Welcome to Sharing Perspectives!

Who we are:

Robin Norton is a Montessori educator in a public school, and teaches a combined class of kindergartners and first graders. Tim Taylor is a Senior Business Analyst and former Information Technology manager in the public sector with a background in technical training, software development and business analysis. We are both Certified Positive Discipline Educators in the Seattle, Washington area.

What we do:

We facilitate parenting classes and workshops based in the Positive Discipline philosophy developed by Jane Nelson and Lynne Lott, which in turn has its roots in Adlerian psychology developed by Alfred Adler and extended by Rudolf Dreikurs.  Well… we used to.  Now I just write about it!

Why we do what we do:

Simply, we believe that Positive Discipline gets it right. We believe that it offers the most accurate lens through which to view and understand children’s behavior, and the best set of tools to encourage them to identify and become their best selves. These tools, which replace punishment, blame, shame, and pain with a respectful blend of kindness and firmness at the same time, help us guide our children as they move in the direction of their best selves and grow into capable adults with high self-esteem and well-developed problem solving skills.

For most of us, Positive Discipline and Adlerian psychology represent a paradigm shift in how we view parenting and teaching, our children, and human behavior. As certified Positive Discipline facilitators, we create a safe environment to help guide parents through this shift using experiential activities and other participatory tools and techniques.

Sharing perspectives will help. It will help us develop compassion and understanding rather than intolerance and judgement. It will help us develop horizontal relationships rather than those in which one group wields power over another. If we raise our children in this way, they will have the tools and perspectives they need to effect positive social change, and they will transform the world.

We hope that this blog will provide some resources to support parents and teachers in their efforts to be and do their best.  And if it does the same for others as well, more the better.