ASSIGNMENT

Assignment

Assignment

Part I

Introduction to the Behavioural Problem

All teachers would like to have well behaved classes. After all, teaching a class with little or no discipline problems is a great joy. The reality is that for any given class there will be some discipline problems. While it is common to put the blame on students or the educational policy of a particular institution, the fact is that many teachers are the cause of their discipline problems. How well behaved a class is depends to a large extent on how well a teacher can encourage good disciplinary habits in class. Therefore, the greater amount of responsibility for discipline lies squarely on the teacher's shoulders. This paper will attempt to dispel some of the misconceptions concerning discipline and briefly offer some suggestions on how to handle discipline problems without hindering learning.

First, it must be determined what is meant by discipline. For many people the image of strict rules and harsh punishments immediately come to mind. This is an extremely narrow definition of discipline that is better left for excessive breakdowns in accepted behavior.

A more workable definition of discipline consists of two parts. The first is: "a code of conduct which binds a teacher and a group of students together so that learning can be more effective." (Harmer, 209-210)

The second sees discipline as some form of punishment meted out to those that break the code of conduct.

Thus the goal of discipline can be seen as a way to guarantee a learning environment that is free of annoying distractions, but not so restrictive that it stifles creativity in learning. Herein lies the problem of classroom discipline: how to maintain control without hampering student's freedom.

Discipline is not a way of forcing students to conform to a set of rules, instead it is freedom inside the boundaries of control. (Biao, 1996) The boundaries are the rules that teachers make which define proper classroom behavior. Even though it is usually an unspoken desire, students want some sort of order in class and expect the teacher to be the one who maintains that order. What teachers must do is to define the boundaries before problems arise.

Reasons for the Problem Behavior

One of the biggest mistakes that can be made is to assume that students already know how to behave in class. After all, unless the students are very young children they most likely have had some previous schooling and have developed some sense of what is acceptable and not acceptable classroom behavior. But even if they had prior schooling, students of all ages, especially young students, will consciously or unconsciously challenge their teachers at the beginning of a new term to see what the boundaries are. Because of this it is necessary for a teacher to make clear to students how they are expected to behave in class. (Lindsy, 1990) Merely going over a list of what is expected is not enough. Action is needed. A firm posture must be presented and maintained until is it ...