Publish at March 30 2020 Updated October 23 2024
We all have a side that likes to see the bad guys punished. A huge part of the world's filmography is based on the idea of the antagonist who ends up paying for his or her actions. So when students start acting up in class, the first instinct is to punish them.
But is punishment really effective with children? Doesn't it perpetuate a climate of tension that can lead to violence?
In the popular mind, anything goes to bring recalcitrant elements back into line. Copying sentences, after-school detention, exclusion from class or school - these are all classic ways of targeting them. It can even go further.
In 2020, 14 American states still allow corporal punishment of children. A private school in the Essonne region, meanwhile, confined pupils to a small room for eight hours if a learner was caught cheating. A decision that caused controversy, given the cruelty involved, which was closer to psychological torture than to punishment.
While most violence at school takes place between students, and sometimes between students and teachers, the opposite is also true of some members of the teaching staff. Many end up freaking out under the pressure of class performance and of young people who don't listen or act as they should. In their defense, they don't really have crisis management training.
As a result, some break down and use psychological and even, in 5.5% of cases in 2011, physical violence. A situation that can be seen elsewhere, like the Japanese teacher who broke a student's rib in September 2019.
In fact, a growing number of educational specialists are pointing out that expelling or punishing a child achieves absolutely nothing. On the contrary, the pupil often continues his or her merry-go-round and pushes the teacher out of the classroom. As this French doctoral student points out, this action enables them to escape the school verdict. This is in line with studies on class punishments. Indeed, teachers sometimes decide to cancel an activity for all learners because of bad behavior. Not only is this an injustice to the others, but it will also further exclude the troublemaker, who will do it again, experiencing the frustration of being hated by his or her classmates.
In fact, research tends to show that it's rewards that actually improve attention. Sometimes it's simply a matter of recognizing the efforts made by each learner. Most of them need recognition for their work, especially those for whom this is more difficult. However, we must not fall into the trap of making music and physical education classes "privileges" for those with a good attitude. These subjects are important for everyone and should not be seen as bonuses.
So, what to do about troublemakers? First of all, you need to provide a benevolent yet firm framework, i.e., rules that are clear to everyone, and possibly even set out as a group at the start of the school year. Then, why not use alternative approaches instead of traditional punishments? For example, a school in Toronto has set up a program called Contact, where students who have had enough emotionally go into a room. In this way, they can calm their negative emotions and have a quiet environment to talk about them with the teacher, who will try to offer a listening ear and promulgate advice.
Another approach is to repair bad behavior rather than simply highlight it. Suppose a child constantly forgets his or her materials in class. Rather than making him write dozens of times to stop doing it, why not ask him to come up with methods to ensure that it doesn't happen again. He'll then have to use one of his ideas for a week.
The concept of restorative justice is beginning to make inroads in schools. In this way, the pupil works with the teacher to identify the harm done by his or her behavior and the consequences for the class and other pupils. Once they've realized this, they work on a plan to make amends. This can be an apology in class for certain instances, or actions like helping clean up the cafeteria one day after throwing food during a lunch.
There will always be undesirable behavior in class from time to time. It's only human. The troublemaker should reflect on his or her action, of course, and change it. But why must we systematically resort to a military approach? Especially since such actions can often be explained by talking to the children. Why not focus instead on the good deeds and offer ways for the provocateurs to repair the harm done without turning them into monsters? That would be much more educational and less damaging in the long run.
Illustration: waldryano from Pixabay
References
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