The Dilemmas of Discipline
and Classroom Management
Chapter 3
The teacher said that she
sometimes lets the “better” kids get
by. By better kids, she means
1.
2.
3.
4.
The kids who dress the
nicest and are most like
her
The smartest kids
The kids whom she
finds most attractive
The most obedient and
unquestioning kids
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100%
The kids who dress the nicest and are most like her
The smartest kids
The kids whom she finds most attractive
Classroom management: Creating
an Environment for Learning
• The teacher’s ability to arrange the
learning environment, the physical setup
of the classroom, the learning activities,
and the learners themselves, that fosters
smooth flow
• Most important…the ways in which the
teacher plans and executes daily lessons
Classroom management
• Born out of a relationship between the
students, the teacher, and the instructional
environment
• Teacher-centered…tight authority in most
daily activities
• Student-centered…an effort to share roles
and responsibilities in the classroom
In terms of classroom
management, I would be most
comfortable being
1. More teachercentered, in
control
2. More studentcentered, sharing
power
0%
100%
More teacher-centered, in control
More student-centered, sharing power
Unpredictability
• Once procedures and rules are
established, things tend to run more
smoothly, but……….the very nature of the
flow of human relationships and power
within them implies that they will never be
static, predictable, or manageable the
same way every day
Classroom Discipline
• “…when administrators and teachers talk
about classroom discipline, they are
usually referring to the never-ending issue
of getting individual students, and
sometimes the entire class, to behave in a
manner desired by the teacher.”
Discipline
• “training expected to produce a specific
character or pattern of behavior, especially
training that produces moral or mental
improvement.”
• “Training” may suggest extrinsic rewards or
extrinsic punishments
• Inherent in disciplinary techniques is a power
dynamic, the teacher’s view of the uses of power
in the classroom
I am most motivated to do things in
a classroom
1.
2.
3.
4.
By knowing there will be
specific rewards for
doing them
By knowing there will be
specific punishments if I
don’t do them
If the things make sense
for me to do
If they are enjoyable to
do
0%
100%
By knowing there will be specific rewards for doing them
By knowing there will be specific punishments if I don’t do
them
If the things make sense for me to do
If they are enjoyable to do
A little history of American
Education
• Colonial schools…the Puritans of New
England---inherently evil human nature,
fear of God’s retribution, strong connection
between Church and State
• In Puritan philosophy, good teaching
synonymous with strict discipline, scare
tactics, unquestioned obedience to
authority
1800s…changing times and
attitudes
• The development of the American character, and
three key issues:
• 1. questioning the evilness of human nature
• 2. debates over what knowledge was of most
worth and how it should be organized and used
• 3. what type of educational system would best
meet the needs of the developing new Nation
Horace Mann
• Champion of the Common School movement
• Belief that children were innocent and capable of
learning without fear of retribution
• Clash of educational philosophies, such as
emulation…rewarding those who did the best,
consistent with growing capitalist economic
system
John Dewey and Progressivism
• A belief system that emphasizes learning
through experimentation—
nonauthoritarian, learner centered
• The purpose of schools should be to
prepare students for life in an everchanging democracy
• Schools should be a microcosm of the
community
Colonel Richard Henry Pratt
• Set out to solve the American Indian
“problem”
• Indians could be led to “civilization”
through schooling…take away Native
language, culture, families…put in place
dominant society language and culture,
and prepare students for blue collar work
Discipline and Management
Theories
• The Canters: Assertive
Discipline…students have a right to know
the rules and obey the rules and to receive
positive recognition for doing so
• Limited number of rules that apply at all
times, targeted at behavior only…clear
negative consequences in an atmosphere
of warmth and support
Alfie Cohn: Classroom as
Community
• Theoretical framework of Constructivism…new
and more complex understandings starting from
the student’s base of knowledge, by interacting
with materials, the teacher, peers
• Hands-on experiments and inquiry-oriented
projects
• Discipline and management are inappropriate
when attempting to build a classroom
community…no rewards or punishments
At this point, I would be more
comfortable with
1. The Canters’ form of classroom
management
2. Kohn’s approach to the classroom
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