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Hello, I am Tunisia Buffett, the six grade TESS Instructor at J.A. Phillips Middle School in Minden, La. TESS stands for teaching effective social skills. I love my job because I teach students social skills that they need in order to stay in the regular classroom setting as well as skills that are needed daily and throughout their lives. The major concern of most teachers in education today is how to improve student discipline. The word discipline means to teach and is an expression of love. There are several reasons why children need discipline. Discipline instills an understanding of the concept of right and wrong. Discipline problems occur when a student refuses to obey a rule of the classroom or school. Rules that deal with human actions will eventually be broken and require some sort of punishment. The concept of matching the punishment with the rule violation requires that the rules be presented in written format and that the punishment for violations be specified. Rules must also relate to the stated function of education or the school process and, again, common sense must prevail in establishing disciplinary action for breaking a rule. Teachers, in making rules for individual classroom behavior, should constantly be reminded of this principle. Furthermore, all students must be aware of the rule before disciplinary action can be administered. 