My Reaction to Lee Canter's Assertive Discipline

As a would-be teacher, I would be dealing different students in a classroom with different behaviors, personalities, likes, and dislikes, abilities and different family backgrounds and orientations socially and economically. Therefore, I cannot deny the fact that anytime, I will encounter behavioral problems and crises.

Dealing with behavioral problems with my student will not be easy especially to an inexperienced teacher like me. However, thanks to Lee Canter for making the impossible into possible. Lee Canter is the developer of the Assertive Discipline or the Counter Behavioral management. Together with his wife, they developed this program because they saw and observed that teachers were often unable to get rid of unwanted behaviors in the classroom. They attributed this problem to a lack of training in behavior management and they believe that no student has a right to prevent teacher from teaching and another student from learning and it is the teacher’s responsibility to enforce them.

I am very fortunate enough because this will be of a great help to me if I will be in field. This gave me an idea that to have an order and conducive for learning classroom is to establish a limited number of rules and consequences for both positive and negative behavior, apply them consistently, and act assertively, as a leader. The rules must be specific and clear enough for the students to follow, yet general enough that they can apply to a variety of situations. They are to be based upon observable behaviors and applicable throughout the day or class period. Further, rules must be clearly and repeatedly articulated and posted in the classroom. I also learned that to confidently enforcing the rules, I should maintain a countenance so that the focus of the discipline is on the child’s behavior rather that the child.

As a teacher, I should calmly and unemotionally applies consequences to undesirable behavior being assertive without being hostile or angry. In addition, in order to motivate students to behave, I should always use positive support to encourage students to continue appropriate behavior increase a student’s self-esteem and reduce behavior problems. And lastly, I should be consistent with the rules so that I can create a very positive environment for the students.

Therefore, it is clear to me now that what most of the teachers doing in the classrooms now are not the right thing, it would be easy if they will impose assertive discipline especially to the kind of students that the teachers are now dealing with. That only shows that they lack training or knowledge in terms of behavior management. Maybe through this, I can make a change.

Victor Hugo

Man and Woman

Man is the most elevated of creatures, Woman the most sublime of ideals.

God made for man a throne; for woman an altar.

The throne exalts, the altar sanctifies.

Man is the brain, Woman, the heart.

The brain creates light, the heart, Love. Light engenders, Love resurrects.

Because of reason Man is strong, because of tears Woman is invincible.

Reason is convincing, tears moving.

Man is capable of all heroism, Woman of all martyrdom.

Heroism ennobles, martyrdom sublimates.

Man has supremacy, Woman, preference.

Supremacy is strength, preference is the right.

Man is a genius, Woman, an angel.

Genius is immeasurable, the angel undefinable.

The aspiration of man is supreme glory,

The aspiration of woman is extreme virtue.

Glory creates all that is great; virtue, all that is divine.

Man is a code, Woman a gospel.

A code corrects, the gospel perfects.

Man thinks, Woman dreams.

To think is to have a worm in the brain,

to dream is to have a halo on the brow.

Man is an ocean, Woman a lake.

The ocean has the adorning pearl, the lake, dazzling poetry.

Man is the flying eagle, Woman, the singing nightingale.

To fly is to conquer space. To sing is to conquer the Soul.

Man is a temple, Woman a shrine.

Before the temple we discover ourselves, before the shrine we kneel.

In short, man is found where earth finishes, woman where heaven begins.

 1) What is your insight about English 11 subject in terms of subject content, lesson sequence, degree of difficulty/ease?

 In my two (2) months of taking this subject, I found it very much exciting because each meeting, we tackled and discussed many and different things. In terms of the content, it’s very interesting for we tackled mostly on developing our speaking skills. For the sequence of the lesson, we won’t be lost for we have already a kind of routine in discussion. In the degree of difficulty/ease, it is quite fine for everything’s falls in place. Though it takes us a little bit longer to work and finished all the requirements but we never failed to pass and submit it, we are coping with it; especially that Ma’am Marian is using technology, like blogging to be specific.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            2) What can you say about your learning environment in terms of classroom appearance and functionality, location, noise level, light/ventilation?
I can’t say anything about our learning environment classroom. Why? Because we are staying in a somewhat like a privilege classroom, the speech laboratory. It has aircon which keep the classroom cool, keep us cool as well.  It is easy to locate for it’s just a step away from the library where we spent most of our vacant time. It is close room, free from disturbance and noise outside that can possibly hinder our concentration. Lastly, it is well lighted and absolutely a very relaxing place.

3) What can you say about your classmates in terms of attitude towards others, subject, group work?


I am fortunate enough to have them, my classmates. Their dynamism and enthusiasm towards others, the subject and group works are contagious. It’s no longer hard for me to deal with them for we became closer with each other now. To be with them for about two (2) years now, all I say is they are very optimistic in all things. They become more responsible enough in their studies now and they’re really trying hard in their studies.

4) What can you say about your teacher in terms of teaching style, lesson delivery, and rapport/attitude towards each students, communication skills, personality and manner of dressing, classroom management?

Hearing the name of our teacher, that is MS. MARIAN B. ALABA, there is only one I could say, “She’s excellent!” Since the first time I saw her that was in my first year of College, I told myself: “Wow! She’s great”. She has unique teaching styles, and is very good in her lesson   delivery that able us, her students to understand the lesson very well. She possesses a numerous skills that a normal person can impossibly have. In terms of the rapport and attitude towards us, no doubt, she’s really good at it. She treats her students as her own children. It is in her class that I always look forward to attend for I know that a time spend with her is a great opportunities of learning.  It is in her class that we are all at ease and well-motivated. She is also excellent in terms of communication skills; in fact, she is our teacher now in this subject, the teaching of speaking. Her manner of dressing and appearance is well-suited in a school setting, as a teacher. By just looking at her, you can already pay respect. She is also excellent in c classroom management; she has a lot of techniques. She is excellent in all things, an extraordinary creation of God.

5) What can you say about yourself in terms of attitude towards content of subject, level of understanding of the lessons, level of improvement in skills? 



I am responding well and is well-motivated in term of the subject content. As of now, we discuss no topics that are too difficult to understand, therefore, I can say that the level of understanding is a little bit higher. Though, to be like Ms. Marian Alaba will take time but I am trying now for she is worth to be imitated. I can say also that I am improving in terms of speaking for I learned a lot from her. I got a lot of ideas and techniques also in the classroom management.