Discipline

Students have been acting out and misbehaving since the beginning of school. The one thing that has changed is how we deal with this issue. What is the best way to deal with disciplining our students? I believe that in my classroom it makes the most sense to make a set of guidelines that students need to follow. Students should have a hand in putting them in place and they should be agreed upon by students and myself. I feel that there should not just be punishments, but rewards as well. I feel that there is only so much that disciplining students can do. I would love to read a book on effective discipline, and perhaps creative discipline, because I honestly don't believe that the run of the mill detention holds much weight anymore, especially for repeat offenders. I feel that when we empower students to take their behavior into their own hands and allow them to decide what is and isn't appropriate, that they will have a higher level of respect for the classroom and the time they spend within it.