Jody McVittie

Biographical Highlights

Jody is an enthusiastic and energetic teacher. She uses humor and stories to make new ideas approachable. She enjoys working with groups and playing with the material to make it fun to learn.

Jody received her M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1981. She completed her residency in Family Medicine in Modesto, California (1984) and worked as a family doctor until 1996. Her favorite part of being a doctor was working with families and guiding them to find ways that they could work together. She has been teaching parenting more formally since 1995. In 1996, she began collaborating with another educator to explore ways to teach Positive Discipline in the Classroom in a format that allows teachers to use their own experiences to guide them in creating a classroom that is more effective in reaching their longterm goals. The seven-week Positive Discipline in the Classroom class is now a regular part of the staff development program in the Everett School District in Washington State.

Jody began to teach groups of parents and teachers when she learned from her experience in her own family and the families of her patients that parents and teachers felt much more successful when they had the tools to teach children responsibility, empathy, and how to be part of a community. She is still continually amazed at how the Positive Discipline tools, which seem quite simple, have such a positive, powerful impact on families and classrooms.

She has three busy children and a very supportive husband who continually teach her that life is not always so easy, but that it can be a lot of fun. In addition to parenting her own family and teaching Positive Discipline, Jody also spends her time working on land-use issues, gardening, hiking, swimming, and rowing.

Comments from recent Positive Discipline in the Classroom workshop participants:

Would you recommend this workshop to someone else?
Yes. Excellent, hand - on approach. Very positive. Not a quick fix "band-aid."

Absolutely. I would tell them that there are very specific tips on applying the concepts of this program given, so it's not just "pretty theories."

Yes. It gave me concrete skills to improve my classroom atmosphere.

Yes, I think all teachers can benefit from a positive approach to discipline and working with kids.

Yes, absolutely. Very helpful and a reminder as a teacher to see through the student's eyes.

Yes, very useful, builds upon goals we would like our children to achieve.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Sample Questions responded to by Jody.

Discipline for Children of Different Ethnic Groups

I am a parent of a 5th grader. There are 30 students in this classroom and the teacher is having a lot of difficulty controlling them. He has resorted to punishing the whole class because several of the students are "misbehaving".

My son's table (4 students) was told to leave the classroom during correction of a test because someone at the table was talking. The teacher knew who was talking. She told all four students that the guilty party needed to come forward and confess or the three non-guilty students needed to confidentially come forward and tell her who was doing the talking.

My husband and I have been married 1 year. We both have a son from previous relationships.

My 10 year old daughter is 'forgetful'. In other words, she forgets to do the dishes. She forgets....

My husband and I have been married 1 year. We both have a son from previous relationships.

When Parents (of Different Families) Don’t Agree

Blended Family Adjustments