Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in LangshAn Nongchang? Are you interested in teaching English in Bayannao'er Shi — Bayan Nur? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
To begin with, we must understand the meaning of the word ‘punish’ in the context of the classroom, when a student is ‘punished’ they are often given a penalty through a restriction. Punishments in the classroom are often a result of an offence by the student which results in the student breaking the rules, either in a legal manner or morally. There are several debates as to whether punishment should be used for students who break rules in classrooms. Some believe that punishment should be used as after the punishment the student will be less likely to repeat their bad behaviours as they are aware first-hand of the repercussions. However, this may also backfire, as the student may no longer fear any punishment thus leading them to repeatedly exhibit negative behaviours. In order to know how to deal with the bad behaviour of students, it must first be identified where this behaviour and attitude is originating from. Often students do not behave badly unless they are troubled or provoked to do so. This origination allows us to determine if the behaviour the student is exhibiting should be punished or not. If a student, who is known to have a calm attitude, suddenly starts behaving badly, this suggests something must be wrong, rather than punishing this behaviour immediately. The teacher should first speak to the student, to identify where the attitude and behaviour is originating from. In order for the student to talk, they must feel as though they are in a safe, secure and most importantly confidential environment. Once the teacher speaks to the student and discusses the student’s actions, the student should first be warned not to repeat the behaviour again and also be advised to talk to someone to prevent any negative attitude. Bad behaviour is often a result of a stressful societal or home situation, the student may be going through difficult life changes or may have fallen victim to bullying. This is where the teacher must be present to give the student someone they can talk to and lean on. This student-teacher relationship is built on respect. Once the root of the bad behaviour is found, it can then be dealt with by counsellors or interventions. In continuation, as mentioned previously, if a student has committed their first offence, they should be given a warning. Should the student not adhere to the warning, their next offence should then be punished with a penalty. This is because despite help and warning of the repercussions, the students again repeated an offence. As well as a student who repeats bad behaviour, there are some behaviours which cannot go unpunished under any circumstances. If the student is to physically assault someone, this may need to be dealt with by the appropriate authorities as well as the teacher depending on the severity. To conclude, the relationship between the student and the teacher in the classroom is very important, it is the basis for how the student will deal and respond in the class. This relationship as mentioned before is based on respect, the student must feel as though their teacher is someone they are safe and secure with and also someone they can talk to if they need to. Students can sometimes have unfortunate situations which lead them to acting badly in class, but this behaviour can’t just be stopped through punishments but also through other methods. I also believe that a student that is a first offender should be given the opportunity, depending on the severity of their behaviour, to first be let off with a warning and should they repeat the offence then be issued with a penalty.
