Teach English in Xiaohai Zhen - Yancheng Shi

The main objective of Education is the development of the personal discipline. Effective discipline aims for self-direction. The teachers should stimulate worthy motives and give the learners every opportunity to direct their own efforts. The rules of conduct can be worked out by the pupils themselves. Measures to check if the rules are being followed or not should be their responsibility too. Adherence to rules they formulate will not then be difficult. Self-control can be taught even in Teaching English Language. Self-direction develops slowly. Situations calling for the exercise of discipline should be provided. The key is consistency and persistence. A pupil should obey rules at all times and should not be allowed any exception. Persistence is equally important since it is only incorrect repetition that good habits are formed. Encouraging pupils to take responsibility for doing things develops self-discipline. Participating in group activities whether as leader or follower will give the learner the opportunity to exercise self-control. The learner should be made to realize that in life outside the school, the person who has self-discipline can adjust to his environment more easily. Dealing with others involves a lot of self-control since no two individuals behave the same way. If a student can get along very well with his classmates, if he can tolerate others and respect their wishes, ideas, and even their idiosyncrasies, he is going a long way toward developing his self-control. Discipline to be effective should be vital, meaningful, sympathetic, and humane. The pupil should know why he is called upon to conform to certain rules and regulations. The advantage of proper conduct in society should be very clear to him. He should realize that developing desirable habits will be of value in his future life. Pupils’ rights should be respected. The teacher should be aware of these rights. In dealing with pupils even when they have erred, the teacher should be friendly, humane, and sympathetic. He should understand the nature of the child and endeavor to see things from the child’s own point of view. Pupils do not resent punishment if justly and humanely given. The dignity of the human being should be maintained at all times even in meeting out punishment. Pupils resent being treated like criminals. The teacher who can rebuke with a kind, soft, and sympathetic voice wins the love and respect of his pupils. A humane teacher will never embarrass a pupil and will give him the benefit of the doubt. In other words, positive measures for disciplining the child are superior to negative ones. Effective discipline should be based on the tenets of democracy. The schools are charged with the responsibility of producing efficient, democratic citizens. The principles of democracy should, therefore, be basic in the life of a child in school as well as in society. Consciously and deliberately, teachers should include democratic ideals if pupils are to take their places effectively in a democracy. The principles of the general welfare, civil liberty, consent of the governed, appeal to reason, etc., should be lived by children in school. A child should learn to think of his personal life in terms of others. He must see his place in a group. The welfare of others should govern his actions. Self-denial for the good of others is worth cultivating. The child who has learned to subordinate his interests to the interest of the group is learning how to live in a democratic society. Many have mistaken notions regarding individual freedom in a democracy. Freedom in a democracy means freedom with restraint. It is not doing anything that one pleases. Reasonable restrictions are welcome to young people, and even to the rowdiest will follow rules that are just and reasonable to him. Restraint without freedom is tyranny; freedom without restraint is anarchy. The concept of equality is often misunderstood too and becomes a cause of misbehavior in the classroom, especially when pupils believe that an act of injustice has been committed against them. Pupils should be made to see that individual differences exist. As a matter of fact, no two individuals are exactly alike- not even identical twins. Each individual has his own strengths, abilities, and potentialities. Equality means providing each individual the same opportunity to develop his potential and to allow him to contribute his share to society. This implies that the teacher should be aware of individual differences and that he should give each child an equal share of his attention, guidance, and direction. The premium put on the intelligence of the individual calls for the use of reason in many situations. When the teacher allows the pupils to formulate rules to govern their conduct, he is actually manifesting his faith in the ability of his pupils. When he metes out punishment only after due investigation, he believes in giving the child the chance to reason out and defend his actions. When the teacher allows the pupil to choose, he gives him credit for the exercise of his judgment and intelligence. When in the classroom the teacher calls for pupil’s opinions, he believes in the worth of the other’s ideas and decisions. The classroom cannot function well without the teacher. The success of the activities in the classroom depends on the ability of the teacher as a classroom manager. He takes care of two aspects of classroom management, namely, care of routine factors and classroom discipline. The prospective teacher will gain a lot from a serious study of the suggestions, principles, and practices of classroom management. Constructive measures of discipline are worth trying in solving disciplinary problems in the classroom.