Foundations and Assessment of Education/Edition 1/Foundations Table of Contents/Chapter 11/11.2.2

No More Mister Nice Guy!

by James Noble

Positive Discipline:
 * Is it all about being nice?

Introduction
I am a father, a parent, and a future schoolteacher. Licensed social workers and professional psychologists, people I have gone to for help, people I respect, experts in their fields, have called me "laidback," "easygoing," and "too nice" in my style of discipline. "But I'm positive in my discipline; I encourage them (my kids) and praise them, and, still, they show me very little or no respect!" I shout from the rooftops. "What am I doing wrong?" Wayne A. Martin, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Colonial Psychiatric Association in Newport News, Virginia, says, "Children need structure, structure through positive discipline and mutual respect!" It all sounds well and good, but what exactly does it mean? What is positive discipline? Is it all about being nice? How do I apply it to a classroom of kids, kids from diverse ethnic backgrounds, kids from various positions in the sociological and intellectual ranks, kids who have learned a unique style of discipline from their own parents, and some who have learned no discipline at all?

Definition
The term Positive Discipline might sound like an oxymoron to some people: I mean, let's face it, discipline has usually had a negative connotationâpunishment (Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary), and in the mind of a child, punishment is not a positive consequence. According to Carol Chemlynski, Assistant Managing Editor, School Board News, Positive Discipline is a system of "responsibilities and mutual respect." (Education Digest, Nov96). Using common sense, and Carol Chemlynski's definition, let's break it down into easy to understand terminology: Responsibilityâboth teachers and students must know the rules and adhere to them. For example, if school policy is turning off cell phones in the classroom, then teachers and students have the responsibility to make sure they turn them off. Mutual Respectâstudents respect teachers, teachers respect students, students respect other students, teachers respect other teachers, and everybody respects the rules. What happens if there's a breakdown in Responsibility and Mutual Respect? What happens if a student becomes obstinate, unmanageable, or disruptive? How should a teacher execute discipline in the classroom?

Executing Discipline in the classroom
It may surprise you to know that the United States is one of the few industrialized countries to allow corporal punishment in schools; in fact, twenty-two of our fifty states still allow teachers and administrators to paddle or spank children: most of those states are located in the south(ies,2007). Although a number of states abolished corporal punishment in schools in the 1980s, teachers still ridicule students, place them in detention, and suspend them. In her book Positive Discipline in the Classroom, Jane Nelsen interviewed a group of middle school students and asked them if getting yelled at, spanked, suspended, sent to detentions, or embarrassed in front of peers and parents solved their discipline problems; they responded with "No,'" "What do you think?" or they just laughed (page 24). Okay, so students don't like the corporal punishment approach; in fact, psychologist Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff, Ph.D of the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University, suggests that corporal punishment stunts the learning process, promotes low self-esteem, incites anger and violence, and makes the job of teaching that more difficult(July,2002). Yet, many school districts in many states still advocate spanking as a way of controlling bad behavior.So, what's the answer: corporal punishment or positive discipline? Does one work better than the other does, or is it just a waste of time?

Quiz
1. According to Carol Chemlynski, Assistant Managing Editor, School Board News, Positive Discipline is a system of? a) detentions and suspensions b) dark sarcasm in the classroom c) responsibilities and mutual respect d) bad behavior equals spanking 2. An example of Mutual Respect is? a) teachers fill you up with their rules b) students never trust anyone over thirty c) nobody respects the rules d) everybody respects the rules 3. The United States is one of the few industrialized countries to? a) allow corporal punishment in schools b) outlaw paddling and spanking in school c) insist on mutual respect between teachers and students d) outlaw corporal punishment 4. Some research suggests that corporal punishment in schools? a) is the Preventive Method of education b) makes teaching easier c) incites anger and violence d) stops all bad behavior in schools 5. According to Dr. Jane Nelsen, teachers want students who? a) admit that teachers are superior b) sit quiet and shut up c) have a sense of humor and are compassionate d) think that teachers are not cool 6. In the Practical Tools for Positive Behavior, Edna C. Olive, writes, "Human behavior is not something we can simply? a) pop into a machine, push a button, and have delivered to us in an altered state b) expect from children from low income families c) take for granted d) hold down and turn around 7. Which of the following is not one of Dr. Jane Nelsen's Positive Discipline Classroom Management Tools? a) problem solve b) say "no" with dignity and respect c) using positive time-outs instead of immediately punishing d) spare the rod and spoil the child 8. Mutual respect requires that teachers? a) treat students as robots whose only function is to be controlled and manipulated for their own good b) leave those kids alone c) debate over who coined the phrase "Never trust anyone over thirty!" d) see students as valuable resources with worthwhile ideas and skills

Answers to Questions 1(c) - 2(d) - 3(a) - 4(c) - 5(c) - 6(a) - 7(d) - 8(d)