Teach English in BodAofeng Linchang - Huanggang Shi

What are possible alternatives to punishments? Years ago, in many countries around the world, schools thought that the only way to punish someone who misbehave was to beat and whip them. Corporal punishment is a means of inflicting pain to someone who has done wrong by hitting an beating them. According to a 2014 estimate by Human Rights Watch, "Ninety percent of the world’s children live in countries where corporal punishment and other physical violence against children is still legal. There are many ways to discipline a student but a corporal punishment is not a way. Children are now protected by law against beating in class. Many countries, such as the Philippines launched its Child Protection Policy on May 3, 2012, through DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012, to promote a zero-tolerance policy for any act of child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination, bullying and other related offenses. When to punish a child? One of the crucial situations a teacher can be is to determine when to give punishment to a child. Choosing appropriate punishment is an important part of shaping your kids’ behavior. But choosing consequences that are just right for each situation, without being too lax or too severe is difficult. Proper communication with the class is one key solution to effectively and fairly implement any punishment or consequences to a child. Children’s involvement in planning and setting up rules in the class decreases the possibility of children committing any offense because they know the corresponding punishments. The teacher should identify what are minor and major offenses to properly classify the punishments. Minor offenses may include the following: 1. Failure to wear uniforms 2. Following proper hygiene policy such as the acceptable haircuts 3. Littering 4. Loitering 5. Bringing gadgets 6. Absences and tardiness Regularity of attendance and punctuality are required in all classes. A student who has been absent or has cut classes is required to present a letter of explanation from parents or guardian. Habitual tardiness especially during the first period in the morning shall not be allowed. 7. Being disruptive in the class There is usually a reason why a child is being disruptive in class, whether the child is bored, hungry, tired, angry, or maybe they are looking for attention and acceptance. Try to find out if there is a reason the child is constantly disruptive and if you can solve the problem, such as giving them a mid-morning snack, then disruptions may become less frequent. Classroom management is an important aspect of disciplining a disruptive child. Incorporating rules, consequences, and behavior contracts can help you discipline the child without disrupting the entire class. Major offenses may include the following: 1. Bullying 2. Vandalism 3. Destroying school property like chairs, tables, books, laboratory equipment. 4. Using profane languages to insult others. 5. Extortion or asking money from others 6. Cheating and stealing 7. Unruly behavior during assemblies, religious services and other school activities 8. Assaulting a teacher or any school authority and staff. 9. Smoking inside school premises. 10. Fighting causing injury to others Offenses and punishments vary depending on each school rule. School teachers should always bear in mind giving punishment or any disciplinary action influences students motivation in learning, it could “make or break” them. Types of Consequences for children Appropriate consequences teach our children that they’re in control of their own behavior. They’re also tailored to match each child’s developmental stage, so we’re never expecting more than our kids are capable of These kinds of effective consequences can be divided into two categories: natural and logical consequences. • Natural consequences are things that happen on their own as a result of the child’s behavior. For example, losing your cell phone means that you no longer have a cell phone to use. Forgetting your homework means getting a zero. Not bringing school things meaning they won’t have anything to use. • Logical consequences are steps that we take to help our children see that choosing poor behaviors comes with some unpleasant side effects. These may not be a direct punishment depends on the severity of their actions. Logical consequences aren't physically or emotionally damaging. An example would be having your students write more after they refused to write a story. The consequence is related to the behavior, and it makes sense for the situation. It’s also unpleasant enough that they do not want to suffer the same consequence again and again, so it serves as a motivator to changing their own behavior. In both cases, you want your children to see that they really choose their consequences themselves the moment they choose their behavior. In this way, they themselves will start to minimize their offenses that can be habitual. There are plenty of ways a teacher can turn punishment into a positive not degrading techniques. Alternative ways to punish a child The idea of discipline being synonymous with punishment is ingrained in our psyche. The first thing we think of when we hear the word “discipline” is usually something negative. However, did you know that the word discipline originates from the Latin word ‘disciplina’ which means teaching, which in turn comes from ‘discipulus’ which literally translates to pupil- teaching pupils. Positive punishment is an idea that focuses on reverting things back to the roots- when children do something wrong, instead of corporal punishment, detentions and isolations, suspension and expulsion, teachers teach and guide them to set the behavior right. If you worry that the discipline strategies you're using right now aren't working, then it's time to rethink the consequences you've chosen to use. Here are some alternative punishments teachers can use in the class. 1. Instead of pointing out what the child did wrong, show the child how to set things right suppose your child hits another child. let’s consider the best-case situation first where you catch your child before she actually hits. However, instead of saying “Don’t hit” or “NO hitting” try saying “Use your words” or “Ask nicely”. When you say “Don’t hit” it does not give the child any information of what she should be doing instead. Without that knowledge, she may just end up going with her original plan to hit or she may choose to go with some other option which is equally bad – like shoving the other kid. Now, on the other hand, if you catch the child after the incident, convey that what she did was wrong and give her an “out”. For example, you could say “That was not a good choice, we don’t hit our friends. Do you want to say sorry and make her/him feel better?” and if your child is not ready to say sorry yet (which in some cases they usually need some time), you can continue with “Until we are ready to say sorry, let’s sit here and read a book. 2. Time-ins instead of time-outs The traditional time out is when a child is told to go somewhere (like a detention chair or facing a wall), alone for a determined number of minutes. Often teachers are told to withhold attention and ignore any requests from the child when using a time out. Although the time out tactic can potentially prevent a behavior from occurring in the moment it can also make children feel abandoned, rejected, frightened and confused. Time outs are vastly popular and are preferred to harsher traditional discipline tactics like hitting (corporal punishment). Most teachers would have given their kids time-outs for bad behaviour, where the kids sit silently in a corner. However, sometimes sitting idle may not work well with children, as kids are often active. In such cases, teachers can try ‘time-ins’ where you send your child to the naughty corner but instead of making your child sit doing nothing, give him an age-appropriate task, such as memorising a poem, writing letters of the alphabet, colouring a picture, or working out some math problems. This will serve the purpose of the punishment while also giving the child something useful to do. 3. Timer If your students take too long to finish a task, like completing homework or an activity, set a timer. Tell the child that if the timer rings before they are finished, they will lose some other privilege like having the chance to choose the movie for the film viewing day or they will not be able to play their favorite game for today. This will encourage the students to complete the task on time, and gradually, it will become a regular habit. This mostly is appropriate in some minor offenses however teacher may come up with a creative way to use this to more severe punishment. 4. Punishment jar Discuss with your children and come up with a list of creative punishments. Next, write down these punishments on pieces of paper and put them in a jar. The next time your child behaves in an ill manner, ask her to pick a chit from the punishment jar and do whatever is written on it. These punishments should help children learn something new or make better use of their time. Some examples of these easy-to-do punishments include activities, tidying their group’s tray -in which most of the time children hate doing, pulling out weeds in the garden, read one or two story books and thing alike. Children need to be disciplined in a way that is not too harsh and encourages them to correct their bad behaviour and listen to their teachers. Punishments should not be humiliating for children, instead, they should teach kids to make better use of their time and learn something new, while learning the value of good behaviour. 5. Drink from their own cups Children may be involved in different situations over the period of time. Some might be minor and some might be major offenses that needs parent’s consultation. One alternative to punishment to misbehaving or students involving in misconduct is having “a drink from their own cups”. This means parties involved should resolve or find ways on how to fix troublesome situation they got into. In this way students are taught to solve any problem they might encounter and encourage critical thinking skills to develop. Punishment is one way of correcting misbehavior in the class and teacher should act according to classroom rules to assure fairness and justice through equality and non-discrimination with respect to child’s dignity.