” All it takes is a simple question, such as: “How are you doing
today?” or “How is your schoolwork coming?” or “How’s it going with your friends?”

This 10- to 20-second connection demonstrates your caring to scholars and

potentially gives you a needed “heads up,” alerting you about issues you need to
help resolve so they don’t escalate. If the scholars let you know their “weather” is
not good, find a time to talk with them alone.
Have non-academic chats

You can use this strategy before or after school, or during lunch or break times. It
involves simply spending time with scholars and listening to their interests,
concerns, fears, and joys. Many teachers only get to know their scholars on an
academic level, but there is simply no substitute for taking an interest in your
scholars as individuals (Marzano & Marzano, 2003).

Apologize when appropriate

Don’t hesitate to apologize to scholars if you have made a mistake or have been
unfair. Your scholars are not blind to the reality that you may have “lost it” or made a
mistake in grading or singled out scholars unfairly. If you blow it, clean up your
mess. This will go a long way toward earning scholars’ trust.

Use knowledge you have about scholars during instruction

Through surveys and relationship-building activities you will get to know more about
your scholars. Don’t save this information for when you are meeting with them or
checking in on how they are doing. Try to incorporate this information into your
instruction. For example:

You know Rico and Leslie are cross-country runners. When teaching distance/time
math or physics problems, use their names and running times in a problem.

When writing journal prompts or “do nows,” include scholar names when
appropriate.

When discussing a classic novel, ask scholars to compare the community they live
in to the setting and plot of the book, detailing similarities and differences.

Allow scholars to have a voice in directions for activities, if appropriate

As scholars master policies, procedures, and routines in your classroom, give them
a voice in how to implement some of these common practices and directions. For
 instance, ask, “Is this a silent activity or one that should be at level 1 voices in small
groups?” or “Do you need to stay in your seats or do you want to move to another
space in the classroom?” Giving scholars ownership in their learning supports
relationship-building, trust, and a positive classroom culture.

Design activities that allow scholars to learn about one another and you

Teachers often assume scholars in a classroom know one another when, in fact,
they may not. As you develop activities to build relationships with scholars, think
about including other scholars in these activities. Have scholars survey one another
for their interests, commonalities, and differences so they can then share with you
and each another. Assign scholars into groups based on needs and interests so that
they can support one another academically. Building a culture where scholars feel
comfortable with one another can promote academic risks and achievement in your
classroom.

Have “stay in the game” (30 seconds) and restorative conversations (3 to 5 minutes)
when necessary

Never underestimate taking a little extra time with a scholar who is struggling or
having a bad day. Having “stay in the game” and restorative conversations can be
huge relationship-builders. When scholars are struggling and you take the time to
let them know you believe in them and expect them to meet your rigorous
expectations, this sends a message that you care deeply for them.

Quick contacts

The overwhelming majority of your before- and after-school interactions with scholars will be
“quick contacts,” lasting no more than 2–5 minutes.

Phone call or meeting with scholars after a difficult day (restorative conversations)

After you have had a challenging day with scholars (e.g., having to send them out of
class or having conflicts over academic performance), call or meet with them to
work on restoring your relationships (Canter, 2010).
 This follow-up can go a long way toward demonstrating to the scholars that you are
not the “typical” teacher, and it will start the next day of teaching and learning on
the right note.

Positive boost

When scholars, especially those you find challenging, have a good day, let them
know how pleased you are with a quick face-to-face comment or phone call.

Phone call when scholars are absent

Show your scholars you care about their well-being with a quick call home after
they have been absent for a day or two. Let them know they were missed and, if
appropriate, inform them of any assignments they need to make up.

Text

Often a text message is the quickest way to connect with scholars. You can text
them positive messages, check on how they’re feeling if they have been sick, or
remind them of the assignment that is due the next day.

Facebook

Some teachers we work with have set up Facebook pages just for interactions with
their scholars and their families. (They have separate Facebook pages for their
personal relationships.) On the Facebook page you can check in with scholars on
their homework, post assignments, and keep in contact with scholars who move
away. Scholars can post questions and you or other scholars in your class can
answer them. You can also keep families up to date on homework assignments,
study units, and recent class pictures.

Wake-up calls

Some of your scholars may have a problem being tardy for class. If so, put the
scholars’ phone numbers in your cell phone and give them wake-up calls on the
way to work. For older scholars, consider purchasing an inexpensive alarm clock
for them. This simple gift will demonstrate to these scholars that you want them in
 your class and you expect them to be there on time.

Longer contacts

Some of your scholars may need more of your time for a myriad of reasons. Investing time in
your scholars will never be a waste and it will highlight your commitment to them. Here are
some strategies you may want to consider:

Open your room

No-Nonsense Nurturers open their classrooms to scholars on days they get to

school early or on days they stay after school. Scholars can come to share the
space and work while you work. Have them work on homework individually or in
small, quiet groups. Also, if appropriate, provide individual or group tutoring.

Attend the scholars’ non-school events

A major difference you find with No-Nonsense Nurturers is how frequently they
attend non-school events in which their scholars participate. This often includes
athletic events or practices, artistic performances, or religious ceremonies. The last
thing your scholars expect, especially those you find challenging, is that you would
take the time and make the effort to watch them participate in an out-of-school
event.

To put the impact of this strategy in perspective, what do you think the odds are
that scholars will give you a hard time after you have just demonstrated your caring
by going to their soccer game or dance recital? It is highly unlikely.

Set up a problem-solving conference

If scholars present concerns, behavioral or academic, that are hindering their

potential success, meet with them and come up with a plan to help them get on
track. When conducting the conference:

1. Come from a place of empathy and caring

The goal of this conference is not to discipline the scholar; thus,

you want to speak to them with empathy and caring.
2. Ask the scholar for insight into why s/he is struggling

Don’t assume you know why the scholar is demonstrating

inappropriate behaviors in your classroom. Do some gentle
questioning to see if s/he can give you answers.

3. Decide on steps you will take to help the scholar

Determine what you can do to help the scholar resolve his or her
challenges.

4. Focus on how you and the scholar can improve behavior/academic

performance

Examine how your practices influence the scholar’s ability to

behave/react differently going forward. It is not uncommon for
scholars to have little to say; some will have a hard time talking
about what is going on with them. If this is the case, help the
scholar by pointing out what you are doing to help mediate his or
her behaviors and to support him or her in making more
appropriate choices. Schedule a time to continue the
conversations for additional follow-up.

5. If possible, agree on a plan of action

 See if you can get the scholar to agree to the steps you both can
take to improve the situation. Make sure s/he knows how the plan
will benefit him or her in the future.

6. Re-state your expectations

No matter what, let the scholar know that you care too much to let
him or her continue to make poor choices in your classroom.

7. End on a positive note

Summarize the conference and always end with a note of

confidence in the scholar.

The Choices You Have

Time management is one of the hardest issues for teachers to master. It is

important to choose how you spend your time. Will you put all your time into
coming up with the most outrageous lesson plans that may, in fact, fail if
scholars are disruptive in your classroom? Or will you allocate some of your
time to talking with scholars and their family members, so that they know you
care and will be responsive to your wishes when you’re teaching?

Time is a teacher’s most valuable resource, so using your time wisely can be key for building
strong, life-altering relationships with your scholars and their families. No-Nonsense Nurturers
have a number of strategies for managing time wisely while building relationships (MATCH,
2010).

In Program 13, “Build Nurturing Relationships With Scholars’ Families,” you will find detailed
guidelines explaining how to reach out to these critical players.

Pre-Planning Steps

When you write your daily lesson plans, set aside times for building relationships with
scholars and their families. There are several pre-planning steps that will make your efforts
more efficient.

Gather data

Get the phone numbers and email addresses of as many of your scholars and key
family members as you can. You can do this by collecting the information from
emergency medical cards that scholars turn in at the beginning of the school year
or by handing out index cards to older scholars on the first day of school.

Getting the correct contact information from scholars can be a challenge. No-
Nonsense Nurturers often tell scholars that they can choose who will receive the
first positive phone call of the year. This motivates scholars to list the correct phone
numbers for the family members they have the closest relationships with, and who
therefore have the most influence on the scholars’ success in school.

Program your cell phone

Entering all this contact data into your cell phone allows easy access to it at any
time. While this initial work takes some time, it will save a significant amount of time
later when you won’t have to search for the information. By having your phone
programmed, you can make a quick contact between classes, on your commute
home from work, or during class time when you can send a picture/text of a scholar
demonstrating success to his or her family member.

Establish goals for the frequency of contacts with scholars and their families
If you teach in an elementary or self-contained classroom, you should make it a
goal to contact scholars and their families at least one time per month to
communicate how each scholar is doing and to note the positive.
Middle and high school teachers should communicate with scholars and their
families every 45–60 days for each scholar.
In addition, you will have scholars who need more frequent contacts to build
 relationships. Guidelines for working with such scholars are discussed later in
this Course.

Develop a Relationship-Building Schedule

Spending time building relationships is analogous to going to the gym or working out. Unless
you schedule it into your day, a myriad of other distractions will prevent you from doing it.
Therefore, you need to set aside time each day in your calendar.

During the week

Spend up to 1 hour per day

No-Nonsense Nurturers spend up to 1 hour a day talking with scholars and

their family members — especially at the beginning of the school year or when
re-norming their classroom — via phone, email, or face-to-face meeting.

How do they find the time?

Hint: Many teachers use their commute to and from work to communicate with
scholars and their families, while others use part of their planning time or
lunchtime.

Prioritize the scholars and family members you will contact

Given that your time is limited, you will want to prioritize whom you spend time
reaching out to each day. Here are some guidelines for determining whom
you’ll contact:

1. Scholars who had a particularly difficult day

Make a quick call to the scholars’ family members to enlist them to

help you redirect inappropriate behaviors. During restorative calls it
is important to communicate why you have strong beliefs in the
scholars’ ability to succeed in your class. You need to commit to
making as many of these phone calls as needed per day. If you do,
eventually you will not have to make as many of these calls.

2. Scholars you find the most challenging

 Contact these scholars with a positive message if they have had a
good day or, if they had a difficult day, to quickly remind them of
their consequences and to re-set expectations for the following
day. You may also want or need to call a family member. Per week,
commit to connecting with 2–3 of these scholars and their families
at the elementary level and up to 10 of these scholars at the
middle/high school level.

3. Scholars who have shown improvement

Reach out with a positive call to at least 5 of these scholars and

their families per week. These calls tend to be quick, fun
interactions. Communicate specific data for how the scholar has
improved and how those improvements will lead to success in the
classroom.

4. Scholars you haven’t contacted recently

Reach out with a positive call or one-to-one meeting to at least 5 of

these scholars and their families per week. (These are often the
scholars who never or seldom cause disruptions in your classroom
but they still need to hear from you.) This type of quick check-in is
better suited to a phone call than email or text message.

Over the Weekend

We know your weekend time is valuable to you. But you will still want to allow
for about 1–2 hours (most weekends) for building relationships with scholars
and their families.

Saturdays

Take an hour on Saturday (or Friday night) to attend a sporting, art, or

community event of a scholar. By attending an event for one of your
 scholars, you are also likely to run into other scholars and family
members. This is a perfect time to check in and let all stakeholders
know you care about your scholars as individuals, not just learners.

Sunday Night Boost

A Sunday Night Boost can really help scholars who are struggling
academically or who have behaviors that you find challenging. Make
proactive phone calls so the scholars’ transitions into Monday go
more smoothly. You might also contact some scholars who do well in
your class. By making these calls on Sunday night, you will be
helping your scholars to start the school week on the right note, and
you will feel more positive for your Monday morning as well.

How Are You Going to Strengthen Your Relationships with

Scholars?

Let’s think more deeply about daily efforts to build positive, life-altering relationships. We
hope this is an area where you are feeling some success and also a need to grow. To
examine this goal more closely, record your thoughts after each reflection question on
pages 32–33 of the Implementation Guide.

Summary of Key Points

No-Nonsense Nurturers embrace the importance of building positive, life-altering

relationships. They demonstrate this commitment with the time and effort they
dedicate to building relationships with scholars and their family members
throughout the school year.

The high-yield relationship-building strategies you can use during the school day
include:
 Asking scholars questions about their cultures and communities
“Weather checks”
One-to-one non-academic chats
Apologizing when appropriate
Using knowledge about your scholars during instructional activities
Allowing scholars to have a voice in directions for certain activities
Designing activities that allow scholars to learn about one another and you
Stay in the Game Conversations and Restorative Conversations

The “quick contact” relationship-building strategies you can use after school
include:
Calling or meeting with scholars after a difficult day
Positive boosts
Calling when scholars are absent
Texting scholars
Setting up a Facebook page for your classroom
Wake-up calls

The lengthier relationship-building strategies you can use after school include:
Opening your classroom
Problem-solving conferences
Attending scholars’ non-school events

To maximize the impact of your relationship-building efforts:

Do the necessary pre-planning

Develop a schedule for relationship-building activities

CT3: Program 13 - STEP FOUR: BUILD

NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS WITH
SCHOLARS’ FAMILIES

Introduction
No-Nonsense Nurturers help to ensure the success of their scholars by building nurturing
relationships with their families — their scholars’ first teachers. These educators put in the
time and effort to nurture positive relationships with the key family members of their scholars
(Haberman, 2004b).

Mindsets and Relationships With Families

No-Nonsense Nurturers Get the Support They Need From Family Members

For over a decade, educators have stated that one of the critical problems they face is the
lack of support they receive from family members (Gibbs, 2005; Langdon, 1996). However,
No-Nonsense Nurturers rarely report that they have problems connecting with families. Their
mindsets are instrumental in their successful relationships.

Disempowering Mindsets Regarding Scholars’ Families

Some educators miss opportunities to build relationships with families because they feel
education is not a priority in the scholars’ households (Compton-Lilly, 2003; Lareau & Horvat,
1999; Rothstein-Fisch & Trumbull, 2008). This mindset needs to be examined:

Consider that many family members may be reluctant to involve themselves or interact
with educators and school staff because they themselves had personally poor or
painful school experiences, or because they had many negative interactions with their
child’s teachers or administrators in the past.
Consider that many family members enduring challenges associated with poverty
can’t attend conferences or school functions, not out of lack of concern, but because
they are more likely to work several jobs, are unable to afford child-care for their
child’s younger siblings, or lack the needed transportation to get to school events
(National Center for Education Statistics, 2005).

To overcome disempowering mindsets that you might have regarding family members, take a
cue from No-Nonsense Nurturers:

Don’t assume that all family members will give you their trust and support. You may
have to earn it by reaching out and building relationships with them. Work to build
partnerships with family members so you are better able to serve the educational
needs of your scholars.
Always assume that the family members act out of love for their child. Though you
might not agree with their decisions, keep in mind that child-rearing is a highly
 personal activity and is influenced by an individual’s values, beliefs, and cultural
experiences.

Approach all interactions with family members from the perspective that they are the
most important individuals in the child’s life and their support is critical to their child’s
and your success.

High-Yield Relationship-Building Strategies With Families

Quick Contacts

As with scholars, the overwhelming majority of your contacts with family members will only
take a few minutes.

Positive communication

Throughout the school year keep your communication going with family members
by sharing “good news” about their child in person or by phone, email, or text
(MATCH, 2010). Create a schedule so you can communicate consistently, ensuring
a strong relationship and partnership with them to support their child.

Fly-bys

When you see family members at drop-off or pick-up, take 15 seconds to give them
positive news (Rothstein-Fisch & Trumbull, 2008). For example, “I’m really enjoying
having your son in my class; he is kind to all of the other scholars and is very
helpful.” or “Your granddaughter was a rock star in class today. She read a book that
was a full grade level ahead of our class.”

Quick consequence/support phone call

To discuss any issue interfering with a scholar’s educational success, make a quick
 consequence call. (This may be the “call family member” consequence on your
Discipline Hierarchy.) Following the guidelines presented later in this Program, plan
what you will say in the call and how you will elicit the family members’ support for
your efforts to help their child.

Longer Contacts

These additional strategies may take more of your time but they will deliver a large “bang for
the buck.”

Home Visits

Another marker of No-Nonsense Nurturers is their willingness to meet with family

members and their children on their terrain (Farr, 2010). Home visits can be used for
all scholars but are an especially good strategy for when you are struggling to get
support from family members of scholars you find challenging.

The thought of visiting a scholar’s home may at first seem intimidating, but the
impact can be powerful. Taking the time and making the effort to sit down with the
family in their home sends powerful messages:

1. I care enough about your child that I will do whatever it takes to

support his or her success
2. I value you and your support so much that I will come to you rather
than expect you to come to me

Home visits can be dramatically positive. Frequently, distrustful family members

suddenly become major backers of your efforts with their children. In addition,
scholars are often awestruck by your demonstrating such a commitment to their
education. As a result, their behavior, commitment, and investment in your class
improve immensely.

A few guidelines to follow for home visits:

Get the family’s permission

Never simply drop in on a family member at home. Always schedule the

visit and make sure you are welcome. Also check with your administrator
 to make sure that such a visit is okay.

Keep your safety a top priority

You may work in an area where the neighborhoods are not safe for you to
go by yourself. Consider having another staff member go with you, or
meeting the family members at a public location near their home, like a
restaurant or library.

Plan What You Will Say to Family Members

Talking with family members can be stressful. This is particularly true if there is an issue
with their child that you need to address.

No matter what the issue, it is always a good idea to take a moment to think about and
write down what you are going to say. This will maximize the probability that you will
have a productive interaction with family members. Here are a few guidelines to keep
in mind:

Always begin by communicating your concern for their child’s success

If you want family members’ support, they need to believe you have their
child’s best interest at heart. They must know you care about their child’s
success. It is counterproductive to start an interaction on a negative note,
such as: “I want to talk with you because I’m really frustrated with how
Jasmine is disrupting my class.”

Instead, communicate your care and concern for their child: “The reason I’m
calling is that Jasmine has so much potential and I’m concerned that she is
not doing as well as she can in my class.”

Be objective, not judgmental

You must avoid making a judgmental statement about their child. Statements
such as “he has a bad attitude” or “she’s a problem” or “he’s lazy” will put
family members on the defensive.

Simply state, in observable terms, the issues their child is having: “He
 disrupted the class three times today by talking out” or “She has not
completed her assignments in the last two days” or “She has had four
arguments with her classmates this week.”

Let the family members know the steps you have taken to support their child

Most family members want to know that you have tried on your own to help
their child before you contacted them. Tell them what steps you have already
taken: “I’ve talked with her about the issue” or “I’ve taken away his free time."

Ask for input from the family members

Family members may be all too familiar with teachers who talk at them
without respecting their insights or ideas. Ask the family members for any
ideas they have as to why their child is having an issue and what can be
done to resolve it. Don’t forget, the family members know their child better
than you do and may provide valuable information if you take the time to
ask.

Discuss additional steps you can take to help their child

Present any additional ideas that you have to help the scholar, such as extra
tutoring, checking in with the family members on a daily basis, or in extreme
cases, considering an individualized support plan.

Determine how the family members can support your efforts

Work with the family members to come up with ideas for how they will
support your efforts with their child. This support may focus, for example, on
making sure the child does his or her homework or providing disciplinary
consequences at home if the child chooses to be disruptive during
instructional time.

Emphasize the importance of having the family members’ support

Let the family members know how important their support for your efforts is
to their child’s success: “You are the most important person in your child’s
life, and he must know we are working together to ensure he does his best in
 school.”

Plan a time to follow up

Be sure to determine the next time you and the family members will discuss
the progress of your combined efforts to help their child: “I’ll email you on
Friday to let you know how her week went.”

End on a positive note

When you contact family members regarding an issue with their child, they
will probably be worried or concerned. Always express your confidence that
as a team you can help their child: “I have confidence that if we work
together, we can help your daughter make better choices and be a successful
scholar.”

Home–School Contracts

An agreement between you and family members to systematically work together to help
their child can be extremely motivating for scholars to get on track. In such an agreement
the family members agree to support your efforts by following through at home with
positive incentives or disciplinary consequences, depending on how their child is doing in
your class. Here are the basic parameters for developing a simple agreement with family
members:

Determine the scholar’s strengths

Before brainstorming about ways families can support your efforts, discuss
academic and social strengths the scholar possesses. Allow the family members
to do the same. This discussion often yields strategies that will help change a
scholar’s unwanted or misguided behaviors.

Determine the behaviors you will work on together

Come up with one or two behaviors that it is in their child’s best interest to
change, such as disruptive behavior in the classroom or not completing
 assignments.

Determine steps to support the scholar

Suggest ideas that you have to help the scholar, such as extra tutoring or an
individualized behavior plan. Ask the family members to offer suggestions and
brainstorm together.

Write a plan to remedy unwanted behaviors

Script a plan for changing and supporting behaviors with incentives and
consequences that will be attached to the wanted and unwanted behaviors.

Determine disciplinary consequences family members will administer

Discuss with the family members what consequences they can provide to their
child at home if s/he continues to disrupt class, does not do his or her work, etc.
Typical consequences include:

Loss of electronic devices (e.g., cell phone, video games, television,

and/or computer)
Grounding to the child’s room
Loss of privileges

Determine positive consequences family members will provide

Discuss with the family members what positive incentives they can provide their
child at home if s/he chooses to behave more appropriately. Typical incentives
include:

Extra time with the family members

Extra time playing video/computer games or watching TV
Special snack
A special purchase

Determine how you will communicate daily performance

 Most teachers send home a daily note, but with scholars they find particularly
challenging they may arrange to call or email the family members to report on
their child’s performance that day. If the child made positive choices, the family
members will reward him or her with the positive incentive. If the child made
poor choices, s/he will receive the disciplinary consequence.

Please Note: Whenever appropriate, include the scholar you are discussing in these
contract conferences. The scholar’s voice can be powerful, and by attending the meeting
s/he can witness how much everyone at school and home cares about his or her success.

Summary of Key Points

No-Nonsense Nurturers recognize the importance of putting in the effort to build

nurturing relationships with their scholars’ family members throughout the school
year.

Teachers’ disempowering mindsets may impact their ability to build nurturing

relationships with scholars’ families. No-Nonsense Nurturers work to make sure
they don’t judge or hold disempowering mindsets.

High-yield relationship-building strategies with family members include:

Planning what you’re going to say before you communicate with family
members
Positive communication
Fly-bys
Quick consequence phone calls
Home visits
Home–School contracts
CT3: Program 14 - RE-NORMING
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS

Introduction
If you are taking this Course after the school year has begun and are struggling to establish a
No-Nonsense Nurturing culture, there are steps you can take to “re-norm” your classroom
expectations. It has been our experience that teachers can re-norm their classroom well into
second semester, so it is never too late to start impacting your scholars!

For many of your scholars, taking control of and providing structure to your classroom will
come as a relief and you will note positive changes in the actions of these scholars quickly.
However, some of your scholars are likely to react negatively to changes you make to your
classroom structure. It is important to remain consistent with these scholars and realize
these are the scholars with whom your relationship building is most important - for them and
for you. Relationship building takes time so be sure to notice the successes in your
classroom every day to keep up your energy and enthusiasm for serving all youth.

Planning to Re-Norm the Classroom Culture

Steps for Raising the Norm for Acceptable Scholar Behavior

1. Reflect on the specific activities and procedures — entering the classroom, teacher-
directed instruction, group work, etc. — in which you have tolerated off task and
disruptive behavior without consistently providing consequences. These are your
current behavioral norms.

2. Determine what behaviors you want to see and hear from this point forward. You will
need to commit to teaching these behaviors by giving precise directions, using
positive narration, and providing consequences if scholars do not meet these
expectations and incentives while the class is working together. These are your new
behavioral norms.
 3. What kind of relationships do you have now with scholars and their families? Jot down
your latest interactions with these stakeholders. These are your current relationship-
building strategies. Now go back and note how you would like to improve those
interactions and relationships. These are your new relationship-building strategies.

Examples of Re-Normed Behavioral Expectations

Entering the classroom

Current Behavioral Norm

Scholars are allowed to talk and dawdle on their way to their desks when they enter
the classroom.

New Behavioral Norm

Scholars will be expected to go immediately to their desks and start the “do now”
activity without talking.

Teacher-directed instruction

Current Behavioral Norm

Scholars are allowed to talk and/or not pay attention when you are teaching, shout
out answers, and ignore scholars who are responding to questions.

New Behavioral Norm

Scholars will be expected to silently track you when you are teaching, raise hands
to respond to your questions, and track scholars who are responding to questions.

Independent work

Current Behavioral Norm

Scholars are allowed to talk and get off task during independent work.

New Behavioral Norm

 Scholars will be expected to stay on task and not talk during independent work
(unless they have permission to receive assistance from a fellow classmate).

Group work

Current Behavioral Norm

Scholars are not held accountable for meeting an objective with their peers in a set
amount of time. Scholars discuss off task topics and meander around the
classroom.

New Behavioral Norm

Scholars will be expected to use level 1 voices while working in their assigned
groups to complete a task in a specified amount of time. All group members will be
held accountable for one another’s learning.

Transitioning to a new activity

Current Behavioral Norm

Scholars are asked to move from one activity to the next without an assigned time
limit or specific expectations for success.

New Behavioral Norm

Scholars will be expected to move from one activity to the next with minimal talking
while music plays for a specific amount of time. The teacher will give MVP
directions to ensure the successful transition out of one activity into the next.

Revise Your Discipline Hierarchy

Reflect on the disciplinary consequences you currently provide. Ask yourself:

Do you think these disciplinary consequences are meaningful enough to encourage

better choices from scholars?
 Are you giving so many warnings that your scholars disregard them?

Would your consequences be more effective if you used them more consistently?

Are you allowing scholars to “earn their way out” of consequences they have received?

Do you use consequences to communicate to scholars that you are holding high
expectations for them?

The Resource Materialssection will give you additional ideas for how to increase the
effectiveness of your disciplinary consequences.

Establish and Teach Your Discipline Hierarchy

If your current Discipline Hierarchy exists but is not effective, it is time to create a new one.
For your hierarchy to be effective there are a few basic principles to follow:

Keep the steps of your hierarchy to a minimum

Having too many steps will communicate a tone of low expectations to your
scholars. For middle and high school classes that last 50–100 minutes for each
period, No-Nonsense Nurturers typically have three steps in their hierarchies. For
self-contained elementary classrooms, No-Nonsense Nurturers have five-step
hierarchies.

Each of these hierarchies should start with a warning; have a time when family
members are contacted; and end with removal from the classroom (followed by a
restorative conversation). The middle steps of your hierarchy should be
consequences that have meaning to your scholars and that you will follow through
on.

Communicate your new hierarchy to your administrator

Make sure your administrator will support your efforts. Elicit any recommendations
s/he has for improvements.

Create a lesson plan to teach your new hierarchy

This step is often missed. When you teach scholars your new Discipline Hierarchy,
 be sure to allow questions. Present the scholars with an artifact that will be posted
in the classroom to hold everyone accountable to your new expectations and
hierarchy.

Be consistent with your consequences

Don’t ignore behavior that requires consequences and don’t jump around on the
hierarchy. Consistency implies fairness and high expectations for all of your
scholars.

Don’t allow scholars to “earn back” their consequences

“Earning back” consequences communicates to scholars that any time they act up,
if they “get it together” by the end of class they will not have to bear a
consequence. As with incentives, once a scholar earns a consequence both the
teacher and scholar must follow through with it. This communicates high
expectations and fairness to all your scholars.

Teachers often push back on this principle because they feel that scholars should
be allowed to make mistakes. We agree! That is why scholars have three to five
chances before they are removed from the classroom. It is also why every scholar
should start every day in your classroom with a clean slate and a teacher who
believes they will have a fabulous day.

Establish a Classwide Incentive System

Make sure you have an incentive system so that scholars can work together as a team to
build a productive classroom culture. Keep this incentive system simple, inexpensive, and
easy to track. Choose an incentive that all scholars want to earn and work toward.

As with your new consequence system, be sure that scholars understand how they will earn
incentives. If you choose to use a classroom point system — a favorite of No-Nonsense
Nurturers — consistently track scholars’ behavior so you can award points. When awarding
points, make sure the class knows why they have earned them. For example, “Group Three is
working on problem three in a level 1 voice. Group Five is providing feedback to one another.
Every scholar is on task. That is a class point.” After awarding the point, track it in a place
where all scholars can see the class progress.

A word of caution: if you teach multiple classes in a day, be aware of competitions among
classrooms to earn the incentive. While initially this serves as a strong motivator, different
classroom chemistries will cause some classes to earn awards faster than others. If this is the
case, scholars will quickly figure out that “we will never earn an incentive” and the power of
the system will be lost.

Instead, set a number of points that each class needs to earn. For instance, your middle
school scholars may need to earn 50 points for an incentive. If they earn between 5 and 7
points in a day, it should take them about 2 weeks to earn their incentive. Some classes may
do this in a week while others may take 3 weeks. The key is that all classes have the ability to
earn the incentive.

The Resource Materialssection will give you additional ideas for how to develop an effective
Classwide Incentive System.

Implementing the Re-Norming Process

Explain to the Scholars That You Are Re-Norming Your Expectations

It is crucial to have an open discussion with your scholars regarding the fact that you are re-
norming your expectations for their behavior. Make sure that you:

Take responsibility for having had low expectations for their behavior

Do not blame the scholars for the disruptive or distracting behavior you have
allowed in the classroom. Take full responsibility. Let the scholars know you have
allowed the “bar for appropriate behavior to be set too low” and that you are raising
it, starting now.

Introduce new norms for scholar behavior

Explain and teach the new expectations and norms for your classroom to ensure
the success of all scholars.

If appropriate, introduce your new Discipline Hierarchy

If you have determined it is necessary to develop a more robust Discipline

Hierarchy, introduce the new consequences to your scholars.
 Cue the scholars that you will be providing consequences consistently

Don’t suddenly start providing consequences for behavior you have allowed in the
past. You need to give your scholars a “heads up” that you will no longer tolerate off
task and disruptive behavior, and that you will provide consequences if they choose
to continue disrupting the class.

Introduce your new Classwide Incentive System

If you have determined it is useful to implement a Classwide Incentive System, then

introduce it to the scholars. Give them a say on what they would like to earn as their
incentive.

Consistently Use the Steps of the No-Nonsense Nurturer Four-Step Model

To re-norm the culture of your classroom, you must no longer be an Unintended Enabler or a
Negative Controller. Use the steps of the Four-Step Model consistently from the moment
scholars enter your classroom until the moment they leave. If this does not happen, your
classroom culture will remain unproductive for scholars and stressful for you.

Rebuild Relationships With Scholars You Find Challenging and Their Families

Pick 2–3 of your most challenging scholars in each class and meet or call them. Apologize to
the scholars for not going out of your way to build relationships and/or for being a hindrance
to their success (e.g., being too negative). Explain that you want to make a new start.

In addition, if appropriate, reach out to the family members of these scholars. Discuss
improving your relationships with them so that you can work together to help their child. As
you find a rhythm in your relationship-building time, continually add more scholars with whom
you need to build life-altering relationships.

Summary of Key Points

If you are struggling to establish a positive, orderly classroom culture after the school
year has begun, you will want to re-norm your management practices and
 expectations for scholars.
The re-norming process begins with pre-planning:
Raise the norm for acceptable behavior
Develop lesson plans to teach and reteach policies and procedures
If needed, revise your Discipline Hierarchy
If appropriate, establish a Classwide Incentive System

Guidelines to implementing the re-norming process:

Explain to the scholars that you are re-norming your expectations

Take the responsibility for low expectations; never blame the scholars
While in class, consistently use the first three steps of the Four-Step Model: give
precise directions; utilize positive narration and incentives; provide
consequences
Rebuild relationships with all scholars and particularly with scholars you find
most challenging
Connect with influential family members and engage them to support your
relationships with scholars

CT3: Program 15 - NO-NONSENSE

NURTURING FOR SCHOLARS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS

Introduction
As we investigated the best practices of master educators whom we identified as No-
Nonsense Nurturers, all the classes we visited were inclusion classes. They were general
education settings that included scholars with 504s and IEPs.

When entering the classroom of a No-Nonsense Nurturer, it is often hard to discern which
scholars need “accommodations” because 100% are meeting expectations, both behavioral
and academic. However, during interviews the No-Nonsense Nurturers were keenly aware of
and well-versed in the 504s and/or IEPs written for their scholars. We found that not only did
No-Nonsense Nurturers implement the strategies deemed necessary by intervention teams,
they also advocated for their scholars when they felt the goals of the 504s or IEPs had been
met and additional or different goals needed to be set.
All educators are legally (and morally) obligated to follow 504s and IEPs. However, if you feel
that something in one of these plans is not supporting a scholar you serve, you always have
the right to call a meeting to provide input and ideas for the best accommodations for the
scholar.

Give Precise Directions

Precise directions are the roadmap to success for ALL scholars, especially those who have
identified special needs. For scholars who find engaging in academic work challenging or
who feel overwhelmed when adapting to appropriate behaviors, precise directions are
essential.

Your precise directions might change slightly according to a scholar’s 504 or IEP. For
instance, the scholar’s plan might have you use picture or non-verbal cues with common
procedures and directions in your classroom. You are obligated to include these
accommodations for the identified scholar, but you may also consider using them for your
entire class. Many scholars may benefit from these accommodations, and surely this
additional step will not impede anyone’s ability to follow your MVP directions.

Utilize Precise Directions and Incentive Systems

While positive narration and incentive systems work for most scholars, it is important to
notice how scholars with special needs react to narration or receiving an incentive.

Scholars with identified needs often feel they are only noticed for what they do incorrectly so
they will usually react positively to narration. Positive narration notices scholars for what they
are doing well and it provides all scholars with a path to success before a consequence
becomes necessary.

However, for a small percentage of scholars, particularly those with 504s or IEPs, there is a
slight chance they will react negatively to narration. If this happens, ask yourself:

1. Is this scholar acting in a negative manner because s/he thinks s/he is in

trouble? Do I need to explain what narration is to him or her?
2. Is this scholar unable to accept being noticed in a positive light, especially by
me? Is there something missing in our relationship?
If you are confident that the scholar understands the purpose of narration and can accept
being noticed in a positive light by you, then you may need to find ways to privately recognize
him or her. You might give a non-verbal cue such as a thumbs-up or a wink, place a sticky
note with a confirming phrase on the scholar’s desk, or quietly narrate the scholar so that
only s/he can hear it, all with a goal of strengthening your relationship with the scholar.

Be sure to check what 504s or IEPs say about behavioral goals and then consult with the
special educators. In some cases plans will note that the scholars’ highest need for
development and reinforcement is learning to respond appropriately in the classroom. These
scholars are working on developing their behavioral skills much like other scholars work on
their academic skills. For these scholars (and only these scholars), praising them rather than
just positively narrating them may be an important part of their 504s or IEPs.

Incentives can be a little trickier for scholars with special needs, particularly those with
behavioral needs. Most of these scholars are put in asset-based rather than deficit-based
programs, but check whether the 504s or IEPs note caution with incentives and then consult
with the special educators.

If the plans do not address incentive systems, assume your incentive system will work for all
scholars unless a situation causes you to question the system. In that case, share as much
data as you can with a fellow educator who has expertise in special education. S/he will help
you make adjustments based on individual scholars’ needs.

Provide Consequences

For scholars with identified needs, you will probably focus most of your adjustments on your
process of providing consequences. As you redirect these scholars’ behaviors, follow the
instructions of their 504s or IEPs.

There are a couple of easy adaptations for any scholar who is particularly sensitive to
consequences. Simply give the scholar consequences privately, or place a sticky note on the
scholar’s desk at the beginning of every period. You can then track the scholar’s
consequences on the sticky note.

If a 504 or IEP has no notations about behavioral modifications, then there is likely no need to
change anything about the Four-Step Model, including the process of providing
consequences.

Build Life-Altering Relationships

Building life-altering relationships with the youth you teach is important for EVERY scholar
but is exponentially more important for many scholars with 504s and IEPs. Knowing these
scholars well will serve their academic and behavioral interests in your classroom.

In addition, the lessons you learn from these scholars will be an individualized professional
development plan for you. The knowledge you gain about yourself and your classroom
practices through your interactions with these scholars will help you to better serve and teach
all youth in the future.

It is equally crucial for you to build nurturing relationships with the families of scholars with
504s and IEPs. Schools often condition the families of these scholars to hear about
everything their child is doing wrong or how their needs affect others in the classroom. These
families must see you as an advocate for their children and as a team member dedicated to
serving their children’s needs. Remember that all scholars deserve an equitable education,
which means some scholars deserve and need more help than others.

Understanding the Basics of 504s and IEPs

Click on the link below to read “Children With Disabilities: NICHCY Information for Teachers,”
which includes the following topics:

Categories of Disability under IDEA

10 Basic Steps in Special Education
 Placement
Least Restrictive Environment
The IEP
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Supports, Modifications, and Accommodations for Scholars

Also consider reviewing additional readings through this link: Tips for Teachers: Teaching
Students with Disabilities or at http://www.parentcenterhub.org/.

Children with Disabilities: NICHCY Information for Teachers

Implementation Guide: A Reflection Activity

How Will You Adapt the Four-Step Model for Your Scholars?

In this activity, you will consider one former or current scholar with special needs and the
accommodations that might maximize his or her success in a mainstream classroom. As you
answer the reflection questions, incorporate information you have learned throughout this
Course.

1. Without using the scholar’s name, please identify a scholar who has a 504 or IEP.
Briefly describe the scholar’s academic, behavioral, and/or physical needs.

2. What instructional/behavioral/physical supports are required for the scholar, according

to the 504 or IEP?
 3. Consider each step of the Four-Step Model. How can you adapt the steps to fit the
needs of this scholar?

Summary of Key Points

A key to the success of No-Nonsense Nurturers is the time and effort they dedicate to
understanding their scholars facing particular challenges.

It is your legal (and moral) obligation to follow scholars’ 504s and IEPs.
Giving precise directions is important for every scholar. Refer to a scholar’s plan for
any special accommodations you may need to apply to your precise MVP directions.
Most scholars appreciate and need positive narration. However, it is important to
notice and understand how narration works for scholars with 504s and IEPs,
especially those who have accommodations for behaviors.
Providing consequences to scholars with special needs is the process most likely to
require modifications. Be sure to review 504s and IEPs for any necessary
accommodations.
504s and IEPs take precedence over any best practices, including those of a No-
Nonsense Nurturer. If you have specific questions about scholars who require
accommodations, work with your special educator.

Building life-altering relationships is even more important for scholars with identified
special needs.