Lee Canter Assertive DisciplineAmanda Cahill

Biography • Lee attended California State University, then

completed a master’s degree at the University of Southern California. In 1970 he began serving as a psychiatric social worker for children in southern California.

• Assertive Discipline has sold more than 1.5 million copies and trained more than a million teachers.

• Has been a guest on the Today Show, Oprah, and many other talk shows. He has over forty best selling books.

Basic Tenets • The classroom has a well developed and

meticulously followed behavior management plan.

• Consequences, both negative and positive, are predetermined and immediately awarded.

• No student’s behavior is allowed to distract from the learning of another.

Teacher Responsibilities • The teacher must have a well formed behavior

management plan before students ever step in the door. Consequences should be predetermined and fair for all students.

• Teachers must explain and make sure all students understand the plan and the consequences.

• Teachers should reward good behavior with immediate praise to encourage other students to be well behaved.

• Teachers must help their students understand that the students have a choice to follow the rules, but will face the repercussions for not doing so.

Student Responsibilities • Students must learn what is expected of them,

and the penalty for not following the rules.• Canter believes that students make the choice to

misbehave and should be held responsible. • Students should encourage each other to be well

behaved, because some teachers use a whole classroom behavior approach where rewards are given when the class behaves well as a whole.

Key Vocabulary • Assertive- a teacher must run her classroom in a

firm, but positive manner. • Compliance- Students must make a choice to

follow the rules that have been set for them. • Consequences- Immediately follow a behavior,

whether good or bad. They can consist of time out or a treat given to a well behaved student.

Pros • The classroom has fair, well established rules,

which makes students feel safe.• Students know the consequences for misbehavior

and are held responsible. • There is no room for argument about

punishment , which can be distracting to other students.

Cons • Many teachers only follow the negative

consequences. • Some teachers take assertive discipline too far

and create a negative environments. • Teachers may see physical punishment as an

appropriate form of discipline.