by William Glasser, MD.

Teaching and communicating in ways that satisfy needs. An effective approach in disciplining children.

Elementary and primary schools have the responsibility of ensuring that young students thrive and are successful in their learning process. Like any organization, there is added responsibility for the management to establish an atmosphere conducive to the development and application of program expectation and ideal. Management practices should constantly strive to elevate the overall quality of the programs by involving the students or "workers" in the process. Once students recognize the value and quality of the system, and identify how it has reflected itself in their school performance and work, they have incentive and reason to participate.

The real job of the manager or director of an organization is to see that the students or workers fulfill the high expectations and goals of the program. Since the author of "The Quality School" believes that "the traditional system of management in schools sends a clear message to students that low-quality work is acceptable," the book essentially outlines an approach in education that teaches how to satisfy the needs of the students and ensure that progress is always being made toward a standard of quality.

According to the author, there are five basic needs that motivate all people; survival, love and friendship, power, fun and freedom. "Our behavior is always our best attempt at the time to satisfy one or more of our needs." "We spend our lives trying to learn how to satisfy our needs, but most of us do not have a clear idea of what they are, especially when we are young. What we always know however, is how we feel. What we actually struggle for all of our lives is to feel good."

As stated in the book, all motivation associated with work and behavior essentially comes from within the individual. Coercion and persuasion, also forms of motivation, may provide enough stimuli to illicit a response, yet in effect, is short term in scope and does not produce "high quality" performance.

There is no basic need in children to do schoolwork! Before starting school, most children are told by their families that school is good for them and fun. Children learn to expect school to feel good. Since kindergarten is usually need satisfying, it is not until later, as children develop beyond kindergarten, that they are taught to expect delay in gratification. Even with support and encouragement from their parents, children began to feel frustration with most teaching systems and often use the term "boring" to explain their feelings.

Even though the students make the ultimate judgment about how important schoolwork is to them, teachers have a responsibility to make the learning process need satisfying for them. Kindness, courtesy and humor can even make the learning process seem immediately gratifying and entertaining! The teacher may even be able to make the students feel good about school. Learning activity and assignments have more value when instructional time is made to seem worthwhile and a pleasure. "Teachers need to learn that only by choosing to teach in a need satisfying way can they satisfy both their own needs and the needs of their students." Importantly, children seem to trust and respect people who make them "feel good," because they have learned that they are an integral part of why they are emotionally secure.

Until students have a clear idea about what a quality education is and how it can work in their favor, students will not work to their potential. According to the author, "Our educational system fails to recognize that quiet, conforming students who pass achievement tests that measure minimal standards are not doing high quality work. Few are able to define quality education, but most are able to recognize that a machine cannot measure quality." Since students need to consistently own their learning or maintain power in their learning process, they need to take responsibility for their performance, behaviors and thoughts. Early in the formal learning process, students need to gain a small success margin that eventually can be helped along by the teacher to become a margin of quality. With confidence, students become more willing to delay their immediate need for gratification in exchange for "quality work." During this process, children learn that self-control is a motivational factor and can be used to satisfy their frustrations. Changing and controlling behavior thus become additional means for the student of achieving success, ownership and emotional satisfaction.

Students will often say that they hate school. This is a normal response for a student who is asked to work hard at something that doesn't fulfill their needs. When students volunteer for extracurricular activities, students work hard and enjoy themselves, because they want the fun, freedom, power and sociability of the activity. Freedom of choice always adds to the margin of quality in experience. Since some students gain motivation by excelling in math and some in disrupting the class, the author expands further on this need hierarchy by explaining that the classroom environment for some students is really an opportunity for them to gain the attention and recognition they haven't been given at home.

"Since most of these students require more attention than a teacher can provide, the differences in family support systems may give the best explanation. There is no quick fix! The only good solutions to discipline problems are systematic and long-term." All a parent can really control in the discipline process is the way they ask their children what they would like. Most parents use methods of persuasion and coercion. Parents threaten, sweet talk, bribe, punish, reward and promise the moon, all in hopes of changing their children's behavior. These techniques are not always effective! According to the author, parents need to be confident with the statement, "All problems can be solved!" The author encourages parents and teachers to use problem solving skills in all situations and remind us to not "be misled into thinking that the problem solving approach is soft or non punitive, because in this process, the child is taking responsibility."

Disruptive students usually are children who have great difficulty satisfying their needs in school. The child who is disruptive in the classroom and at home has a need for power and attention. Since this student portrait poses the most concern for parents and teachers, the practical application and use of problem solving skills with these children is paramount. The following statements will provide some examples of effective skill an adult can use in dialogue with a "disruptive student."

"Your problem is solvable!...What was done was against the rules...Let's solve the problem so it doesn't occur again...I believe you can work out your problems without getting your parents involved...I know your upset. As long as you’re doing what you are doing now, we can't work anything out...Since you won't calm down; I have to ask you to sit down over here...What are you doing to make it better? Work out a better way, then come back and let me know what you’re thinking." All of these statements ask the child to be responsible for the problem's solution. Children are empowered in the process of solving their problems with others and will inevitably gain the skills with enough practice.

The Progressive Schoolhouse allows its students the freedom to excel, make choices, be innovative thinkers, solve problems and work to their developmental capacity. The school's management led approach perceives the teacher as the primary role model responsible for meeting the needs of students. "Students will do things for a teacher they care for that they would not consider doing for a teacher they did not care for." Teachers need to be seen as a "need satisfying" friend to effectively manage a quality school. By satisfying the needs of their students, teachers empower the students. This approach is always giving the students the opportunity to improve their performance and their work. "If we are not going to try to improve what we do, there is little sense in assessing it." At our school, the teacher is always available to lend support and appropriate encouragement. Quality is always being discussed and related to the students on a level that takes into effect their own needs and development.

Any method of teaching that ignores the needs of the participants is bound to fail. Quality is always a product of warm, caring human relationships. Quality is the best that everyone in the organization, working both separately and together, can achieve at any particular time. A quality school never settles for less. No matter how good it is at any one time, a quality organization strives toward improvement!

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