Discipline in the Classroom

Discipline in the Classroom

Discipline is an often discussed topic among all teachers and even more so among ESL teachers. Keeping control of a class and creating an atmosphere conducive to study in a room where the first language of the teacher is not the first language of the students can be a very daunting task. The common dialogue about discipline among ESL teachers is more often than not some sort of giving of advice or making inquiries about very specific situations. In this paper I would like to explore where the need for discipline comes from, how attitudes towards teaching and learning influence class atmosphere and the role of a teacher in a more autonomous environment.

‘Having a quiet, obedient and attentive class is a dream for language teachers, but how often does it happen in reality?! Students are disruptive for a variety of reasons; boredom; the work is too easy or difficult; peer pressure; factors outside the classroom and others’

The causes for disruptive behavior in the classroom are wide ranging, and a lot of the time outside of the teacher’s control, sensitivity to these causes is beneficial to an ESL teacher and even more important is to be aware of the difficulties in learning another language. We as teachers can only do so much to control students? environments outside of the classroom but we can influence atmosphere in the classroom and we should try to be aware of our students? individual difficulties and needs, ?One of the most widespread reasons for bad discipline, however, is usually a student’s inability to cope with the tasks.? One of the most attitude changing experiences I’ve had as a teacher was enrolling in a Korean language class. Once I became the student I was made aware of the difficulties my students face in my class and I became very sensitive to the balance of using language that can be understood by everyone while trying to raise the level of the language used at the same time. 

A common myth is that imposed punishments are necessary to change young people’s behavior. If this type of punishment worked, then once a youngster is punished the same behavior would not be repeated.

Ideas of ‘positive reinforcement’ and ‘autonomous learning’ are very current in ESL teacher discourse and although they are hard to put into practice, and there are a lot of arguments that students today have too much freedom, my experience has been that punishment does not work, ‘If telling worked, you would not have to repeat yourself and people would do what you wanted them to do.’ In doing the research for this paper I came across the work of Marvin Marshall on how old ideas of punishment are flawed in that punishment promotes the opposite of what we as teachers are trying to do, ‘Punishments kill the very thing we are attempting to do-- change behavior into something that is positive and socially appropriate.’ We as teachers are not only teaching a topic, we are getting people ready to be functioning citizens in the world. The message of punishment is not one of responsibility; it’s one of acting in fear. Punishment is not a philosophy of ‘do good’ but is a philosophy of ‘don’t do wrong’; ‘It is important that a student feels responsible for their own actions so they can understand the importance of making good decisions for themselves in the future.’ So how do we maintain discipline without using punishment? We use responsibility and respect.

?By the time some students reach the secondary level, they have been talked to, lectured at, sent out of class, kept after school, referred to the office, referred to Saturday school, suspended in school, suspended from school--and they simply no longer care? 

I’ve been working with the idea of a class being something like a sports team, and how a successful sports team is successful when everyone on the team is performing at their highest level. If we expect the best, the best will finally come, ‘Keep High Expectations in Your Class. Expect that your students will behave, not that they will disrupt.’ This high expectation of the students gives us as teachers a bigger responsibility to the class. We are responsible for planning interesting and challenging exercises for the students, always. We are responsible for embodying, projecting and maintaining a level of respect for each other we feel the class should conduct itself with. We should have the confidence in our teaching skills to allow the students to influence how they are going to be taught and create an open and comfortable environment where the students? opinions and ideas are encouraged; ‘When you do give kids a voice, they don’t feel so much like causing trouble because they appreciate their freedom of choice.’ 

Discipline in the Classroom

Discipline in the classroom has always been an important issue in the classroom. It seems to be a bigger issue in schools than at adult academies. There needs to be a balance between rewards and punishment and the teacher shouldn’t have to spend most of the class punishing instead of teaching.

I can recall being disciplined when I was in elementary school. The punishments ranged from being hit on the knuckles with a ruler to writing a page of lines of the same sentence. At my high school in Australia, a private high school, if the teacher had a problem with a student they would give the student a lunch time detention, a Friday afternoon detention or they would send the student to the year level coordinator or the deputy headmaster. 

There is much debate as to whether corporal punishment is necessary or effective. In Australia it is usually not used but in Korea it is widely used and accepted (although it has been toned down a lot compared to 20 or 30 years ago).

When I taught at a Korean academy for elementary school students I used to use a point system. After two warnings I would send the student outside. If the student did well they would get stickers. Currently at my Korean high school the students are hit with a stick, made to put their hands-up and kneel or told to go outside.

Rewards are just as important as punishment. Students need to be encouraged even if it only making positive comments about their work. Students who perform well and try hard should be given award certificates.

The behavior of the teacher can seriously affect the discipline in the class. That is to say a certain group of students may be noisy with one teacher and very well behaved with another.

Discipline problems may arise because of a number of factors. The student may be experiencing problems at home and therefore affecting their behavior at school. Bad behavior may be a form of attention seeking. A student may play up because of peer pressure. Boredom or giving preference to one student over another also may be why a class is having discipline problems.

There are several ways to help improve classroom discipline. If you make a threat make sure you carry it out. Students won’t take you seriously if you make ‘empty’ threats. Don’t shout in the class. It is counter-productive. Give each student an equal amount of attention. If you give a rule to the students such as getting to the class on time, make sure you follow it too. Never use violence and become familiar with the class discipline policy your school has.

There are some other priceless tips that are useful. It’s easier to start strict and become less strict than the other way round. Deal with disruptive students quickly and immediately so as not to waste too much teaching time. Deal with these students after class rather than in front of the whole class. Sometimes humor can be used to diffuse a problem situation. Keep expectations high in the class. Plan more than you need to for each lesson. Make the class rules understandable and start each day with the expectation that the students will behave.

Students need to be disciplined as schools not only teach academic education but moral education. Teachers all know classes that are well behaved are much more enjoyable to teach than ill disciplined classes. So finding the balance between having fun and disciplining is the key.

Discipline in the Classroom

Children and teenagers (with their own special problems) have very high energy levels and it is inevitable that from time to time the teacher may have to deal with disruptive behaviour. As with all students the mood of the class and the individuals within that class will be determined by many external factors. For example: family life, peer group associations, individual personality traits. The behaviour and attitude of the teacher is perhaps the single most important factor in a classroom and can thus have a major effect on discipline.

(ITTT unit 19 Class discipline/management)

Defining effective managers as those teachers whose classrooms were orderly, had a minimum of student behaviour, and had high levels of time on task and ineffective mangers as those whose classrooms lacked these qualities, Kounin found that effective and ineffective managers did not differ greatly in their methods for dealing with disruption. Instead, effective managers were found to be more skilled at preventing disruptions from occurring in the first place. (J.S.Kounin).

The specific skills he identified have been backed by recent research by educational psychologists are listed below.

Having and telling students of your high expectations for student learning and behaviour. Using personal warmth and encouragement so students know they are expected to learn well and behave appropriately. Have a good rapport with the students.

Having and teaching clearly classroom rules and procedures. These are reviewed at the beginning and periodically during the course. Specifying consequences and their relationship to student behaviour. No personal feelings must influence this, only the bad behaviour of the students.

Enforcing classroom rules promptly, consistently and equitably. Effective teachers respond quickly to misbehaviour, respond in the same manner at different times and impose consistent sanctions regardless of gender, race or other personal characteristics of students. They show the same respect for students as they expect from them.

Maintaining a brisk pace for lessons and moving smoothly between activities. Keep things moving in the classroom and lessons interesting and varied which increases learning and reduces likelihood of misbehaviour.

Monitoring classroom activities and providing positive feedback. Good teachers observe and comment on student behaviour, reinforcing good behaviour through verbal, symbolic and tangible rewards. They do not shout but keep calm and follow the schools discipline code. Sharing with students the responsibility for classroom management. Work to include students in a sense of belonging, ownership and self- discipline rather than imposing it from the outside.

Some researchers have identified that misbehaviour can be a response to academic failure and improvements have been noted when marginal students are provided opportunities to experience academic and social success.

(These validated practices identified in the works of Bowman 1983, Brophy 1983, Cotton and Savard 1982, Emmer1982, Gettinger1988, Evertson1985 & 1989, Gottfredson & Karweit 1989). I taught TOPS (training opportunity programmes for unemployed and students of very low school marks) for 6 years and many of the boys and some girls came directly from the courts. Most of them were Polynesians and came from broken homes or homes with lots of violence. They suffered from lack of esteem and fear of failure as they had failed all through the schooling system. They had no respect for the court system or the police, as they could not be touched because of their age. They were surly, aggressive and unresponsive. Participating and trying anything new or different was resisted. When they finally passed something the smiles on their faces was as big as Africa (as was their parents at the graduation). The comment was: ‘this is the first time I have passed anything’.

Sometimes no matter what the teacher does the anti-social behaviour of a student (home, family problems, does not want to attend) or the atmosphere/standards of the school will mean the teacher can do no more with a student. The teacher should seek help from peers and the school principal. (Life experience Lindsay Robertson)

Discipline in the Classroom

Discipline is a complex issue to handle in the classroom--occasions will always arise when it is necessary, and a teacher who is unfamiliar or unskilled in discipline does a disservice not only to himself, and to the students, but to the parents, the school administrators, and, in a far distant future, society in general. Discipline is not just intended to put a stop to a currently occurring behaviour, but to teach the misbehaver why it was wrong and to show him to prevent its repeat himself. Several different methods of discipline exist, from the strictest to the most lenient, and there is a delicate balance in being an authority figure who is capable of holding discipline and having the rapport with the class that is so useful for teaching: authority must be joined to students’; welfare in such a way that they are "drawn to knowledge, not forced to swallow it" (Banner, 24). Discipline can also be defined simply as "teaching students to behave responsibly" (Wuest). Some authors have drawn a distinction between authority and power: "while power may be used for good or ill, authority does not connote coercion. Authority has the unusual quality of being dual, or reciprocal" (Banner, 21). The most important quality of discipline seems to be evoking the students’; cooperation in the process in some way. A teacher with a good rapport in the classroom is most likely to hold the students’; respect and therefore be able to discipline effectively. Unfortunately, an overly casual or forgiving teacher can quickly lose authority, as it does require "some formal distance between teachers and students" (Banner, 27). The better disciplinarian, however, is not more likely to be feared or disliked. It is important to find the right balance of friendly and firm qualities; many teachers will find that they naturally fall together. For example, the American Federation of Teachers emphasizes in their guidelines the importance of greeting students, which has the double purpose of creating rapport and indicating early signs of problems (AFT) . 

The ideal approach to discipline can be called Democratic: without being adversarial, the teacher must present the students with "clear limits, acceptable choices, and instructive consequences" (MacKenzie, 47). Most sources emphasize the necessity of including students in their own disciplinary process; this can be done by presenting a misbehaver with a clear set of choices (i.e., "Either you stop talking in class, or you will spend the rest of the period in time-out") and stopping the situation as quickly and painlessly as possible. Bailey warns that some children will use structured choices offered as a chance to interject a third choice (111), but the teacher must not forget his place as the highest authority, the one who is in charge of deciding and presenting the appropriate choices in that situation. Democratic teaching assumes that children are capable of making the choice to solve the problem but should have "only as much power and control as they can handle responsibly" (MacKenzie, 50). 

In order to involve children positively in discipline, the teacher must provide them with clear and precise rules; only when students understand the rules and expectations can they decide on their own behaviour. Imposing structure on your classroom can prevent "many conflicts and behaviour problems ... because children know what is expected" (MacKenzie, 1). Teachers often falsely assume that students will know the basic rules of interaction already, having been taught by parents or other sources how one should behave with an authority figure, in a classroom environment, and so on (MacKenzie, 5). Some permissive teachers assume that making "any rules or expectations explicit is ... to limit the freedom and autonomy of those subjected" (Delpit, 26). This is not actually helpful, as it is only when someone knows the exact regulations that they can choose to behave appropriately or not. Teachers also commonly make the mistake of assuming students will know the rules after only one repetition, whereas they "need to be taught, practiced, reviewed, retaught, and practiced some more" (MacKenzie, 6). Excessively numerous and complicated rules are less helpful than a few precise, clearly stated ones. This is particularly relevant to multicultural situations, which are of course often confronted by TEFL teachers. Disciplinarians encounter particular problems when cross-cultural issues arise. Delpit theorizes that students’; successful progress through a disciplinary environment is "predicated upon acquisition of the culture of those who are in power" (25); in other words, a teacher should not assume that students from one culture would know rules that are more common to another. Even in English-speaking countries, a teacher should not make assumptions about the information with which students enter class; in one practical example, American researchers "discovered that many young students really don’t understand the meaning of words in the rules, such as ´courteous´"(AFT). Additionally, Wuest suggests that rather than posting rules in negative terms, "emphasizing the don’ts," teachers should list a few all- encompassing rules telling students how to behave (i.e., "Be on time!").

The presentation of clear consequences for when rules are broken is another vital part of a good disciplinary system. MacKenzie describes the most effective consequences as immediate, consistent from situation to situation, relevant to each individual situation, of an appropriate duration, respectful rather than humiliating, and carried out with no grudges borne (MacKenzie, 168-173). The best consequences are those that take away an opportunity for positive reinforcement rather than punish negatively: for example, "time-out" (MacKenzie, 207). Many sources and researchers have shown that "punitive consequences are not the solution to dangerous and disruptive student behaviors" (Skiba). Rather than simply punishing misbehavers, the disciplinarian should use rules to prevent and consequences to stop disruptive behaviours. "The use of positive reinforcement, modeling, supportive teacher-student relations, [and] family support" are also helpful in altering a disruptive environment (Skiba).

Since discipline and the behaviours that warrant it can cause emotional struggles and anger, there are many mistakes a teacher can lapse into. MacKenzie cautions that "permissive teachers believe children will stop misbehaving when children realize that stopping is the right thing to do," a conviction that is the teacher’s responsibility (35). Not all children, however, are willing to cooperate, and external factors in their environment, such as their home life, cannot be ignored. Punitive teachers believe that punishment is the only way to direct a student; "when power struggles develop, [these teachers] assume the problem is the student, not their methods" (MacKenzie, 43). The teacher must avoid this temptation to fall into blame games, as attributing negative motives to a misbehaver creates an impractical emotional struggle between two individuals (Bailey, 150 ). Teachers who become emotionally involved often provide ineffective role-modelling, because one cannot gain students’; respect and resolve an issue while exhibiting bad behaviour often similar to that being punished in the students, like yelling, being agressive, etc. (MacKenzie, 106). MacKenzie further warns that a teacher should not get pulled into bargaining or discussion with the misbehaver: the most effective discipline is always the most efficient (119-120). As much as possible, teachers should avoid disciplining in front of the misbehaver’s peers; as this can lead to more aggression as the misbehaver feels a need to uphold his reputation or show off (AFT). Each aspect of an effective disciplinary system, such as presenting and repeating clear and precise rules, establishing direct and relevant consequences (praise as much as correction), and being sensitive to cultural differences, requires the teacher to have a cool head, confidence in his own authority, and respect for the students.