The standard social constructs that defined teacher-student interaction in the past have changed. A generation ago the authority of the teacher and the school was rarely questioned. When conduct violations occurred, there was no interest in discovering or attempting to understand the student's point of view. The culprit was reprimanded, punished, and marked as a misfit and a troublemaker. Contemporary thinking, however, is inclusionary.
Inclusion requires a shift in the way teachers think about their students.
Rather than teaching a homogenous class, teachers are now working with a heterogeneous group of individuals both culturally and educationally. As a result, teachers need to take an individualized approach to discipline, just as they do to academics, if they hope to accommodate all students successfully in the inclusionary environment. The skills of LSCI empower the teacher to convert a conflict into a meaningful learning experience for the student by discovering what drives his behavior and by defining clear outcome goals. To illustrate how the LSCI enhances the effectiveness of classroom teachers, let's return to Miss Foster. She is now in a crisis situation with Bill.