Arthur Milnes
Northern News Services

NNSL (Feb 05/99) - City parents are being offered a chance to learn an alternative way to discipline children.

Dr. Jeff Grumley, an American teacher and psychologist, will be putting on a two-day workshop on restitution next Thursday and Friday. As part of this, J.H. Sissons school is hosting an evening workshop on this novel approach to behaviour beginning at 7:30 p.m. at J.H. Sissons.

Educators at the school have been using restitution methods since last fall, says teacher Arlene Bell.

"It goes along with our approach in other areas, to have kids become more responsible for their actions," she says. "It's self-discipline rather than the teachers telling them what to do... It's better than rewards and punishment because those are external motivations."

A colleague, Josee Tourigny, agrees.

"I think it's a more positive approach," she says.

In the past, discipline has been viewed as something done to control another. Disciplining students fell into five categories -- the punisher, buddy, monitor and the manager.

The first four are the ones where parents or teachers end up taking responsibility for the behaviour of those in their charge.

The restitution method, however, uses the manager process where the teacher or parent is actually doing something with the student and not dictating rewards or punishment.

Experts also say restitution focuses on relationships instead of rules and in changing systems, not students. It aims to move students away from the desire to only please others and to have them behave as the type of people they want to be instead.

"The parents should come (to Thursday's restitution workshop) because they'll be ware of what is going on in the school and be able to practise it (restitution) at home," Tourigny says.

Anyone seeking further information on the workshop for parents should contact Lynn Taylor at J.H. Sissons.