Allen Mendler is an American author and educator born on October 21, 1949, in New York,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He received his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

School Psychology School psychology is a field that applies principles from educational psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, community psychology, and behavior analysis to meet the learning and behavioral health needs of children and ado ...

from

Union Institute Union Institute & University (UI&U) was a private online university that was headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It also operated satellite campuses in Florida and California. In early 2023, it began to experience severe financial challenges. ...

in 1980, and he has spent over twenty-five years developing

discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...

with

dignity Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good. As an extension of the Enlightenment- ...

classroom management Classroom management is the process teachers use to ensure that classroom lessons run smoothly without disruptive behavior from students compromising the delivery of instruction. It includes the prevention of disruptive behavior preemptively, as ...

methodology for both regular and special

classroom A classroom, schoolroom or lecture room is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other place ...

s. Mendler's emphasis is on developing effective frameworks and strategies for educators to manage

behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions of Individual, individuals, organisms, systems or Artificial intelligence, artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or or ...

and classrooms. He is an expert at helping youth professionals, teachers, administrators, and parents to help difficult youth succeed.

Discipline with Dignity method

Together with Dr.

Richard Curwin Richard Curwin (May 25, 1944 - December 26, 2018) was an expert in the fields of school discipline and classroom management, and taught at the State University of New York at Geneseo, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, San Francisco Sta ...

, Dr. Mendler developed the 'Discipline with Dignity' approach to

. This methodology attempts to involve students in defining classroom procedures,

rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business * School rule, a rule th ...

s, and consequences based on values or principles compatible with

learning Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, value (personal and cultural), values, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, non-human animals, and ...

. The basic strategies include prevention, action, and resolution. This concept relates problems faced in

inner-city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

s as they are in rural and

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

schools. Discipline with Dignity is viewed by proponents of the theory as an in-depth flexible approach for effective school and classroom management. With a strong focus on developing responsibility, it is seen as a comprehensive, practical program that leads to improved student behavior through responsible

thinking In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, and delibe ...

cooperation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English and, with a varied usage along time, coöperation) takes place when a group of organisms works or acts together for a collective benefit to the group as opposed to working in competition ...

, mutual

respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or deferential action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also th ...

, and shared

decision making In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either ra ...

Books

Dr. Mendler is the author or co-author of many books on classroom management and classroom discipline including: *''Discipline with Dignity'' (1988, ASCD) *''What Do I Do When...?: How to Achieve Discipline with Dignity in the Classroom'' (1992,

Solution Tree Solution Tree is a professional development company and publisher of educational material for K–12 educators. Founded in 1998, the company provides services and products that include books, videos, conferences, workshops, consultation, and onli ...

) *''Discipline with Dignity for Challenging Youth'' (1999, Solution Tree) *''Power Struggles: Successful Techniques for Educators'' (2000, Solution Tree) *''Motivating Students Who Don't Care: Successful Techniques for Educators'' (2000, Solution Tree) *''Connecting with Students'' (2001, ASCD) *''MORE What Do I Do When...?: Powerful Strategies to Promote Positive Behavior'' (2007, Solution Tree) *''When Teaching Gets Tough: Smart Ways to Reclaim Your Game'' (2012, Ryan ASCD) *''The Resilient Teacher: How do I stay positive and effective when dealing with difficult people and policies?'' (2014, ASCD)

References

External links

Official Biography
American educators 1949 births Living people {{US-academic-bio-stub