When you’re an educator it can constantly feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders with too many things outside of your control. So you decided to start your own school! The to-do list never ends, endless questions are fired your way all day long, it feels like someone is always unhappy, and it feels like something is always going wrong. It’s easy to feel like you’re not working hard enough. How do you manage yourself, parents, teachers, AND learners to get the needed change before you run out of energy? How do we make sure everyone gets what they need? How can we continue to push forward when it feels like everything is falling apart? We’ve got the answers to that and more on today’s episode where we describe Collaborative Discipline’s leadership philosophy called “The Power of One”. 

Offering prizes and points is a commonly used strategy to promote a desired behavior, but when these external rewards are used in lieu of teaching internal skills they can have surprisingly unhelpful effects that can last for a lifetime. In today’s episode we’ll dive into what we are really trying to create with rewards and how to achieve that goal in a way that creates learners with awareness of what is meaningful to them and a drive to move forward that comes from within. 

If you’re interested in innovating discipline in your setting, want to come on the show and hash out your discipline conundrums, or ready to chat with Rachel about all things innovative education, please reach out! You can reach Rachel at [email protected] and Kaitlin at [email protected] or message us at our instagram @collaborativediscipline. 

Punishment aims to decrease a behavior, but when you’re talking about humans, it just isn’t that simple. In reality– It’s unpleasant for all parties involved and even when you punish consistently the same disruptions may continue to occur over and over and over again. So, why do we continue to punish? What do we do instead? Why don’t we know about this already? These and so many more questions will be answered in today’s episode. 

If you’re interested in innovating discipline in your setting, want to come on the show and hash out your discipline conundrums, or ready to chat with Rachel about all things innovative education, please reach out! You can reach Rachel at [email protected] and Kaitlin at [email protected] or message us at our instagram @collaborativediscipline. 

Have you ever felt like a dismal failure as an educator? We get it. For Kaitlin it was more of a constant feeling, and it really didn’t make sense as an accomplished human by many measures.  “Why could no amount of hard work or achievement make it go away? What is success and why am I not there yet? Is this world just working yourself to death until you die?” –she wondered. It’s questions like these that lead to the breakdown setting her exit from public education in motion and the breakthroughs of events to follow that created Collaborative Discipline allowing her to share her freedom with humans everywhere. 

If you’re interested in innovating discipline in your setting, want to come on the show and hash out your discipline conundrums, or ready to chat with Rachel about all things innovative education, please reach out! You can reach Rachel at [email protected] and Kaitlin at [email protected] or message us at our instagram @collaborativediscipline.

In this episode Rachel shares her biggest hurdles she faces as an innovator and “Lead Mentor” at her Microschool, Discovery Learner’s Academy, designed to let kids be kids using a self-directed learning model where learners are encouraged to “aim high, fail big, and try again”. Rachel supports a neurodiverse group of learners and will explain in today’s episode how she learned to thrive, rather than flail, within the challenges it creates. 

If you’re interested in innovating discipline in your setting, want to come on the show and hash out your discipline conundrums, or ready to chat with Rachel about all things innovative education, please reach out! You can reach Rachel at [email protected] and Kaitlin at [email protected] or message us at our instagram @collaborativediscipline.

School Choice-In this episode we discuss one of THE hottest topics around- especially in our state of Tennessee, USA- vouchers & school choice. While some believe this is necessary to give everyone the education they need, others are concerned about the consequences to the funding and existence of public education, as well as WHO this is actually helping– ALL kids? Or just the ones who already had resources in the first place. So, which is it? Evil plot to destroy or helpful stepping stone? Join us to find out! 

If you’re interested in innovating discipline in your setting, want to come on the show and hash out your discipline conundrums, or ready to chat with Rachel about all things innovative education, please reach out! You can reach Rachel at[email protected] and Kaitlin at[email protected] or message us at our instagram @collaborativediscipline. 

Tennessean Article Referenced:https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2025/01/06/tennessee-vouchers-private-school-tuition-location/76367415007/

Work Refusal & How to Handle it- Work refusal is THE gateway behavior in schools. From there, you can drive yourself (and your learners) right to a dead end, or to infinite possibilities. In episode 8 we discuss the many reasons WHY learners refuse their schoolwork, traditional responses, how those are going and innovative ways to collaborate with learners to create meaningful and valuable progress through these moments of frustration. 

If you’re interested in innovating discipline in your setting, want to come on the show and hash out your discipline conundrums, or ready to chat with Rachel about all things innovative education, please reach out! You can reach Rachel at [email protected] and Kaitlin at [email protected] or message us at our instagram @collaborativediscipline.

The same methods traditional discipline chooses to increase learning are creating quite the opposite for neurodivergent learners (& everyone, in our opinion!). Even if students appear compliant, that doesn’t mean they are learning, or at least may not be learning what we intended. On today’s episode we discuss the lasting effects of being forced into the mold of society and how educators can collaborate with their learners to lead them into a fulfilling life of authenticity while creating a supportive, inclusive culture at your microschool. 

If you’re interested in innovating discipline in your school, want to come on the show and hash out your discipline conundrums, or ready to chat with Rachel about all things innovative education, please reach out! You can reach Rachel at [email protected] and Kaitlin at [email protected] or message us at our instagram @collaborativediscipline.

A Life without Punishment- Traditional discipline uses punishment to change behavior, but how is that going? And what do you do instead? How will they even learn how to behave? On today’s episode we talk all things punishment and explain how working collaboratively can be more effective in creating meaningful & lasting behavior change while creating a peaceful & supportive learning environment. 

If you’re interested in innovating discipline in your setting, want to come on the show and hash out your discipline conundrums, or ready to chat with Rachel about all things innovative education, please reach out! You can reach Rachel at [email protected] and Kaitlin at [email protected] or message us at our instagram @collaborativediscipline.

Collaborative Discipline aims to give educators workable strategies to turn those behaviors that seem to suck our time and hinder education into transformational moments full of skill-building opportunities for you AND your learners. In episode 5 we’re taking on tattling! Because are you even an educator if you haven’t told a group of learners to “mind your own business”, “Just ignore them”, or “Focus on yourself!” 100 or more times in a day to no avail? It’s an inevitable challenge of life with no working responses we’ve come across…until now! 

If you’re interested in innovating discipline in your setting, want to come on the show and hash out your discipline conundrums, or ready to chat with Rachel about all things innovative education, please reach out! You can reach Rachel at [email protected] and Kaitlin at [email protected] or message us at our instagram @collaborativediscipline.