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Forrest Gathercoal, Creator Of Judicious Discipline

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Forrest Gathercoal, creator of Judicious Discipline was a professor in the School of Education at Oregon State University. He taught law courses for educators and conducted workshops on civil rights and student discipline, and served as a consultant to colleges and school districts across the country (Gathercoal, P., 2017)

In one sentence a relationship can be established that creates a feeling among students that their teacher is here to help and support each of them as individuals and that they belong to a bigger school community and even wider outside community and country that desperately needs more critical thinkers and compassionate individuals unafraid to stand up for their and others’ rights. Most secondary students have some …show more content…

The educator who tells a student ‘If I let you do that, I will have to let everyone else do it,’ may be denying that student an equal opportunity to learn, if in fact that student needs special assistance in order to find success in school. Equality does not mean treating every student the same. It means educators will respond to students’ individual needs so each will have an opportunity to succeed.

The model requires that students must first be taught about their rights and identify and discuss their own needs and desires and then the rights and goals of the class, school, and community. Most likely, students at the secondary level have been introduced to the Bill of Rights but has it been put into practice besides the few students who participate in Student Government?

Students need to be emboldened with the knowledge and feeling that they have rights in some schools that sustain an overwhelmingly autocratic environment. Students are invited to not only participate in their educational process but also to think about those rights that can be denied if their rights clash with the needs of others or the group.

The major goal of Judicious Discipline is to “enhance character and courage which will hopefully provide them (students) a presence of mind for living a life of equability and self-control.” (Gathercoal, F. 2001). Students learn their rights as provided by the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution within 3 foundational principles of Freedom, justice, and

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