Global recognition for BIS City Campus 

 

All City Campus teachers became certified Positive Discipline educators, two teachers qualified as Parent Educators (Alexandra dos Santos and Verena Zimmer) and Susan Oswald heads the program as Pastoral Leader. “This is a huge achievement for our team. We will be at the forefront of Positive Discipline research and implementation, sharing our practices with others and connecting with other highly functioning Positive Discipline schools around the world. This proves how strong the City Campus team is at helping students with developing their learning behaviours, and supporting them in moments of challenge. We can be very proud of this level of global recognition for our behaviour support practices,” says Owen Murphy, Principal of the Primary School in Munich.

Kindness and firmness

But what exactly is Positive Discipline and why is this program developed by Dr. Jane Nelsen so helpful for teachers, parents and students? Positive Discipline is a parenting and guidance approach focused on teaching children to develop self-discipline, responsibility, and problem-solving skills in a respectful and supportive way. Rather than using rewards or punishments, Positive Discipline encourages adults to connect with children, set clear expectations, and guide them with kindness and firmness at the same time. It emphasises understanding the reasons behind a child’s behaviour and addressing it through solutions that teach valuable life skills. This approach promotes a sense of belonging, self-worth, and cooperation, helping children grow into capable, respectful, and empathetic individuals. Susan Oswald explains the principle using a concrete example: “Class meetings and family meetings follow a specific format, starting with expressing appreciation to one another, then problems are brought forward and the group focuses on solutions together. Lastly the meeting ends with a quick fun game.”

Develop a love of learning

An important cornerstone of Positive Discipline is that encouragement is better than praise, because it emphasizes a child’s effort, growth, and intrinsic motivation rather than focusing on external approval. “Encouragement acknowledges the child’s process – such as persistence or creativity – fostering resilience and self-reflection. This approach helps children build self-confidence based on their own accomplishments, rather than relying on external validation. By encouraging, we help children feel empowered to take risks, learn from mistakes, and develop a love of learning that’s not tied to the need for praise,” explains German teacher Alexandra dos Santos.

The journey to being a Positive Discipline Lab School began in the 2022-23 school year, and City Campus has been offering parent courses for the last year to support the approach. So far, there have been three series of parenting classes, with more courses to follow in 2025. “There are a variety of resources available in our campus library for parents to borrow. We would love for all families to take part in parenting classes and workshops,” says Verena Zimmer, Educational Technology Integrator. 

The accompanying book by Joy Marchese “Positive Discipline for today's busy (and overwhelmed) parents” is part of the learning package. Speaking of Joy Marchese: in her talks at City Campus, she quoted Thich Nhat Hanh and summed up the principle of Positive Discipline with a vivid image: “When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertiliser, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.”

Get more information about the upcoming workshops: primary-office-cc@bis-school.com 

https://www.positivediscipline.org/