Discipline versus Punisment

I retrieved these definitions from Wikipedia…

“In its original form, discipline referred to systematic instruction given to disciples to train them as students in a craft or trade, or to follow a particular code of conduct or “order”. Often the phrase “to discipline” carries a negative connotation however because the enforcement of order is often regulated through punishment. In contrast, the word punishment comes from the Latin word punier, to “inflict a penalty on, or cause pain for some offence”.

Although both discipline and punishment focus on changing behaviour in some way, there are critical differences between the two concepts. Whereas discipline works to empower positive behaviour through teaching and training, punishment works to reduce negative behaviour by imposing a negative response to a behaviour that is deemed “wrong” by a person or society. Discipline works on cultivating positive behaviour whereas punishment focuses on minimizing negative behaviour. Interestingly enough, “punishment”, when not given by someone we consider to be “in authority” is called spite or revenge. To me, this seems a classic case of “do what I say, not what I do”.

Within child development, discipline refers to methods of modeling character and of teaching self-control and acceptable behaviours. Discipline works to develop in children (or “disciples”), the necessary skills and abilities to exert self-control. Discipline is about empowering disciples to carry the knowledge and wisdom from within. In contrast, punishment works in an external, reductive fashion, expecting (in fact requiring) misbehaviour so that a negative response can be imposed, thus reducing negative behaviour in the future. Often, such “punishments” do not occur naturally. Rather, they are created by a person in authority and often do not meaningfully link to the behaviour in questions. As such, when that person (or people) in authority is not there to implement the punishment, the punishment, in essence, no longer exists. You can only imagine then, how effective (or ineffective) punishment is then, on maintaining a specific behaviour when the punisher (or punishment) is no longer there. I believe that “punishments” are much more effective when they occur naturally (i.e., consequences). Consequences for behaviour are a natural part of life. When disciplining students, it is critical to teach them about the natural consequences for behaviour. Further, children will better understand the concept of consequences when we allow such consequences to happen naturally (assuming these consequences are not severe).

I find it interesting that we often “discipline” children using punishment. This seems contraindicative given that we, as educators, are charged for supporting higher order cognitive skills and critical thinking. We should not be teaching our students to avoid negative stimulus based on a fear response (like animals). Rather, we should be teaching students to think critically, make good choices and, ultimately, live with integrity.