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After much carefully research on Behavior Modification, Assertive Discipline (AD) was developed by Lee and Marlene Canter in 1970s and it is one of the behavior management models widely used in schools today (Edwards & Watts, 2008).  The shift from behavior modification has changed from eliminating particular forms of behavior by ignoring to shaping desired behavior by punishing unacceptable behaviors (Brophy, 1999; Edwards & Watts, 2008).  AD is a teacher-centered model.  It is based on a coercive boss-management system that allows very little student autonomy, and no freedom; thinking that students need to be controlled and directed (Carter, 2012).  Teachers observe student behavior and supply positive and negative reinforcement in order to create and maintain an environment that is conducive to successful instruction (Edwards & Watts, 2008).  Since studies report that punishment is ineffective in fostering positive student affect and behavior (Glasser, 1990; Lewis, 2006), in AD, it is highlighted that repetitive positive reinforcement is the key element to influence student behavior; however, negative reinforcement is also used.  It is referred to as the obedience model and it is preventive simply because students would behave as the teacher wants in order to get awards or avoid punishment (Edwards & Watts, 2008).  In addition, starting the school year with a clear explanation of the rules and consequences (including examples) to ensure that students have understood the teachers’s behavioral expectations is also considered preventive (Baron, 1992; Edwards and Watts, 2008; Kameenui & Darch, 1995).  Canter stresses that it is very important to have a relationship with students that is built around trust and respect. Talking to each one of them on a personal level is important, because according to Canter, students want and need teachers who believe in them and care enough to push them not only to reach their potential academically (SolutionThree, 2011) but also help them control and shape their misbehavior (Carter, 2012). 

The other model that is going to be described under the management model category is the Kounin Model. It embodies the contemporary concept of ‘preventive management’ that originated from the work of Jacob Kounin (Canter, 2012).   It is also called the Effective Momentum Management Model.  The Kounin Model separates teachers into two groups: effective and ineffective (Baron, 1992). The distinction between these teachers is not made by the way they handle misbehavior after it occurs, but rather by the way they manage the classroom before a problem arises or escalates (Brophy, 1999); hence, the concept of ‘preventive management.’  According to Baron (1992) most effective teachers are those who use prevention strategies rather than intervention strategies. Baron added that the key characteristics of effective teachers are withitness, overlapping, momentum, smoothness, and they know how to multitask.  Withitness refers to teacher’s skill in being aware of what is going on in all corners of the classroom. Additionally, it refers to the ability of the teacher to correct misbehavior before it escalates, or in some cases ignore minor incidents and not reprimand. Overlapping is described as the more difficult skill to learn and refers to the skill of handling problems while maintaining the flow of the lesson. Momentum refers to the skill of pacing instructions in order to cover the lesson’s objectives without distractions. Maintaining group alertness in activities increases students’ attention while decreasing boredom (Edwards, 1997).  Finally, smoothness refers to the skill of moving from one activity to another without being distracted by irrelevant matters.  All four behaviors can be done successfully with experience and practice (Baron, 1992).  In addition, lessons that are well prepared and paced that include lots of variety of intellectual challenge and smooth transitions are crucial in being effective.  These behaviors and key elements of classroom environment are identified by Kounin as preventive strategies that help teachers prevent disruption from occurring in the first place; thus, these teachers experience fewer discipline problems and are categorized as more successful compared to their less successful colleagues (Baron, 1992; Brophy, 1999; Edwards, 1997).
Similar to the idea of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, William Glasser started developing Reality Therapy (RT) in 1960s based on the fact that human beings are born with five genetically encoded needs: survival, love and belonging, power or achievement, freedom or independence, and fun (Cameron, 2009; Corey, 2009; Glasser, 1975).  When one of these five needs is unsatisfied, people feel bad and frustrated. As a result, they misbehave (Corey, 2009; Grant, 2009).  Therefore, due to the nature of cooperative learning, Glasser recommends cooperative team learning activities in the field of education in order to prevent misbehavior. With the help of these activities students would be able to satisfy four of the basic needs mentioned previously: belonging, power and friendship, achievement, independence (Edwards & Watts, 2008).  In addition, Glasser proposes various classroom meetings that identify the goals of instruction, rules, operations, commitment and consequences throughout the year that help students accept ownership and commitment in their studies (Edwards & Watts, 2008; Evans, 1982).   Moreover, he states that a meaningful relationship between teacher-student is crucial (Glasser, 1975).  In order to encourage and persuade students to do as directed, a shift from boss-management to lead-management is needed in order to create and environment where students could better satisfy their needs (Glasser, 1990).  In such an environment, it is unlikely to see discipline problems.
Comparison of Preventive Behavior Management
In the name of controlling disruptive behavior, thus increasing student academic performance,  all three models are preventive in different ways.  The least preventive model among the three is AD. That is because AD is a boss management model, which according to Glasser (1990), is the reason why discipline problems occur in the first place due to coercion, applied punishment and adversarial relationships.  The Kounin Model is also power-based; however, the difference between the two is that AD focuses on shaping student behavior by positive reinforcement and punishment, while the Kounin Model focuses on developing effective teachers by teaching them how to plan lessons and developing specific teaching behaviors in order to prevent misbehaviors from happening in the first place (Baron, 1992).  RT, one of the leadership models, provides ample autonomy and self-discipline to students because they are capable of controlling their own behavior.  The teacher is seen as a leader who helps students make good choices, which in turn results in good behavior (Edwards & Watts, 2008).  
The majority of discipline problems in schools occur because of poor management on the part of the teacher and students not knowing what is expected from them (Wong & Wong, 2001). By setting clear rules with consequences at the beginning of the school year,  AD and RT are preventive.  The difference is that in AD students’ needs are not considered.  It uses external force with rules made by the teacher for the teacher.  The reason why it is used commonly is that is fairly easy to apply. RT, on the other hand, uses a lead-management system that uses both external and internal force simultaneously, letting students make goals for instruction, classroom rules, suggestions regarding classroom operations, decisions on consequences and having them commit to them.  Students are helped to make better choices and become self-disciplined by adhering to rules they have made and taking ownership over their own learning (Edwards & Watts, 2008).  In addition, Glasser (1990) insists on having student input in the curriculum because he believes in the fact that discipline problems are the result of resistance on the part of students. They resist being stuffed with information that they are not interested in or do not need for future.  With that being said, RT is more preventive, however, it is difficult to apply (Evans, 1982). On that note, Kounin, does not necessarily mention setting classroom rules at the beginning of the school year. In terms of prevention, the focus is on teacher planning and behavior as well as the ‘ripple effect’ which is the effect on students who witness the teacher correcting the misbehavior of other students (Edwards, 1997, p.235).  As far as correcting behavior once a student misbehaves, teachers may vary in their own ways of intervention.
Discussion and Critique with respect to Pedagogy
The management models, AD and Kounin Model, are very much used in classrooms across the world due to the fact that both models are easy to apply; however, both models are teacher-centered. They have characteristics of being autocratic, self-righteous, threatening and intimidating. The negative consequence of this model is that students may become ‘yes students’ in order to tolerate the threatening style of the boss. In addition, it is normal to assume that students would have a hard time becoming personable with these teachers (Tomal, 1998).  Glasser (1990) believes that adversarial relationships created by a boss-management style is less effective, and is the reason why some students perform as little as they can, misbehave due to power struggles, or even drop out from school.  RT on the other hand, is student-centered. According to Tomal, (1998) RT has the characteristics of being supportive by taking a soothing and unassertive approach to discipline problems.  Unlike a boss manager, the lead-teacher helps create amicable relationships between their students by trying to solve problems, persuading the children that whatever they are directed to do is to their benefit to produce high quality work, and providing them a non-coercive and cooperative environment (Glasser, 1990), which results in less misbehavior in class (Levin & Nolan, 2010).
Lastly, AD and Kounin Model both believe that students should be passive, ready to intake what is given by the teacher. The negative effect is that students are not helped to become personally responsible, whereas RT, thinks the students should be active learners who are involved and questioning in order to help them gain self-discipline and autonomy (Glasser, 1990).   AD and the Kounin Model are suggested to be used in conjunction with other models and are not suggested to be used as the sole model because they do not necessarily increase academic performance or improve student behavior (Brophy, 1999; Edwards, 1997;  Kameenui & Darch, 1995).  However according to Evans (1982), when RT was put in a school’s program, discipline problems decline drastically.  Moreover, the quality of student work tremendously  increased due to the fact that students were helped to realize the benefit of producing high quality work (Glasser, 1990).
Conclusion
Boss management styles are outdated due to the expansion of knowledge and they create adversarial relationships. Besides they are the main reasons why disciplinary problems occur, because they do not consider students’ needs which results in low achievement; whereas, the lead management style creates positive teacher-student relationships as well as providing great satisfaction for both teachers and students. Therefore, teachers face not only high achievement but also very few discipline problems.

References

Baron, E. B., & Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, B. N. (1992). Discipline     Strategies for Teachers. Fastback 344.
Brophy, J. (1999). Perspectives of classroom management : yesterday today and tomorrow. In     J. Freiberg (Ed.), Beyond behaviorism : changing the classroom management paradigm     (pp. 43-56). Boston, MASS: Allyn and Bacon.
Cameron, A. (2009). Regret, choice theory and reality therapy. International Journal of     Reality Therapy, 28(2), 40-42. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Carter, S. (2012). EDU5322 Behavior management and support: Course notes. Module 2.     Toowoomba : University of Southern Queensland.
Carter, S. (2012). EDU5322 Behavior management and support: Course notes. Module 3.     Toowoomba : University of Southern Queensland
Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (8th ed.). Belmont
    CA: Brooks/Cole/Cengage Learning.
Glasser, W. (1975). The basic concepts of reality therapy. In reality therapy : A new approach to psychiatry (pp. 5-50). New York: Harper & Row Publishers.

Glasser, W. (1990). The quality school, Phi Delta Kappan, 71 (6), 425-435.

Grant, S. K. (2009). PSY 460 Reality therapy course notes. [Powerpoint Slides]. Northridge: California State University. Retrieved April 1, 2012, from www.csun.edu/~hcpsy002/Psy460_Ch11_Handout2_ppt.pdf.>

Edwards, C., & Watts, V. (2008). Classroom discipline and management. (5th Ed.). John Wiley & Sons, NJ.
Edwards, H. (1997). Classroom discipline and management (2nd ed., pp. 219-238). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Evans, D. B. (1982). What Are You Doing? An Interview with William Glasser. Personnel & Guidance Journal, 60(8), 460. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Kameenui, J., & Darch, B. (1995). Instructional classroom management : A proactive approach to managing behavior (pp. 19-39). White Plains, NY: Longman.
Levin, J., & Nolan, F. (2010). Principles of classroom management : A professional decision-making model (6th ed., pp. 37-74). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Lewis, R. (2006). Classroom discipline in Australia. In M. Evertson, & S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management: research practice and contemporary issues (pp.1193-1213). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
SolutionThree. (2011, July,12 ). Assertive discipline: positive behavior management for     today’s classroom [Video file]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?    v=CobbEzEWTsw
Tomal, D. R. (1998). A Five-Styles Teacher Discipline Model. Chicago, IL.
Wong, H. K., & Wong, R., T. (2001). The first days of school: How to be an effective     teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.

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Her insan mutlu olamaz...
Çünkü; gereğinden fazla özler dünü,
Hak ettiğinden fazla düşünür yarını...
Ve hiç hak etmediği kadar bilinçsizce yaşar bugünü...

Her insan mutlu olamaz...
Çünkü; gereğinden fazla özler hayatından çıkanları
Hak ettiğinden daha büyük umutla bekler hayatına girecekleri
Ve asla göremez yanı başındakileri...

                                                                             Erich Fromm

O yuzdendir ki bazen arakdaslar, bazen de psikolojik danismanlar bize yardimci olabilirer.

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At the school we were working there was a traditional assembly every Friday called Positive Action. During this time, all students from P-K to 5th grade would be gathered and a teacher would give instructions. There was singing, sometimes dancing. Students were encouraged to perform in their seats. It would be followed by singing the national CNMI anthem and the school song.

During one particular Positive Action day, the teacher running the show had a megaphone in her hand, giving instructions to the entire P-K to 5th grade students. Having found the dance bit difficult to follow, the students started disengaging from the activity and started talking to each other. Meanwhile, the teacher, who had been in education for many years (something like 20+ years), got very frustrated and tried to gather the students together by shouting orders to do this and that. Finally, she realized that her attempts were fruitless and she yelled to the young students using her megaphone, "You are retarded!" It wasn't so much yelling as it was singing at the top of her lungs during Positive Action time.

It's been nearly 9 years since this happened but til this day, it gives me stomach pain due to uncontrollable laughter of the irony of the situation.

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There are two kinds of people in the world . . .
Those who make your life easier — and those who make it harder.
Those whose presence helps you perform better — and those whose presence makes you do worse.
Those concerned about doing the work — and those concerned about getting the credit.
Those who leave you feeling up — and those who leave you feeling down.
Those who simplify — and those who complicate.
Those who listen when others are talking — and those who wait when others are talking.
Those who give — and those who take.
Those who last — and those who fade.
Which are you?

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My philosophy of education is built upon my experiences as both a student and a teacher, Constructivism, Humanism and Connectivism.  I started learning English as a second language at a bilingual school at the age of 12 totally through the direct approach, which means no use of a person’s mother tongue. Lessons begin with dialogues and anecdotes in modern conversational style, actions and pictures are used to make meanings clear, grammar is learned inductively, literary texts are read for pleasure and are not analyzed grammatically (Murcia, 2001, p. 6).  I learned English well, but my skill level was lower than my friends; I never figured out the usefulness of English other than for schoolwork.  My level of English was sufficient enough to do the work, but I wasn’t fluent until I met Tim, my husband. This demonstrates that motivation, which can be defined in terms of attitudes towards the language, in second language learning, is important, because if learners have favorable attitudes towards the speakers of the language they will desire more contact with them (Lightbown & Spada, 1999, p56).  Constructivism holds that meaningful learning occurs when people actively try to make sense of the world by filtering new ideas and experiences through existing knowledge structures (Snowman et al., 2009, p. 337). In agreement with Jerome Bruner, I confront students with problems and help them to seek solutions either independently or by engaging in collaborative group discussion (Snowman et al., 2009, p. 337). Fetherston (2007) calls this as social negotiation and adds that teachers operating according to constructivist principles would create an environment where students had ample opportunity for this social negotiation (p.160).  Furthermore, teachers adopting a constructivist approach would scaffold their students’ learning by matching the task to the students so that it lies within their ‘zone’ and use real and authentic tasks (p.161).  As a language teacher and a strong believer of  the constructivist approach, I make sure the students see meaningful connections between content and skills and the real world by providing opportunities for them to use the tools in authentic, real-life activities to create common or shared understanding of some phenomenon (Snowman et al., 2009, p. 340). Therefore, I plan and implement learning experiences in classroom and outside of classroom that supports students’ development and active engagement with the world (Standard 6). 
Much of our current society is built on systems that pacify the individual. People are encouraged to be watchers and observers, but not encouraged to take part in influencing or changing situations. Traditional education, which is based on behaviorism, feeds into this problem by making students empty vessels that knowledge must be poured into. The learner is passive during the time the teacher delivers the lesson. It is my belief that education serves to change the individual’s personality from passive to active. Lesson planning shifts from focusing on teacher delivery of content to designing collaborative projects that tap into cross-curricular content, abstract concepts, and learning in meaningful ways (Knobel & Wilber, 2009).   Bruner argues that conceptions that children arrive at their own are generally more meaningful than those proposed by others (Snowman et al., 2009, p. 337).  Vygotsky believed that children learn more from the interactions they have with those who are more intellectually advanced, particularly if the interaction is designed to fall within the child’s zone of proximal development (Snowman et al., 2009, p. 47).  Therefore, it is my belief to implement intellectually challenging learning experiences that actively promote student inquiry both individually or collaboratively, and also promote higher order thinking by scaffolding (Standard 3).
Learning a foreign language in a country where the language is not used, can be challenging. Errors are a natural part of language learning (Lightbown & Spada, 1999, p167). Students make many mistakes throughout this journey and more importantly they learn from their own mistakes. Tomlinson & Kalbfleisch (1998) argue that in order for learning to take place, learning environments must feel emotionally safe.  I make learning appealing, minimizing pressure and reducing responsibilities for failure or embarrassment (Snowman et al., 2009, p.445). Also in agreement with Abraham Maslow, I try very hard to have a positive teacher-student relationship in the classroom. In addition, I make sure the students are physically comfortable, feel safe and relaxed, have a sense of belonging, and experience self-esteem (Snowman et al., 2009, p.444) (Standard 7).
Students today have grown up in a world where mobile computers, cell phones with browsers, and other personal digital devices are common tools, and instant messaging, blogs, and wikis are common modes of self-expression (Apple, 2008).  Dondlinger argued that several studies have demonstrated that the use of computer-based learning and teaching increases students’ intrinsic motivation and performance (as sited in Snowman et al., 2009, p.454). In order to engage this new generation of learners, I encourage learners of all ages to learn vocabulary and grammar by having them use programs such as Comic Life or iMovie as students who worked on computer-based projects exhibit more self regulated learning behavior, greater persistence and more positive attitude towards their peers who did not match their cultural, social or gender profile...(Lou, 2004).  Some of the principles of connectivism are that learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions, learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources, learning may reside in non-human appliances, and nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning (Siemens, 2004). Therefore, connectivism presents a model of learning that acknowledges the tectonic shifts in society where learning is no longer an internal, individualistic activity (Siemens, 2004).  I believe that the students should continue learning outside of classroom using programs such as Facebook, Messenger, or iChat. Since languages are dynamic and evolving over the years, there is only a small amount of information that can be taught in a classroom. Beyond that, I encourage the students to learn more by connecting with other people around the world. Siemens (2004) also states that as our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today. Students now need the skills to understand how to locate, comprehend, synthesize, evaluate, and effectively use information. Connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era (Siemens, 2004) (Standard 1).
Finally, in the world we live, there are students from diverse backgrounds in almost all classes. Multicultural education is an indicative component of being a successful teacher. As an immigrant to the United States with Turkish ethnicity,  I wish to foster an understanding of and mutual respect for, the values, beliefs and practices of different cultural groups (Snowman et al., 2009, p.143).   In order to achieve this goal, I make sure that students bring their unique cultures into class by having discussions where they become proud of themselves and their cultures. (Standard 4).
References
Apple. (2008). Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow-Today: Learning in the 21st century: Apple inc.

Fetherston, T. (2007). Becoming an effective teacher. Nelson Australia Pty Limited: Thomson,     Australia.

Knobel, M. & Wilber, D. (2009). Let’s talk 2.0. Whether it’s Web 2.0 or literacy 2.0, it’s a whole     new way of thinking, Educational Leadership, Vol.66, No.6, pp-20-24.

Lightbrown, P. M. & Spada, N. (2003). How Languages are Learned: Revised Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York.

Lou, Y. (2004). Understanding process and affective factors in small group versus individual learning with technology. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 31(4),337-369.

Murcia, M. C. (2001). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Third Edition. Boston, MA: Thomson Learning. Heinle and Heinle.

Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Elearnspace everything elearning. Retrieved from: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Snowman, J., Dobozy, E., Scevak, J., Bryer, F., Bartlett, B., & Biehler, R. (2009).   Psychology Applied to Teaching: 1st Australian Edition. Qld: John Wiley & Sons.

Tomlinson, C., & Kalbfleisch, M. (1998). Teach me, teach my brain a call for differentiated     classrooms. Educational Leadership, 56(3), 52. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier     database on 3/14/2010.

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We took a train back to Copenhagen and from there, we switched to another one to Amsterdam. We ended up getting in to Amsterdam at about 7:00 pm. By the time we found the house we rented and went out with Lynn Bilbrey and Tim Bray to get something to eat and drink, almost all the stores were already closed except one. This particular supermarket was letting out the last customers and not letting in any new ones. So, we crossed the street, and I literally begged the supermarket director if he could let us in and that we would be out before he knew it. I also added that we just came and we have nothing to eat. Like as if we wouldn't eat at a restaurant. Anyway, so this nice guy let us in, and Lynn was in charge of getting crackers and Tim was in charge of cheese and I was in charge of wine. Needless to say, we managed to buy stuff and head home to celebrate our first reunion in Amsterdam. For the record, we, three of us, had 4 bottles of wine that first night.

The next morning, we started exploring Amsterdam. About the architecture, I love the buildings. They look like they are inclining to the front. This city is also impressive with a little bit more added to it. For example, I call Copenhagen as a very delicious meal made up of a yummy salmon salad, but Amsterdam is like a meal made of a yummy salmon salad and a little cup cake as a desert added to it. Literally, the cup-cake makes a difference and you feel it for a longer time than you expected. Lynn, Tim and I had a great night out in the garden of the house we rented. Prior to the dinner, we went to a store where we purchased some brie cheese, olives, crackers, salad and wine. As we were planing our next move with a map of Europe in our hands in the night, we laughed so hard that at one point the vastly tolerant host approached us with candles in her hands to make the experience more memorable. I remember that she also asked us to be a bit quiet when laughing.

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• inclusion of lessons that promote empathy, kindness, and friendship,

• having class rules against bullying,

• immediate consequences for the bully,

• ongoing meetings with all students communicating clear expectations about preventing bullying,

• ongoing communication with parents (p.89).

Bukspan, E. (2004). Bullying at work in France. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 32 (3), 397-406. Retrieved from   EBSCOhost.
Cameron, A. (2009). Regret, choice theory and reality therapy. International Journal of Reality Therapy, 28(2), 40-42. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (8th ed.). Belmont CA: Brooks/Cole/Cengage Learning.
Due, P., Holstein, B. E., Lynch, J., Diderichsen, F., Gabhain, S. N., Scheidt, P., & Currie, C.     (2005). Bullying and symptoms among school-aged children: international comparative cross sectional study in 28 countries. European Journal of Public Health, Vol.15, No. 2,128-132.
Fleming, L. C. & Jacobsen, K. H. (2009). Bullying among middle-school students in low and middle income countries. Health Promotion International, Vol.25, No.1, doi:    10.1093/heapro/dap046
Hibbert, A. (2005). Why do people bully? Raintree, Illinois, Chicago.
Hirschstein, M. K., Edstrom, L. V. S., Frey, K. S., Snell, J. L. & MacKenzie, E. P. (2007). Walking the Talk in Bullying Prevention: Teacher Implementation Variables Related to Initial Impact of the Steps to Respect Program. School Psychology Review, 36(1), 3-21. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Houlston, C. K. (2009). The impact of a peer counselling scheme to address bullying in an all-girl London secondary school: A short-term longitudinal study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 79(1), 69-86. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Ivey, A. E., Ivey, M. B., & Zalaquett, P. C. (2010). Intentional interviewing and counselling: Facilitating client development in a multicultural society (7th ed.). Belmont CA: Brooks/Cole.
Kim, J. U. (2006). The Effect of A Bullying Prevention Program on Responsibility and Victimization of Bullied Children in Korea. International Journal of Reality Therapy, 26(1), 4-8. Retrieved     from EBSCOhost.
Kim, Y. S., Leventhal, B. L., Koh, Y. J., & Boyce, T. (2009). Bullying increased suicidal risk: prospective study of korean adolescents. International Academy of Suicide Research. Retrieved from University of Southern Queensland database.
Kim, Y. S., Koh, Y. J., & Leventhal, B. (2004). School bullying and suicidal risk in korean middle school students. American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved in September 27, 2011, from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/115/2/357.full.html
Koo, H., Kwak, K. & Smith, P. K. (2008). Victimization in korean schools: the nature, incidence, and distinctive features of korean bullying or wang-ta. Journal of School Violence, 7:4, 119-139.
Lai, S., Ye, R., & Chang, K. (2008). Bullying in Middle Schools: An Asian-Pacific Regional Study. Asia Pacific Education Review, 9(4), 503-515. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Ma, X. L., Stewin, L. L. & Mah, D. L. (2001). Bullying in school: nature, effects and remedies. Research Papers in Education, 16(3), 247-270. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Pontzer, D. (2010). A Theoretical Test of Bullying Behavior: Parenting, Personality, and the Bully/Victim Relationship. Journal of Family Violence, 25(3), 259-273. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Rhie, W. (2002). Korea Unmasked: In search of the country, the society and the people. (1st ed.). Gimm-Young Publishers, Seoul 110-260, Republic of Korea.
Rosenthal, B. (2008). Bullying. Greenhaven Press, Framington Hills, MI.
Rushowy, K. (2011, October 3). A different way to deal with bullying. Parentcentral.ca. Retrieved from http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/newsfeatures/article/1062917--a-different-way-to-deal-with-bullying
Shapiro, R. M. & Jankowski, M. A. (2005). Bullies, Tyrants & Impossible People: How to beat them without joining them. Crown Publishing Group, Random House, Inc., New York.
Starr, L. (2005). Bullying intervention strategies that work: the community must help victims fight back agains bullies. Education World. Oct 26.
Young, A. (2009). Empowering Students: Using Data to Transform a Bullying Prevention and Intervention Program. Professional School Counseling, 12(6), 413. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Yonsei University. (2007). Yonsei newsletter. Retrieved from http://www2.yonsei.ac.kr/eand/eng/cgi-bin/view.asp

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During June and July of 2011,  I was not able to contribute to the world of blogs. The reason was because I was in Turkey seeing my family shortly but also I was in the process of buying a small property which actually is an other story to tell. It is an arduous process to buy a property in Turkey, especially when there are more than one property owner. We spent many mornings, getting up, getting ready and been told that they cannot perform the selling of the property due to some bureaucratic reason or another. Not only that but also the property is in a small village that had no Internet connection, therefore, I was unable to contribute to my blog.

Moreover, during summer of 2011, we spent 21 days traveling around Europe with Rail-passes. Our journey started in Munich, with which we both fell in love. I am not an authority on this but June in Munich is the best, if you ask me. We stayed at a hostel called Wombats City Hostel. The place was very conveniently located and full of backpackers. During the day, we walked around and saw the city which was full of unique buildings, surrounded by parks which are full of lush greenery. I also have to say I found the people very approachable, friendly and helpful. The farmers markets have abundant meat, olives, fruits and vegetables, dips and of course beer gardens. It was almost impossible to not be impressed with everything. We easily met a group of local guys who were having some wine and beer at the water fountain. After a few seconds of observation and with the help of their input, we realized that they didn’t want for to pay for beer from the beer gardens but instead, they go and buy their booze from the store and cool it off in the fountain and then drink standing. Overall, I was really happy to be there except one moment that I was dumb founded. As we were walking along the side of the river, we saw people sunbathing on the shore which looked great. Then, Tim asked me if the guy right next to us was naked or not. I looked at the guy, who was lying down in a weird way as if he wanted to burn the side of his leg and his tummy at the same time. Anyway, when I saw him mostly sideways, although it looked like he might be naked, I did not want to believe that could be a possibility. So I shared with Tim my idea which was that the guy was wearing a bathing suit however it was made out of tan color fabric. We started walking away, as the angle changed, I learned very fast that the people in Munich do not feel obliged to cover themselves.

We took the train to Berlin that night. Berlin is a very historical old city full of war ruins. Checkpoint Charley which was the cross over between east and west Berlin in the days of the division. Next, we saw the parliament building and the remaining pieces of the wall which was amazing. The people in Berlin seemed like they do not know how to move their muscles on their faces that could make them smile. Seriously, I was not impressed with that. We went to a cafe shop and bought coffees which were delicious. However, when I wanted to use the bathroom, the owner asked me to pay her 0.5 euros. Total scandal!  I have used toilets in 8 countries in Europe, not even once in Nice I was asked to pay when I was a customer in a store. Even in NICE it is free for customers. Thinking that it is an experience and we came to have an experience and so we did have one. The night came and we took the train to Malmo, Sweden just for a short stay. Next, we took another train and went to Copenhagen where I met Wolf and his wife, Martina for the first time. 

To be continued...

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This weekend I made two how to movies, one about cheese and the other is yogurt.
Please feel free to share any recipes that would go well with yogurt and/or cheese I made.
Enjoy!

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"For us, it is scary because we grew up with ceilings; however, they don't have ceilings and they are not afraid...they are networked, digital, and are living in abundant information"

-D. Warlick

Due to administrators who are afraid of change, teachers are feeling left behind which causes dissatisfaction about their jobs, because they know that the students need computers,  Our goal is to help administrators to see that there needs to be a change and change is not negative. In fact, it is positive, and more importantly it is necessary. Our students are virtually connected and due to this fact they become playful. We need to help them learn in constructive ways, where they will apply the knowledge into authentic situations that will make sense to them now and in the future. We need to prepare them for future.

“Google turns this culture into a question asking culture. Before Google, to whom were we asking these questions? Nobody!” -D. Warlick

Therefore, we agreed to take the challenge that we decided on: in Spring of 2012 we will report back our findings. We are hopeful to create an understanding of 21Century education among the administrators of international schools of Korea.

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The summative activity demonstrates validity, reliability, flexibility, fairness, and authenticity with regard to the most current literature and thought on language teaching. It also integrates the use of technology into the final assessment. Students are given several formative assessments before the summative assessment in order to correct their mistakes and misunderstanding of Spanish adjectives.

Validity:
The summative assessment demonstrates validity through the use of a rubric which addresses the different components of the project. It is also valid as a form of assessment because it requires the language learners to use their skills in different ways. Learners observe or participate in many different types of language events: brief greetings, commercial transactions, exchanges of information, arguments, instructions at school or in the workplace. They also encounter the written language in the form of notices, newspapers, posters, etc (Lightbown & Spada, 2003, p.94). In language teaching, students are expected to demonstrate language use in a variety of settings, in this summative assignment they will write a short poem describing themselves and another person and then record the poem with background music. This blends the productive skills of writing and speaking as well as the receptive skills of reading and listening. The focus may occasionally be on the language itself, but the emphasis is on using the language rather than on talking about it (Lightbown & Spada, 2003, p.92).

Reliability:
The summative assessment demonstrates reliability through replication and its focus on standard skills in language acquisition. The topics which are discussed in communicative and task-based instructional environments are often of general interest to the learner, for example, how to reply to a classified advertisement for a newspaper (Lightbown & Spada, 2003, p. 92). With a focus on production in the target language, students are being judged not on their personalities or opinions, but on their actual skill in use of the language. Students’ success in these courses is often measured in terms of their ability to ‘get things done’ in the second language, rather than on their accuracy in using certain grammatical features (Lightbown & Spada, 2003, p.92).

Flexibility:
The summative assessment demonstrates flexibility in a two ways. First, students are allowed to create their own poems with Spanish grammar they have already mastered, choose their own music, and film their own music videos. This allows for creativity and originality on their part. Students, who are musically inclined, will have a chance to make their own songs to display mastery of the adjectives. Students who do not excel in music can easily use the background music supplied by the teacher. Students should be given an opportunity to express their ideas and opinions (Larsen-Freeman, 2003, p. 126). Second, students can demonstrate mastery of the Spanish adjectives through through the skills of writing and speaking; therefore, students struggling with writing, for example, have a chance to rely on their speaking ability. Speaking is an activity requiring the integration of many subsystems.... all these factors combine to make speaking a second or foreign language a formidable task for language learners.... yet for many people, speaking is seen as the central skill (Baily & Savage, 1994, p. vi-vii).

Fairness:
The summative assessment demonstrates fairness through its focus on skills, rather than content. Students’ success in these courses is often measured in terms of their ability to ‘get things done’ in the second language, rather than on their accuracy in using certain grammatical features (Lightbown & Spada, 2003, p.92). Students who are able to write or speak in Spanish will be able to accomplish the task. Today, teachers are expected to balance a focus on accuracy with a focus on fluency as well (Celce-Murcia, 2001, p. 104). The assessment allows for students to display skill in fluency as well as accuracy, because they will be allowed to edit the final assessment several times; plus, while they are filming, they can practice as often as they like or want. Oral skills teachers should always connect speaking, listening, and pronunciation teaching although the focus in any one class or activity may highlight one or another (Murphy, 1991, p. 51). By focusing on the several skills at the same time, students are able to demonstrate mastery in multiple ways.

Authenticity:
The summative assessment demonstrates authenticity through its use of a ‘real-life’ situation. Students should be given opportunities to listen to language as it is used in authentic communication (Larsen-Freeman, 2003, p. 128). The students will be given a exemplar as a model of a good final project and the teacher will even supply background music. Whenever possible, ‘authentic language’ -- language as it is used in a real context -- should be introduced (Larsen-Freeman, 2003, p. 125). The Spanish language has a rich tradition of literature and music; therefore, writing a poem and making a song, provides students with real-life tasks. A variety of discourse types are introduced through stories, role playing, and the use of ‘real-life’ materials such as newspapers, television broadcasts, and field trips (Lightbown & Spada, 2003, p.95). Finally, poetry and music deal with the sound of a language. Students should work with language at the discourse or suprasentential (above the sentence) level. They must learn about cohesion and coherence, those properties of language which bind the sentences together (Larsen-Freeman, 2003, p. 126).

References

Bailey, K. M. & Savage, L. (1994). New Ways in Teaching Speaking. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

Celce-Murcia, M. (2001). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. (3rd ed.).  Boston, MA.: Heinle & Heinle.

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. (2nd. ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. (1999). How Languages are Learned. Revised Edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Murphy, J. M. (1991). Oral communication in TESOL: Integrating speaking, listening and pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly. 25(1):51-75.

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At around the middle of the last quarter, we were instructed to watch the movie “Race to Nowhere”, which points to the silent epidemic in American schools however, there are many other countries that are suffering from the same epidemic. Korea, Japan, Turkey are only the ones I know for sure.
I would like to reflect on some of the topics I have noted while watching it. For those who have not watched it yet, I need to make a short summary. The movie is about the load of work the students are assigned by their teachers simply because teachers are also judged by the standardized test results students will get.

Students became disengaged and not motivated
Well, of course! How would you feel if you were fed with useless information just to be able regurgitate in a standardized test?
In Turkey, still students have to take this University entrance exam that decides whether the students are worthwhile or not. I hated it, and failed 2 years in a row. What was making hard for me is that there were too many things to remember. The history of Turkey goes back to 6000 years. How is it possible to remember all the results and reasons of all the fights. Ridiculous! Not to mention, the test is prepared in such a way that it tries to trick the student. The answers are similar, results of the wars are open to interpretation and even they find mistakes after the test is over. What is funny is that after the second failure, my dad said, “well, I guess if you fail the third time, may be it is time for you to get married!”  Obviously, that motivated me as I was accepted to one that year. The test is ridiculous and one of the most useless tests that prove little to nothing except some diligence on the part of the student. Here in Korea, students also are to be expected to regurgitate all the information but when you ask them what would you do with that, most of the time you get blank stares. They already figured it out, why bother using that information which is going to do no good for their future?

Cheating is something almost all students do
Let’s be honest. If you were to given that much homework within a day to process all that information, would you be able to take your precious time to process all or just choose to cheat for some of them? If you pump that much information into playful brains of middle school students, they will cheat because that means more time for socializing and games and less time trying to do some stupid homework that serves no reason. In Korea, it is not called ‘cheating’, but is called, ‘helping’. You would see students copying off of each others work but when you ask them, it is totally normal. Clearly parents are ok with it and naming it as ‘helping’. Then why send them to tutoring sessions until 11 pm, if you are going to allow them cheat?

Too much homework
I agree with many parts if the movie and this part is also very true that students are swamped by lots of homework. And that the teachers feel they need to get the extra bonus pay (in America) if their students get high achieving grades so they push, push and push by giving so much homework. However, the students are still kids who need to go out and play, not sit at a desk and do hours of homework after 8 hours of school. It is not fair for them. 
Here in Korea also students are given lots of homework. As if homework is not enough, the majority of the students go to special academies called “hagwons” until late night. Those hagwons are also loading the students with exhausting homework.  As a result, students sleep 2-5 hours at most which means the fact that a teenager who should take at least 8 hours of sleep is a pipe dream for many Korean students. Not to mention that they fall asleep in early classes to recuperate their sleep deprivation.

Depression and burnout
You should know that depression is knocking at the door when you are assigning an extra full schedule to a teenager; starting from 6 am until midnight.  As was mentioned in the movie, as a result of racing the students, giving them too little time to no time to be kids they feel overwhelmed and depressed. Adults have already passed those ‘teens’ long time ago and they do not remember how it feels like to be a teenager. However, it should be noted that teens are going through a serious of changes in the mind, brain and body. Not to mention the whole problem of finding their own identity is a big burden for them already.  Let’s think that many students get motivated or seem to not be bothered by the workload and I was one of them. Never liked it, because I found it useless but I did not care either. But there are some students out there that become suicidal even after getting an F from a single quiz or a test.

Preparing young adults that are unprepared and uninspired
We are clearly giving tests that do not help prepare students for the challenges of this world. I remember learning all those chemistry, physics, and advanced math when I was in MS and HS. How frustrated I was, spending all my time at my desk trying to use the formula to find the solution to a problem. I wish I had thrown all those books and went outside and ran. Anyway, the same method since 1970’s is being applied even though there is evidence that it does not work.  Most of the things we force the students to learn is not applicable to real life scenarios and thus, they are useless. If our student is forced to spend their time trying to memorize something that they are not interested in, or obviously won’t be using in their life, would it be unethical to expect them to disengage? I would say, it would be unethical for us, the teachers to expect them to try learning ‘stuff’ that they are not interested in.
Please watch the videos mentioned below if you still think you are a teacher or even consider yourself teaching anything about life.
Did you know?: A fantastic video on the progression of information technology, researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman

Sir Ken Robinson: School Kills Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms

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... a small voice, at best, but sometimes one photograph, or a group of them, can lure our sense of awareness. ~W. Eugene Smith

You can see all my favorites from the link below http://www.flickr.com/photos/55430381@N05/page1/

Below each one are the explanations: 

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... a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever...it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything. ~Aaron Siskind

You can see all my favorites from the link below http://www.flickr.com/photos/55430381@N05/page1/

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Después de Saipan, el 2007 nos mudamos a Korea. La razón por la que quisimos mudarnos era principalmente ahorrar más dinero y vivir en un país donde hubiera cuatro estaciones. Nos registramos en la feria de trabajos en Iowa. Por fortuna, nos contrataron por 2 años al empezar. Al terminar los dos años, nos contrataron por dos años más, y ahora ya estamos en Corea el cuarto año. Un año más, vamos a mudarnos otra vez, tal vez algún lugar exótico como América Latina. ¡Ojalá!

En Corea, al principio teníamos buen tiempo. Teníamos un departamento mucho más bonito que el de Saipan. Estuvimos muy contentos el primer año. Hubo diferencias entre un país grande y una isla pequeña que disfrutamos mucho pero el año siguiente empezaron las dificultades. El huelo de kimchi, la manera de masticar la goma las personas, el invierno larguísimo, el problema de comunicación y diversión. Aunque tenemos estudiantes buenísimos y una escuela bien bonita, es un poco difícil disfrutar los días.

¿Qué decidimos hacer para disfrutar los días?
¡La respuesta fue fatal! Es por eso que ingresamos en la Uni otra vez y ahora mientras Tim está tomando clases para ser un administrador desde la Uni de Arkansas, yo estoy tomando clases para ser consejera desde la Uni de Southern Queensland. Eso significa que; uno, es que no queremos estar afuera ya que nos frustra mucho tratar de comunicarnos y dos, que ya que pasamos los días en Korea, mejor tomar clases para que podamos avanzar y ser versátiles.  No sé si es una buena idea pero en este momento nos parece la decisión más lógica que los demás.

Vamos a averiguar todo con tiempo...Ahora, nadie lo sabe.

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Yesterday I learned a great trick from one of my students. It was to make an iMovie showing 2 screens at the same time. Before this in ADE Vietnam, I saw that with Final Cut Pro we will be able to do multiple screens but apparently even with iMovie, you could do two screens at the same time. Although, you still can not create more than 2 at the time.

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