responsibility, we must first give them responsibility, and plenty of it." (Kohn, A. (2006). Beyond Discipline, p.84).

This is perhaps the most important thing I have learned from this chapter. I myself have heard teachers say this same thing before. They want their students to be responsible, yet they do not give them opportunities to demonstrate responsibility. For teachers who do not take this approach to classroom management,  responsibility to them means, that students are simply following directions. Another awesome quote explains this further.

"When some people describe a student as self-disciplined, they mean

amounts to trying to direct her behavior by remote control."  (Kohn, A. (2006). Beyond Discipline, p.83

In summation,  most students actually want and would benefit for more opportunities in their education in which they take on more responsibility over their learning, it is just that they are not provided ways in which to do so.  

other." (Kohn, A. (2006). Beyond Discipline, p.92).

As teachers we have to ask ourselves. Are we listening to our students wants and needs and is their input making a positive difference in the class, or are we just having them come up with ideas that fit with our wants?

This quote really stood out to me because I remember being a child and being told that my feelings were inconsequential or that I wasn’t old enough to make that choice for myself and how invalidated that made me feel. That last bit“…people of any age ought to have some say about what happens to them”, was especially impactful to me because I know how it feels to be stripped of my voice and choice. Children deserve our best and that includes treating them like human beings with real feelings and lived experiences.

That quote came out of the section titled “Structure vs Control” which I found particularly insightful because it made me think about the fact that I can run a structure classroom and allow students to make choices and not be in “control”. That section goes on to say something along the lines of, “Don’t just teach them the rule, teach them why” which seems intuitive but needs repeating. Children are not animals to be trained, they deserve to know the reason behind your request and they deserve to be able to make choices regarding “the most basic control over their own bodies.”

 This quote really resonated because I grew up in a very controlling environment and when I was finally allowed to make my own choices, I made some real stinkers. I really believe that there is an adjustment period after control is released from a child’s life at which time, they may make some bad choices. It also reminded me that even if students make bad choices, they are theirs to make. The learning curve of life is high but if we want children to be the deep-thinking/ responsible individuals we want them to be, we have to release control sometime. 

I chose this quote because I agree that the ultimate goal of teaching is to help children “grow into ethical and compassionate people”. Most of the factoids that students are taught throughout school will be forgotten, but the lessons they learned and the way you (the teacher) made them feel will stay with them forever. This quote really made me think that I can ease up on discipline and having students internalizing the little facts and focus on the big picture and how I can help them grow.

I love the overarching message of this chapter, which emphasizes that teachers need to give students real opportunities to influence their classrooms. When teachers micromanage every decision that's made in a classroom, the learning environment doesn't promote actual learning. The passage highlights how it's not so much students, but their educators who are putting up roadblocks to meaningful learning: "Students will have little opportunity to do that kind of learning if teachers and administrators try to control or manage their behavior" (Kohn, p.78).

I strongly agree that mutual respect plays a huge part in creating successful learning environments. Teachers can earn respect from their students by treating them more like adults and less like unruly children. As adolescent learners are gaining more agency and independence in their own lives, the classroom is another arena where they can display their maturity through their academic work. For teachers, this means giving more freedom and greater responsibility when it comes to classroom management.

I love the idea of class meetings. This resonated with me a great deal as a music class is one where each individual must learn the responsibilities of how to succeed as well as how to help their peers. This meeting idea is not far off from what sectionals look like in a music program, the only difference is small groups vs. one large class. I think this is a great way for teachers to get a better understanding on how and what they need to focus on in their future lessons. The students will provide their own feedback without any reservation once they see you give up your authority as leader in the class. They start to recognize what they need to succeed and tell each other, not the teacher telling them what they must do. 

This chapter brings up an important debate about how much responsibility teachers should give over to students in the classroom. Traditionally teachers have held onto structures of power in their classrooms, using their decision-making ability as a form of discipline. But ultimately, giving students more agency and choice in the classroom allows them to be more invested in their learning. Kohn alludes to this benefit in terms of reducing the need for discipline: "Choice promotes compliance and minimizes misbehavior" (p.81).

Students know what they need to work on to succeed. They are fully aware of their failures, but they will only fail more if we don't provide them the space they need to properly succeed in their own way. Students may not know how to solve a math problem, but they may remember doing well in their science group when they worked in teams of two. It is our job to listen to their successes and find the part of it that led to success in that class and how to implement it in our own class. All of this is a discussion a teacher should have with their student(s), maybe in class meetings.

This quote stuck out to me in the conclusion about taking student choices a step further. Instead of just letting students select from pre-selected options, why not have them help come up with the solutions themselves? Teachers might think they have some higher authority when it comes to proven solutions for the classroom, but it is vital for us to value the input of our students and let them offer new possibilities. Life isn't a multiple choice test. Students need to learn to brainstorm and solve unique problems on their own. Letting them generate solutions on their own is a great way to take agency a step further.

This is a problem I would see all too often at the elementary school level. Teachers expect their students to be creative thinkers and speak their minds, but they waste time on classroom procedures that restrict students. Igor Stravinsky once said that creating interesting music is like dancing in a straight jacket. Once a teacher sees a student breaking the rules they have set, it is up to the teacher to have a conversation with the entire class to determine if the rule is a good one. It is better for students to have a meeting as a group at the start of the school year to create their own class rules they all agree to.

I have never heard of students such a simple and universal rule for raising you hand to speak. The idea that agreeing to saying "Beep, Beep" as the request to speak sounds too silly to be considered. The fact that a teacher was willing to test this new idea shows how much they trust their students and how well they manage the classroom. I think this wouldn't work if there was a substitute or if the students were not used to receiving such large responsibilities.