When a teacher has the children's respect, the teacher does not have to rely on strong disciplinary techniques because the students have learned that the respect is mutual. The students who are highly intelligent tend to be the trouble makers because they do their work, finish it, and then are bored. In the higher grades, many intelligent students have learned to not work hard because they will be bored later. When the teacher is proactive, the students know and understand the rules and consequences of their actions. When the teacher is reactive, the students will test the patience of the teacher and try to see what they can get away with that day.
Consistency is the key to discipline.
When rules are set, stick by them. We agree that rules and consequences should be determined by the class at the beginning of the year, but hte teacher needs to be the director. Some major rules should already be the standard, but the students can help come up with specific classroom rules. The setup of the daily schedule is very important to encouraging hard work. Also, there should be a progression of scheduling between grades.