Reluctant Disciplinarian

I thought this was a great read and can relate. Being firm and a disciplinarian is a bit contrary to my nature. I am very laid back and by no means a person that enjoys confrontation. I had a teacher friend say that he was asked in an interview if it was important to him if his kids liked him. He responded that he hoped that they would, but that his primary goal was to teach and not to be the "cool" teacher. I really took the same lesson from the "Reluctant Disciplinarian", it is most important that you establish yourself as a teacher before you become the "cool" teacher. I really enjoyed reading some of the "what not to do" sections including almost every method we are using right now to discipline (warnings, name on board, detention). Rubinstein offers other approaches to what he calls being a real  teacher and a few of them I would like to try. He echoes the advice of many of the other books I've read including "Rookie Teaching for Dummies" which was really great. He states that it is important to dress and act the part. To wear professional clothes and be decisive and confident in giving responses. "Rookie Teaching for Dummies" recommends that men wear ties at least through January. Rubinstein also advised for teachers to like their students. He said that it was important to appreciate them and enjoy them. When one of my students, Cody, says "herman" for "human" I nearly crack up every time. I agree that it makes the job a lot more enjoyable if you can laugh about the strange things they do and not try to be overly-consumed by the negative. All in all I found this text to be a quick and great read full of helpful advice and some approaches to ponder when it comes to being a reluctant disciplinarian. It also seems that students benefit greatly from procedure and a structured environment. This structure, which is something many do not have in their personal lives, provides a place where they can focus and concentrate on the work and hand and hopefully be able to retain some of the information.