Management and Discipline Defined

The aim of classroom management is to maintain a positive, productive learning environment.  There are two dimensions to classroom management, prevention and reaction.  Prevention management pertains to the physical and social environment of the classroom.  Reaction management pertains to the actions the teacher takes when dealing with misbehavior.  According to Savage (1999), management is defined as the “aspect of your teaching role that focuses on creating an environment and establishing conditions that facilitate student success in achieving both academic and social goals. This involves your exercise of classroom leadership, the facilitation of student motivation, the arrangement of the physical environment, and management of time and lessons."(p.7) 

Savage (1999) also says, discipline is defined as “ the development of self-control, character, orderliness, and efficiency.  Discipline is more than a response to misbehavior that is concerned primarily with rules and punishments.  It implies that compliance and conformity are not the main goals, and that disciplne is a process of growing toward self-control, developing character, and learning orderly and productive ways of living.” (p.9)  Student's development of self-control is the most important purpose of discipline.  Rogers and Frieberg (1994) state, "Students are taught self-control by being allowed to make choices, organizing their time, setting priorities, being peacemakers when others engage in disputes, engaging in collaborative learning experiences, and learning to trust each other" (Savage, 1999, p. 11).


 

If misbehavior in the classroom does occur, appropriate discipline should be applied.  The discipline action must always equal the offence.  If the consequence is too severe or inconsistent, students will loose respect for the teacher and learn to not trust authority figures.  Prevention through set rules and stimulating curriculum can offset many distractions and disruptions in the classroom.  Being consistent when disciplining students is important and is a start when establishing control in the classroom.  The teacher's job is to help the student reflect on his/her misbehavior and to consider the impact of their actions.


The following video was made in 1947 as instruction on how to maintain management and discipline in the classroom.  It begins with what the teacher shouldn’t do and how it affects the students and how the classroom is managed.  It then leads into what should have been done and how handling situations differently will lead to a classroom that is ran more smoothly.  Even though the video is over 50 years old, the same concepts still hold today.  Some concepts that can be seen in the video are Praise, Prompt, and Leave and Say, See, Do; although they were probably not called by such terms 50 years ago.

Hebrews 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (NIV)

Discipline is never pleasant for anyone, although it is needed at times.  Classroom management does include discipline and in the end students will be better off because they have been taught what is right.  This will make them better people as a result.

HOME; management and discipline defined; visual instruction plans; the physical environment; authority and leadership; proximity and mobility; praise, promt, and leave; say, see, do teaching; calm and consistency; time management; preferred activity time; references