Classroom Management and Discipline/Love and Logic

Children learn the best lessons when they're given a task and allowed to make their own choices (and fail) when the cost of failure is still small. Children's failures must be coupled with love and empathy from their parents and teachers.

The Love and Logic model is based on the idea that teaching kids responsible behavior requires a mixture of the two core ideas: 'love' and 'logic'. By teaching our students (and our own children) that their actions have consequences, Fay asserts that we can better prepare them to make their choices about those actions intelligently.

The way the philosophy suggests we(educators and parents) can do this is by 'giving away control' by allowing kids to make their own choices while firmly standing by what we as individuals will do. A classic love and logic statement may illustrate this best.

"I will be glad to talk to you about this when your voice is as calm as mine"

The parent/educator has explained what he/she is willing to do (discuss the issue at hand), and also what behavior he/she expects from the child (when your voice as calm as mine).

As with many philosophies, some overlap exists with other philosophies or schools of thought. In the case of the Love and Logic philosophy some basic ideas are shared with both the ../Logical Consequences/ and the ../Restitution Model/ of Classroom management.