I don’t believe that punishment is an appropriate method to teach children to learn from their mistakes. Punishment “refers to a penalty that has been inflicted for an actual or perceived fault”, and discipline “refers to training activities, methodology, and motivation”.[1]
Punishment inflicts suffering on children and diverts the focus from the learning a lesson to the control of the teacher upon their actions. Punishment prevents children to understand and learn how to develop responsibility towards their actions. Punishment also is a one-person action that the one who is in control decides and executes, while discipline gives opportunity to the child to have a role in making the decision. Discipline provides an opportunity for children to develop reasoning.
Also, I do not agree with a collective punishment or discipline of the whole class because of one or some students’ misbehavior. It is not fair and it will cause some open – complain - or hidden – a sense of desperation or hopelessness - backlash in students. I remember when I was in the primary school; our teacher usually punished all the class because of some students’ misbehavior. The only thing that I got from this experience is to have an unpleasant memory.
I believe discipline can play a positive and educative effect on children’s behavior and learning process. It teaches them to understand responsibility, to practice reasoning, and to make decision independently. It has the potential to arise students’ respect for the teacher since he or she respects them by gives them a chance to decide and take the path that they are comfortable with it. Using discipline is more challenging than punishment. As it was discussed in this chapter there are various methods that a teacher can use to prevent children from misbehaving.
[1] “Difference Between Discipline and Punishment”, http://www.differencebetween.net/business/difference-between-discipline-and-punishment/
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