William Glasser says that only high quality education will help us succeed in schools today. I agree that the standards of education seem to be slipping downward. How we go about privatizing these standards is going to be a tough job. Maybe Glasser's lead manager approach is the answer. I like his idea's about how a lead manager gives the students some of the input on what the rules are and what is expected of the students. As a class this could be used to help empower the student's to a certain degree that they feel like they have a voice in what happens in their class. The teachers are the"lead manager's" and must make a conncetion with the students to inspire all levels of learning to work towards high quality education. Many students who are falling behind in their classed are "pushed through the cracks" and pass from grade to grade while doing lower quality qork as is expected from them. These students need to be inspired and supported if they are expected to complete high quality work. The teachers must act as a leader not as a figure of complete authority such as a boss, to help these struggling students to reach their full potential and complete high quality work in their classes. Glasser talks a lot about Boss-management and how it is an ineffective way of teaching because it relies on coercion. (Although I feel that the students need to be held responsible for their actions) Detention is not a threat to students. I agree with him that detention and suspension are not the answer to obtain high quality qork. I feel that we could use community service instead of detention to help improve the level of quality schoolwork seen in students. Don't get me wrong, I do agree with many of Glasser's ideas such as mentor programs, cooporative learning and getting volunteers into the schools. I do have my doubts about the use of a time out room. In today's schools there are many students disrupting a class on any given day and by the end of a day the time out room would be the size of a regular classroom. This would become a meeting place for thos misbehaving. If there were only one or two students in the time out room at a time, it might work but with six or more students if could become just as disruptive as a regular classroom. It is going to be very hard to change students work ethics in schools when so much is going on with their home lives. William Glasser seems to think that we can use different teaching methods involving non-coercion tactics. I believe that everyone has an innate sense of right and wrong but this can be greatly effected by the environment the child is being raised in. I think children look for both attention and discipline in their lives and both must be found in equal proportions especially in today's society. Given that the affection is there as well as a system of rewards and punishment, a child can take rather well to discipline and at times maybe even demand it.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 1999