Discipline or Punishment

The intention of discipline is to teach students right from wrong in a positive and nurturing manner that allows for guidance. Discipline focuses on what the child should do and sets an example for the child. It is, in a sense, teaching the students how their behaviour could be more appropriately guided. Discipline comes from a place of sincerity and is an on-going, structured process that is fair for all students. The purpose is to give the students the tools they need to change their own misdirected behaviours through self-discipline thereby giving the responsibility back to the students (Bennet & Smilanich, p 225). Sometimes this is done by way of presenting choices for the students (p 232-234). The expectation is that these behaviours will change either immediately or more likely over time, but always at the heart of positive discipline is that students feel safe, respected and listened to in their classroom environment regardless of the consequences of their behaviour. When disciplining students, the key is that the teacher is relating to them and how certain disrupting behaviours have consequences. It is important to send the message to the students that they are cared for and that you “say what you mean and mean what you say in order to maintain a positive learning environment (p 252).”

The intention of punishment is to focus on what the child should not do. Punishment is usually a one-time reactionary occurrence and does not tend to have a long term outcome or desired end results in mind. It often comes from a place of heightened emotion and is not as well thought out as disciplinary measures. Punishment focuses on consequences and the expectation is that the punishment will control misbehaviour. When punishing students the teacher is making their choices for them and is essentially sending the message to the students that they are not trusted to learn how to make their own informed choices to decide for themselves what is good for them. Essentially, it teaches students to submit to authority and obey those who are more powerful than they are. By punishing the students, a teacher may feel that he/she is in control of the situation, but it will likely provoke the students to find new and creative ways to continue their behaviour. Students may respond by reacting defiantly in order to gain a locus of control or a sense of power back in their lives. Punishing students often results in driving them further away and increasing bad feelings towards the teacher.

Children want and seek independence. As teachers, we can foster this by giving students the autonomy to make choices for self-regulation. We also must demonstrate that we respect who they are by showing warmth, care and concern without getting caught up in the emotion we feel as a result of their misbehaviour.

The Queen had one way of settling all difficulties, great or small. "Off with his head!" she said without even looking around. ~ Lewis Carroll