DISCIPLINE UNITIII

Types of Discipline

Discipline has been a subject of philosophical thought. Adam has mentioned three types of thought depending upon different philosophies:

Repressionistic Discipline

• Similar to harsh discipline and rule-based school discipline.
• Supported by the Idealism school of philosophical thought.
• Repression means subduing forcefully; in the past, children were made to "fall into line" through harsh physical punishment.
• Such punishments often caused severe injuries and are considered inhumane.
• This type of discipline should be avoided at all costs.

Impressionistic Discipline

• Refers to imparting values and motivation by influencing the child through a proper role model.
• Children notice the personality and behavior of the role model and aspire to be better citizens.
• This method can lead to children becoming exact copies of the idol, limiting their unique thinking.

Emancipationistic Discipline

• The most accepted form of discipline, based on giving the child complete freedom to develop their own character and personality.
• A free environment allows children to develop according to their natural tendencies.
• Encourages creativity, cognitive development, and self-discipline.
• Children learn to control their urges and bad thoughts by choosing not to act on them.
• Promotes self-discipline, making for a better and more responsible society.
• Supported by the Naturalism school of philosophy.

Besides these, there are some other typologies of discipline which envisage the following types:

• External and Internal Discipline: Conduct in conformity to an external stimulus or impulse is called external discipline, e.g., submission to authority, obedience to save oneself from punishment, etc. Internal discipline refers to conduct based on inner motivations, such as obedience to parents out of love.
• Individual and Social Discipline: Individual discipline helps a person control their instincts and align with right behavior willingly. Social discipline develops a social sense or conscience, encouraging an individual to contribute to society's betterment.

Objectives of Discipline

School discipline is the system of rules, punishments, and behavioral strategies appropriate to the regulation of children and the maintenance of order in schools. It is being fostered in the school to serve these objectives:

• To create a safe and conducive learning environment in the classroom.
• To instill independence among students.
• To foster a sense of individual responsibility.
• To foster a sense of self-respect and respect for others.
• To foster a sense of self-reliance among students.
• To ensure the safety of staff and students.
• To discourage misconduct among staff and students.
• To safeguard the academic environment of the school.
• To help students recognize their mistakes and find positive ways to make changes in their behavior.
• To develop positive attitudes, habits, ideas, and code of conduct.
• To help children avoid frequent feelings of guilt and shame for misbehavior feelings that lead to maladjustment.
• To instill community values among students.
• To encourage acceptance and tolerance of the diversity of moral, traditional, and religious values.
• To guide students to use their freedom in a right way.
• To train the mind and character of students to have proper conduct in every sphere of life.

Role of Teacher in Discipline

Teacher is the fountainhead of discipline. With good teachers at the helm of affairs, many discipline problems will not arise at all. Every teacher should be a well-disciplined person and a good disciplinarian. In the overall disciplinary functions of the school staff, he has to play an effective and influential role. He should develop keen insight, patience, love, sympathy, justice, impartiality, and sociability. The teacher should establish personal and friendly relations with the students.

Indiscipline in the school will be a direct reflection on the ability of the teachers of the school. They must cultivate, possess, and develop some philosophy of discipline and see that nobody disturbs the smooth functioning of the school. They must have some collection of good principles to guide them in their treatment of general discipline problems and to serve as the background.

Teachers need to organize co-curricular activities to make children self-directing, give them experiences in cooperation, inculcate in them a sense of responsibility, foster respect for law and authority, train them in leadership, and finally develop in them a feeling of oneness with the school. Teachers have to help the students in sublimating their instincts and directing their energies towards healthy channels.

Teachers have to make use of better methods which will foster discipline among students. In order to put his classroom discipline on firm footing, the teacher should:

• Make sure that pupils start their work as soon as class begins.
• Know each pupil by name.
• Note the conduct of individuals very carefully to locate the students who are immature in self-control.
• Not get upset and never lose temper.
• Exercise right control over pupils' conduct in the early stages so that the entire class will know what the teacher is.
• Try to work out the problems with the individual pupil in the classroom for misconduct or punish him.

Teachers have to maintain a conducive atmosphere in the school. They have to take care of every aspect associated with the conduct of the school, including those of students as well as of themselves. Teachers have to maintain the spirit of teamwork and treat discipline as a common concern of the entire school population.

Suggestions to Overcome Indiscipline

It is obvious from the above part of the lesson that most of the causes of school indiscipline are beyond the realm of the school, over which the school has no control. So inside the school environment, we can only deal with the process of eradicating the causes of indiscipline which pertains to the school. Five approaches have been suggested in educational literature for the eradication of indiscipline:

Retributive Approach

Retributive steps are taken against students who violate rules of school discipline. Punishments vary according to the nature of the violation, but this approach can give out terrible outcomes, and it can lead a student to become a criminal.

Vindictive Approach

Feelings of revenge function behind this approach. It should not be practiced in school. Students should be acquainted with the necessity and the rationality of school rules, and there is a need to do proper justice and to satisfy them.

Exemplary Approach

The cause behind the need for this approach is that the remaining students of the class or school don’t violate discipline due to the example of punishment for indiscipline; however, evidence and enormity of punishment should be considered in advance.

Reformative Approach

The aim of this approach is to reform guilty students. So, the students are made to feel their guilt and to motivate them not to repeat such an occurrence again. Under this approach, the student is motivated to work according to the school rules in order to assimilate with the mainstream of the community.

Preventive Approach

It is the outcome of modern research and thought. The aim of this approach is to know in advance the situation which may arise and eliminate the cause due to which an occurrence of indiscipline may arise. The supporters of this approach say that many discipline problems can be rooted out if care is practiced and a proper academic environment is created in the school.