Richard L. Curwin

Richard L. Curwin (1944–2018) was an educator, author, and classroom management expert known internationally for his work on respectful, responsibility-based approaches to student discipline. He earned his B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an M.A. in education from Boston State College, and an Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, later teaching seventh-grade English, working with emotionally disturbed children, and serving as a professor of education at institutions including the State University of New York at Geneseo, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and San Francisco State University.

Curwin co-developed the Discipline with Dignity methodology and program with Allen N. Mendler, coauthoring Discipline with Dignity: How to Build Responsibility, Relationships, and Respect in Your Classroom and related titles such as Discipline with Dignity for Challenging Youth and As Tough as Necessary: Countering Violence, Aggression, and Hostility in Our Schools. His additional works include Rediscovering Hope: Our Greatest Teaching Strategy, and his articles on discipline and motivation have appeared in journals and magazines such as Educational Leadership, Instructor, Parenting, and Learning. Curwin presented seminars and workshops across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East, and received honors including the Chief Crazy Horse Award for his contributions to discouraged youth.[