| Tom,
a 13-year-old boy, was sent to Mr Burton's office; he talked in class and was
often late. Tom didn't pay much attention to Mr Burton's
punishments of having to stay late or do extra homework, and Mr Burton was sure
that Tom would be in trouble again soon. Then he told
Tom; "If I have trouble with you again, I'll phone your mother and ask her
to come to the school." Suddenly Tom sat up in
his chair and said; "Oh no! Please don't do that! I'll be good; I promise." Later
Mr Burton thought about Tom's words and realized that he might have a good way
to discipline difficult students. Soon, another difficult
student was sent to him. Mr Burton phoned the boy's
mother and asked her to come to school and sit with her son during each lesson. The
boy behaved better and so did other children in the class. In
the first year 60 parents came to his school, but in the second year only a few
had to. The students were becoming more polite and
better-behaved in class. |