| School discipline is a form of discipline found in schools.
The term refers to students complying with a code of behaviour often known as the school rules. Among other things these rules
may set out the expected standards of clothing, timekeeping, social behaviour and
work ethic. The term may also be applied to the punishment that is the consequence of transgression of the code of behaviour. For
this reason the usage of school discipline sometimes means punishment for breaking school rules rather than
behaving within the school rules.
Generally, aim of school discipline is (in theory at least) to create a safe and happy learning environment in the classroom.
A classroom where a teacher is unable to maintain order and discipline can lead to lower achievement by some students and unhappy
students.
The enforcement of discipline in schools can, however, be motivated by other non-academic, often moral objectives. For
example, a traditional British public school usually has
a strong underlying Christian ethic, and enforces strong discipline outside the
classroom as well as in it, which applies particularly to boarders. Duties can include compulsory chapel attendance, sport participation, meal attendance,
conformation to systems of authority within "houses", strongly controlled bed-times and restricted permission to leave the school
grounds. Such duties can be stringently enforced, formerly by corporal punishment, and more recently by curtailment of freedoms
and privileges (e.g. gatings, detentions), and by punishments administered by senior pupils on more junior ones (this last form
tends to be the harshest and most arbitrary form of discipline, and even in modern times can include practices such as forced
prolonged exercise to the point of exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and has been known in extreme cases lead to severe abuse). Such
systems of discipline are often deliberately arbitrary, working on the philosophy that purely reasonable rules are inherently
logical and therefore open to question and debate. The conservative elements inherent in traditional religious schools often
demand full and unquestioning, instinctive respect for and adherence to rules, and an atmosphere of complete obedience, which
necessitates a universal, rigorously enforced system of discipline.
Western move away from corporal punishment
Historically school discipline centered on corporal
punishment methods such as smacking and the use of the cane. In modern times, the main emphasis of a
discipline policy has shifted to positive reinforcements such as praise, merit marks, house points and the like. The use of
violent methods of punishment in order to enforce discipline has been seen as inappropriate by modern educators. Non-violent
methods are still used however when school rules are broken. These include detentions, suspensions and ultimately expulsion of the student
from the school.
Group Punishment
One of the most common methods of school disipline is the controversial group punishment philosophy. It occurs when a few
students do something that is considered bad by a school's teachers and as a result the entire group (or class) of students is
punished. This can happen if an infraction of school rules occurs (for example, vandalism) but the child involved do not own up
to it. If this happens, a group of children may be punished until (or unless) the person responsible confesses. This is generally
a very unfair punshment.
Methods for obtaining good discipline
The most important aspect of good discipline in a classroom is teacher assertiveness. Assertive teachers who set clear boundaries, praise children for appropriate behaviour, and
whose punishments are perceived as "fair" by the children, tend to have a calm atmosphere and good academic results.
On the other hand teachers who are not assertive tend to have variable boundaries, such as ignoring a behaviour one day then
blowing up in rage at the same behavior the next day, giving inappropriate punishments such as a long detention for a minor
infraction, or allowing the pupils they perceive as "good" to get away with behaviour that "bad" pupils are punished for. Such
practices have been found to create a frantic or uneasy atmosphere in the classroom, usually leading to the teacher being
disliked by the pupils and less learning being achieved.
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