|
PROMOTING RESPONSIBILITY & LEARNING
Marvin Marshall's Monthly Newsletter
www.MarvinMarshall.com
Volume 10 Number 2,
February 2010
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Welcome
2. Promoting Responsibility
3. Increasing Effectiveness
4. Improving Relationships
5. Promoting Learning
6.
Parenting
7. Discipline without Stress
8.
Testimonials and Research
MONTHLY RESPONSIBILITY AND LEARNING QUOTE:
Motivation for learning is voluntary.
It must be invited.
It cannot be demanded, forced, or coerced.
-------
My blog is now fully operational. Since the article are
aimed at promoting responsibility and learning, the blog
carries the same name as this monthly newsletter. If you
would like to have the short posts delivered to your
mailbox, submit your e-mail address and follow the
directions under "GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW ARTICLES" at
http://www.marvinmarshall.net.
-------
The book, "Parenting Without Stress," is now listed on
Amazon.com. Testimonials on this site are very important.
Please link to Amazon.com and search under "books." Then
enter "Marvin Marshall." Both of my books will appear.
Please notice the number of five-star comments for my
discipline book. I would like to repeat this rating for the
parenting book, and this is where you can help.
Click on the link for the parenting book and then scroll way
down until you come to the link "Customer Reviews" in bold
print on the left. Then please submit your testimonial.
Thanks again and please spread the word.
Return to Top
|
| 2. PROMOTING RESPONSIBILITY |
|
My favorite assumption story, assumption being
the cause of
so many failures:
Customers of a bank in Singapore began withdrawing their
money in frenzy. The run on the bank was a mystery; the bank
was solvent. What turned out to be the reason was a bus
strike that morning that had an abnormally large number of
people standing outside the bank waiting for the bus.
Bank customers saw the large number of people and ASSUMED
they were withdrawing their money--and then joined them.
Here is another assumption--one that has had a devastating
affect on teaching and parenting. It's from John B. Watson,
the founding father of a field of psychology referred to as
"behaviorism"--the theory that behavior can be predicted and
controlled. Watson's ASSUMPTION was that all behavior can be
explained by environment. This "school of psychology" was
made popular by the Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner.
Unfortunately, the use of this theory is still being
implemented in many schools and homes in the 21st century.
Here is what Watson believed:
"Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-informed and my
own specified world to bring them up in, and I will
guarantee to take any one at random and train him to
become any type of specialist I might select--
doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, beggar-man,
and thief--regardless of his talents, penchants,
tendencies, abilities, vocations, or ancestors. I am
going beyond my facts and I admit it, but so have the
advocates of the contrary and they have been doing it
for many thousands of years." Behaviorism (1930), p. 82
In essence, Watson believed that environments, rewards,
punishments, and positive and negative reinforcements can
control the entire world. Fortunately, many are now
asserting the falsity of the ASSUMPTION that behaviorism is
the most effective way to induce behavior change.
I recently received the following e-mail:
Hi Marv,
I find it interesting that Daniel Pink's new book,
"Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,"
is getting so much press, and he is speaking at all the
big educational conferences.
I think he repackaged Discipline Without Stress.
Take care, my friend, Steve
Stephen R. Sroka, Ph.D.,
President, Health Education Consultants
Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University
www.DrStephenSroka.com
(Dr. Sroka delivers cutting edge research to promote
responsibility so that students can learn more and live
better.)
Daniel Pink, is a former speech writer for Al Gore and
author of the best sellers "A Whole New Mind" and "Free
Agent Nation." Some of Pinks ideas from his new book:
Work isn't always fun. That's why it's called work. But you
might enjoy showing up at the job more if your boss did a
better job of motivating you. Most managers get it all
wrong. They're still focused on the old-fashioned
carrot-and-stick approach to drive employees, rewarding good
work with pay, benefits or promotions.
Pink, calls this technique "Motivation 2.0" It replaced
"Motivation 1.0," the ancient human drive to merely survive.
Motivation 2.0 is based on two ideas: Rewarding an activity
will get you more of it, and punishing an activity will get
you less of it. Think of these motivators as "if-then." If
you make more widgets and make them faster, then you'll get
a raise. Motivation 2.0 centers on what Pink calls "Type X"
behavior where people are incentivized mostly by external
rewards.
He maintains that Motivation 2.0 often is not only
ineffective in today's working world but that it can lead to
bad business behavior or worse. He cites "seven deadly
flaws" to using carrots and sticks at work: They can
extinguish motivation; diminish performance; crush
creativity; crowd out good behavior; encourage cheating,
shortcuts, and unethical behavior such as the type seen at
Enron; become addictive; and foster short-term thinking. He
argues that Motivation 2.0 is partly responsible for the
economic chaos of 2008. Mortgage brokers, for instance, were
so hungry for commissions that they made improper loans,
which helped bring the nation's banking system to its knees.
Pink's message is that it's time for a "full-scale upgrade"
to Motivation 3.0: Intrinsic rewards that play to the
inherent satisfaction of the activity.
-------
My comment: All behavior is affected by motivation. Inducing
people to motivate themselves (as I have been writing for
years) is far more effective than any form of "external"
approach. How this is done with youth is described in the
Discipline Without Stress Teaching Model at
http://www.marvinmarshall.com/teaching_model.html.
Return to Top
|
| 3. INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS |
|
I recently read about Dean Cromwell, the track coach of the
University of Southern California from 1912 until his
retirement in 1949. No other coach in collegiate track has
ever approached his records. His teams won 21 national
championships, had 13 world record holders, and at least one
of his protégés won an Olympic gold medal during his 39-year
coaching career.
Cromwell was a master at getting people to believe in
themselves and getting phenomenal performances from his
athletes.
He believed in always keeping everyone in an optimistic
mood. Yet, he didn't give fiery pep talks. He always kidded
on the "upside, never on the downside." He never made fun of
anyone--never a putdown, but always a buildup.
This highly successful coach believed that all athletes
(read everyone) would try harder when they are seeking to
live up to someone else's image of them. For example, one
year he had champion pole vaulter named Bill Sefton. He also
had an unproven sophomore vaulter, Earle Meadows. Every time
Sefton improved his own mark, Dean Cromwell would tell
Meadows, "You can do it if Bill can." One day Sefton broke
the world's record. A few minutes later Meadows tied it.
The point: Pump up a person's good feelings if you want that
person to succeed.
Return to Top
|
| 4. IMPROVING RELATIONSHIPS |
|
Just a little tap on the shoulder
Just a little smile, warm and bright.
Just a little word of hope and cheer
And a heavy heart grows light.
Just a little love and affection,
Suddenly a sad heart sings.
Little things--did I say that?
There are no LITTLE things.
--Anonymous
'Tis true. It's the little things in life that really mean
the most to all of us.
Return to Top
The following is from Fiddler on the Roof:
The house lights dim, the curtain sweeps back. On the
Broadway stage is a strange sight: A fiddler seated on the
roof of a house. Slowly, the man begins to play a melancholy
tune as he sways back and forth, balancing precariously on
the high rooftop.
Tevye, the play's main character, explains to the audience:
"Each of us is a fiddler on the roof attempting to scratch
out a simple, pleasant tune without falling off."
"It isn't easy," Tevye says with a shrug. "You may ask, why
do we stay up here if it's so dangerous?. . .and how do we
keep our balance?"
"I can tell you in a word. . .Tradition."
Tradition was the means by which his people coped with life.
For them, tradition extended everywhere: how they ate, slept
and even wore their clothing. Tradition was their way of
making decisions and solving problems. Their decisions would
work as long they inherited the same problems. Tradition 1s
a way of solving problems, coping with challenges, and
transmitting values.
However, and here is the point, traditional approaches too
often do not work in these days because we're living in a
world of new problems in a rapdily changing society.
Peter Drucker, the famous management guru once said, "People
fail because of what they will not give up what has always
worked--clearly after it has stopped working."
For some interesting traditions used in homes and schools,
many of which contribute to problems for youth, visit
http://www.marvinmarshall.com/counterproductive_approaches.htm
Return to Top
Hello, my name is Madeline Harned and I'm a reporter for
the Clayton, Missouri's paper, "the Globe." I'm writing an
article about parent/teen relationships and I was wondering
if you could answer these questions for me. Thanks!
What are healthy relationships between teens and their
parents like?
Both parties have joy and little stress in the
relationship.
What are some typical problems found in relationships
between teens and their parents?
Too many parents try to control and make teenagers obey.
These parents aim at obedience and in return receive
resistance, resentment, and oftentimes rebellion.
What, if any, boundaries should there be between teens and
their parents?
Parents should elicit the boundaries from the teen and
negotiate any disagreements.
Thanks,
Madeline
Return to Top
|
| 7. Discipline without
Stress (DWS) |
|
Larry Ferlazzo has often referred to Discipline Without
Stress on his website. The following link contains his
recent interview with me. It's posted on my site
at
http://www.marvinmarshall.com/interviews/interview3.html
Return to Top
Our elementary school uses Dr. Marshall's method at our
school, and my own three children respond to it and love it.
For that reason, I thought about buying Parenting Without
Stress, and this decision was solidified when my children
began talking about this method at home and explaining to me
how it works. They enjoyed giving me daily updates on their
behavior at school. They actually asked me if we could
implement this at home! I am grateful to Dr. Marshall and
Parenting Without Stress as it has finally provided
something with which we parents and our children can both
agree and thrive.
Lea Reed
Scotts Valley, California
Information about this transformative book is at
http://www.parentingwithoutstress.org
Return to Top
THE PARENTING BOOK:
http://parentingwithoutstress.org
THE DISCIPLINE AND LEARNING BOOK
http://www.DisciplineWithoutStress.com
POSTERS, CARDS, AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT PACKAGE:
http://www.marvinmarshall.com/products.htm
FREE BOOKS AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT PACKAGE FOR USA SCHOOLS:
http://www.DisciplineWithoutStress.org
RESOURCES: See the navigation bar at
http://www.MarvinMarshall.com
POWERPOINT:
http://www.marvinmarshall.com/pdf/DWS_ppt_secure.pdf
VISUALS:
http://www.marvinmarshall.com/visuals.html
SUPPORT LINKS AND DESCRIPTIONS
http://www.marvinmarshall.com/support.html
http://www.marvinmarshall.com/media_room.htm
|
| About Dr. Marvin Marshall |
|
His unique proactive approach stemmed from experiences as a
parent, recreation and camp counselor, classroom teacher at
all levels, middle school and high school counselor with
certification by the William Glasser Institute, assistant
principal of both supervision and control and curriculum and
instruction, elementary and high school principal, and
district director of education.
He has presented in 44 of the United States and in 15
countries on five continents and can be contacted for
presenting a keynote or workshop at
Marv@MarvinMarshall.com.
|
