When teachers are overwhelmed with several children doing several bad behaviors at once, school personnel will resort to the fastest mode of discipline possible – corporal punishment (Stephey). While corporal punishment does invoke fear in the punished child and other children who witness the punishment, it does little else to curb bad behaviors or teach the child what to do or not do (Holinger). Rather, the only proven consequences of corporal punishment are serious medical injuries, “including severe muscle injury, extensive blood-clotting (hemoatomas), whiplash damage, and hemorrhaging” (Stephey). Therefore, corporal punishment results in only negative, detrimental, and dangerous results, and no positive outcomes.
Rather than using corporal punishment, there are several other methods of discipline that educators can use to achieve desired results. The purpose of discipline is to teach a child what not to do or what is acceptable to do (Holinger). Therefore, any punishments that are applied must meet this purpose. The key is for educators to remember this point when they are administering punishments: the goal is to teach, not to invoke fear or pain. If educators can remember that key principle, than there are a host of punishment options that educators can use in the school setting that do not cause physical pain and bodily harm. For example, if a child hits a classmate, rather than hitting that child as a form of discipline (and essentially demonstrating the precise behavior that the child is not supposed to do), the educator can sit the child down and force the child to express him/herself in words (Holinger). The child must learn how to verbalize his/her feelings rather than lash out physically (Holinger). This intervention serves multiple purposes.
First, the child is sat down and required to calm him/herself down by sitting quietly with the educator (Holinger). Second, the child is removed from the play environment and does not get to engage with other children until he/she does what is asked of him/her (Holinger). Third, the child learns which words to use in order to express him/herself, which is useful in future confrontations (Holinger). Fourth, the child receives direct attention from an adult, which is often what children crave (Holinger).
Once the child has expressed him/herself in words, the child should be rewarded for doing so (Holinger). The child has already been removed from the situation, forced to sit down, and forced to comply with the requested behavior – talking (Holinger). This serves as the punishment. The next step is to reinforce good behavior (Holinger). Therefore, if the child complies and finds the right words to express him/herself and is rewarded for it, the child will be more likely to use words instead of physical force the next time he or she is upset (Holinger). According to psychologists, the key to discipline is turning a bad behavior into a teachable moment that can then be transformed into positive behavior that can be reinforced (Holinger). Punishment is much less effective than positive reinforcement, so the key is to shift the focus from the bad behavior towards the behavior that is wanted (Holinger). By conversing with the child and settling issues with words, educators can set a good example for their students (Holinger). As Bandura demonstrated in his research, children are highly likely to model the behavior of adults (Holinger). Therefore, by refraining from corporal punishment and using verbal expression instead, the child learns by example and by experience what to do.
- Holinger, Paul C. “Effective Alternatives To Physical Punishment: The View from Psychoanalysis and Infant and Child Development.” Psychology Today. 2 September 2009. Web.
- Human Rights Watch. “‘Corporal Punishment in Schools and Its Effect on Academic Success’ Joint HRW/ACLU Statement.” Human Rights Watch. 15 April 2010. Web.
- Stephey, M. J. “Corporal Punishment in U.S. Schools.” Time Magazine. 12 August 2009. Web.
