In this piece, I will be discussing on how to discipline a child in school. The article will be pragmatic enough and based on my experience as a teacher.
In Nigeria, one of the most used child discipline methods in public schools is corporal punishment, i.e., a type of punishment intended to inflict physical pain on a person, e.g., flogging or hitting a child.
This type of method isn’t always useful at some point in a child’s life, and most often, it is misused by teachers. I am still of the opinion that most teachers hit or flog their students out of anger.
Any child you beat out of anger in the name of discipline has made you abuse the very essence of training.
It is essential you understand that discipline is a form of training or correction, which must be done out of love for the child.
As a teacher, you must know that some of your students will display bad behavior in a class and there is a need to know how to discipline a child in school for you to instill the right virtue in them.
4 Effective ways to discipline a child in school
For you to apply any method, you must have a clear goal in mind before you implement them. It is this goal that will help you in choosing the most appropriate way to go about it.
Also, the present circumstances, urgency, and your creativity will help you out in choosing the best discipline method.
But for this article, I will give my view on how you can go about it, and you can read through and add your spice to it to get the best result.
- Effective communication of wrongdoing
I have observed that telling a child his wrongdoing is a way of registering a value system in him/her. And not only that, it must be communicated in such a way to show him/her that you want the best for him; hence, the reason for calling his attention to it.
After you have done the above, you should also tell him the right thing to do; perhaps he is confronted with a similar situation.
- Withdraw some privileges
There are some privileges that children don’t want to miss. For instance, a child will want to go out and play with his peers during break time. As a teacher, you can deny him of such privilege for that day.
Such a child won’t be happy to be alone in class when others are playing and having an excellent time outside. You should seize the opportunity to let him realize what he has done and to let him assure you that he won’t repeat the same.
- Use the opportunity to tell a story of persons who have done a similar bad behavior and the consequences they suffer for such misdeed
- Give more classwork
Sometimes you may choose an exciting approach like giving such child classwork that is far more than the ones you give other students. In a way, you are helping him academically, and also you are passing crucial information to him/her.
Spanking and harsh words are harmful and don’t work. Here’s why:
The AAP policy statement, “Effective Discipline to Raise Healthy Children,” highlights why it’s important to focus on teaching good behavior rather than punishing bad behavior. Research shows that spanking, slapping and other forms of physical punishment don’t work well to correct a child’s behavior. The same holds true for yelling at or shaming a child. Beyond being ineffective, harsh physical and verbal punishments can also damage a child’s long-term physical and mental health.
- Spanking’s unhealthy cycle. The AAP advises that parents and caregivers should not spank or hit children. Instead of teaching responsibility and self-control, spanking often increases aggression and anger in children. A study of children born in 20 large U.S. cities found that families who used physical punishment got caught in a negative cycle: the more children were spanked, the more they later misbehaved, which prompted more spankings in response. Spanking’s effects may also be felt beyond the parent-child relationship. Because it teaches that causing someone pain is OK if you’re frustrated—even with those you love. Children who are spanked may be more likely to hit others when they don’t get what they want.
Finally, the method of discipline to use must not be the one that will pass the wrong information to the child or let him feel hated.
I hope the four ways given above has provided the answers on how to discipline a child in school.
