Discipline: Influence on Policy and Practise by Meeta Mohanty
This paper is inspired by th teachings of Ms. Namita Ranganathan, Reader, C.I.E., D.U.
Discipline in Latin means ‘to teach or comprehend’. However the schools dictate a different connotation of discipline i.e. to symbolize conformity/ punishments. Discipline forms the social curriculum of the school i.e. transmitted through the expectations , rules & consequences in school. For a child to fair well at school it becomes imperative for him/her to master both the academic & the social curriculum.
A pertinent question to ask here is that can there be a standard code of conduct & pre-decided consequences in a plural country like India where a lot of conflicts arise due to cultural differences. Research studies reveal that children often resort to disruptive behavior due to multitude of reasons as specified below :
Ø Often these children are a victim of coercive interchanges in their families & thus the most effective way to avoid abuse is to become abusive themselves( Patterson,1992).
Ø They face extreme parental inconsistency in rules & consequences.
Ø As a result of unsafe & threatening home & community conditions , children with conduct disorders develop an antisocial cognitive set to bully others.
Ø Disruptive behavior is a form of escapism for them from increasing pressure of academics.
Ø They often are not aware of integrative ways of coping with internal & external conflicts & thus manifest violent behavior as a defense mechanism.
In such a scenario it becomes imperative to educate children to be sensitive & thus provide need based support. This can be achieved by promoting emotional intelligence in schools by:
Ø Building the school capacity to initiate & sustain innovation.
Ø Establish & consistently reinforce school rules , particularly when positively framed , & communicate these rules through school wide campaigns.
Ø Teach social competency skills ( e.g. self control, social problem solving, communication skills ) especially over a long period of time.
Ø Promote emotional intelligence through bullying prevention, mentoring by educators, promoting alternative thinking strategies & teaching integrative ways of coping.
Children resorting to disruptive behavior ought to be sensitively handled & probed thoroughly for the reason for the right intervention & support. Some of the tools that can help the facilitators are:
1) Relaxation training 2) Systematic desensitization 3) Rational analysis
4) Meditation 5) Cognitive restructuring 6) Thought stopping
7) Focus on positives 8) Count your blessings 9) Negotiation & self talks
10)Cognitive modeling 11) Emotional modeling 12) Disputing irrational beliefs
To effectively use these tools an educator ought to be a mental health professional engendering the total well being of the child. S/He ought to keep in mind the four areas of development enshrined in the National Curriculum Framework’05 :
Ø Personal health , physical & psychosocial development.
Ø Movement concepts & motor skills
Ø Relation with significant others
Ø Healthy communities & environment
Generally personal health, hygiene, exercise , academics gets attention in schools leaving aside the other two important arenas of relationship with people and environment. This is what needs attention to resolve the sources of maladjustment and also train children to relate positively to their natural, social, cultural & political environment. This training for citizenship was an important illumination in Gandhi’s Nai Talim , however needs to be revived through practice of democratic or judicious discipline in classrooms. According to Gathercoal ,1993 Judicious Discipline emphasizes the concept that an educator’s professional responsibility is to create an equitable environment that affords every student the opportunity to be successful. It is a philosophy of educating students that encourages self-control by teaching students their rights & responsibilities in a democratic society. It is believed that judicious discipline is the balance between individual rights as guaranteed by the constitution & compelling state interests that serve our society’s need for a safe, healthy & undisputed environment. Judicious discipline entails these rules:
Ø Act in a safe & healthy way . Example: proper footwear in gym, gloves in chemistry labs , moving in corridors, staircase etc.
Ø Treat all property with respect. Example : responsibility to protect toilet walls, classrooms from graffiti, being defaced or malhandled.
Ø Respect the rights & needs of others. Example: use of appropriate language, working in a team etc.
Ø Take responsibility for learning. Example: being punctual for a class, bringing homework etc.
The practice of judicious discipline is analogous to cognitive behavior therapy where the child sets a target behavior, monitors the behavior by keeping a record, changes factors which inhibit target behavior, reinforces one’s approximations to target behavior and consolidates the gains.
As the above mantra applies in self management so does it fit into practice of judicious discipline which ensures:
Ø Improved problem solving skills
Ø Self discipline and internal control among students.
Ø Autonomy to students to resolve their problems.
Ø Good rapport with students and parents
Ø Less stress & more accountability in the system.
Some of the challenges in practice of judicious discipline are:
Ø Giving up power control to students to formulate their rules.
Ø Being genuine, empathetic with children (Rogers)
Ø Giving unconditional positive regard.(Rogers)
Ø Small class size
Ø Being patient, tolerant and consistent
Thus I believe that judicious discipline is a way out from strict codes of discipline which function on the premise of power, control , punishment and authority.Thus a school ought to look genuinely into its school composition, nature of behavioral problems and deal with them sensitively as discipline decides the social curriculum of the school. As enlightened educators we will never want our learners to be inhibited , controlled, passive and breed on fear.
REFERENCES:
Grandmont ,P.Richard “ Judicious discipline – a constitutional approach for public high schools’’ , American Secondary Education 31 (3) Summer 2003.pages 97-117.
Skiba,Russ & Peterson, Reece “Teaching the social curriculum : school discipline as instruction”
National Curriculum Framework ‘05( position papers) on health education.
Discipline in Latin means ‘to teach or comprehend’. However the schools dictate a different connotation of discipline i.e. to symbolize conformity/ punishments. Discipline forms the social curriculum of the school i.e. transmitted through the expectations , rules & consequences in school. For a child to fair well at school it becomes imperative for him/her to master both the academic & the social curriculum.
A pertinent question to ask here is that can there be a standard code of conduct & pre-decided consequences in a plural country like India where a lot of conflicts arise due to cultural differences. Research studies reveal that children often resort to disruptive behavior due to multitude of reasons as specified below :
Ø Often these children are a victim of coercive interchanges in their families & thus the most effective way to avoid abuse is to become abusive themselves( Patterson,1992).
Ø They face extreme parental inconsistency in rules & consequences.
Ø As a result of unsafe & threatening home & community conditions , children with conduct disorders develop an antisocial cognitive set to bully others.
Ø Disruptive behavior is a form of escapism for them from increasing pressure of academics.
Ø They often are not aware of integrative ways of coping with internal & external conflicts & thus manifest violent behavior as a defense mechanism.
In such a scenario it becomes imperative to educate children to be sensitive & thus provide need based support. This can be achieved by promoting emotional intelligence in schools by:
Ø Building the school capacity to initiate & sustain innovation.
Ø Establish & consistently reinforce school rules , particularly when positively framed , & communicate these rules through school wide campaigns.
Ø Teach social competency skills ( e.g. self control, social problem solving, communication skills ) especially over a long period of time.
Ø Promote emotional intelligence through bullying prevention, mentoring by educators, promoting alternative thinking strategies & teaching integrative ways of coping.
Children resorting to disruptive behavior ought to be sensitively handled & probed thoroughly for the reason for the right intervention & support. Some of the tools that can help the facilitators are:
1) Relaxation training 2) Systematic desensitization 3) Rational analysis
4) Meditation 5) Cognitive restructuring 6) Thought stopping
7) Focus on positives 8) Count your blessings 9) Negotiation & self talks
10)Cognitive modeling 11) Emotional modeling 12) Disputing irrational beliefs
To effectively use these tools an educator ought to be a mental health professional engendering the total well being of the child. S/He ought to keep in mind the four areas of development enshrined in the National Curriculum Framework’05 :
Ø Personal health , physical & psychosocial development.
Ø Movement concepts & motor skills
Ø Relation with significant others
Ø Healthy communities & environment
Generally personal health, hygiene, exercise , academics gets attention in schools leaving aside the other two important arenas of relationship with people and environment. This is what needs attention to resolve the sources of maladjustment and also train children to relate positively to their natural, social, cultural & political environment. This training for citizenship was an important illumination in Gandhi’s Nai Talim , however needs to be revived through practice of democratic or judicious discipline in classrooms. According to Gathercoal ,1993 Judicious Discipline emphasizes the concept that an educator’s professional responsibility is to create an equitable environment that affords every student the opportunity to be successful. It is a philosophy of educating students that encourages self-control by teaching students their rights & responsibilities in a democratic society. It is believed that judicious discipline is the balance between individual rights as guaranteed by the constitution & compelling state interests that serve our society’s need for a safe, healthy & undisputed environment. Judicious discipline entails these rules:
Ø Act in a safe & healthy way . Example: proper footwear in gym, gloves in chemistry labs , moving in corridors, staircase etc.
Ø Treat all property with respect. Example : responsibility to protect toilet walls, classrooms from graffiti, being defaced or malhandled.
Ø Respect the rights & needs of others. Example: use of appropriate language, working in a team etc.
Ø Take responsibility for learning. Example: being punctual for a class, bringing homework etc.
The practice of judicious discipline is analogous to cognitive behavior therapy where the child sets a target behavior, monitors the behavior by keeping a record, changes factors which inhibit target behavior, reinforces one’s approximations to target behavior and consolidates the gains.
As the above mantra applies in self management so does it fit into practice of judicious discipline which ensures:
Ø Improved problem solving skills
Ø Self discipline and internal control among students.
Ø Autonomy to students to resolve their problems.
Ø Good rapport with students and parents
Ø Less stress & more accountability in the system.
Some of the challenges in practice of judicious discipline are:
Ø Giving up power control to students to formulate their rules.
Ø Being genuine, empathetic with children (Rogers)
Ø Giving unconditional positive regard.(Rogers)
Ø Small class size
Ø Being patient, tolerant and consistent
Thus I believe that judicious discipline is a way out from strict codes of discipline which function on the premise of power, control , punishment and authority.Thus a school ought to look genuinely into its school composition, nature of behavioral problems and deal with them sensitively as discipline decides the social curriculum of the school. As enlightened educators we will never want our learners to be inhibited , controlled, passive and breed on fear.
REFERENCES:
Grandmont ,P.Richard “ Judicious discipline – a constitutional approach for public high schools’’ , American Secondary Education 31 (3) Summer 2003.pages 97-117.
Skiba,Russ & Peterson, Reece “Teaching the social curriculum : school discipline as instruction”
National Curriculum Framework ‘05( position papers) on health education.
2 comments:
Hi Meeta,
I read your article, good hear that you believe in letting children judge their deviant behaviour. But there are certain things I have in my mind.
First of all don't parents have any role in checking their child's behaviour. It seemed to me that checking the behaviour and correcting it is solely school's and educator's role. Don't u think parent should be the first one to spot and correct deviant behaviour.
Parents need to take out time and discuss things with their children. At the same time they need to create a feeling within the child that- I can share my problems with my parents, they will not shout at me immediately. I feel that sometimes children do certain things cauz they feel they need to be different from their parents. Even that needs to be checked.What is your opinion?
Secondly,all schools do not have enough of resources to tackle these kinds of problems. So, what happens in this case?
Hi Meeta,
I expressed similar opinions in an International Seminar on School Libraries and Reading Habits held at Vidya Bhawan Society premises, Udaipur almost concurrently with the seminar in which you expressed your opinions. However, I differ with you in a few respects. I am quite sceptical that schools, especially in India, can provide as much space for each classroom as you envisioned in your model. Because, most often the real estate in which most Indian schools are located is at a premium. Instead, what I suggested in the seminar is that the walls of each classroom should be used to paste pages from colourful attractive books and schools/techers should provide colour photocopies of a few pages of a book at almost free of charges, which the child can keep.
Hallenrm
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