Discipline and Behavior Issues

Discipline is one of the most important, if not the most important, topics in which teachers want help. When teachers in both public and private schools are surveyed about areas of need, they most often choose discipline and classroom management.

One way to deal with discipline is concerned with children's outward behavior. It includes three concepts related to reinforcement: (1) positive reinforcement, (2) negative reinforcement, and (3) punishment.

Positive reinforcement is most similar to "rewards." A positive reinforcer is something that, when applied following a behavior, strengthens the chance the behavior will occur again. Positive reinforcement includes primary reinforcers and secondary reinforcers. Primary reinforcers are things which children naturally need or want. For example, food and water are primary reinforcers. Children naturally want these. If we give  children some candy or something good to drink after they have done something we wanted them to do, then we are applying (or giving them) positive reinforcement. Secondary reinforcers are not rewarding at first, but they become rewarding. For example, chips or tokens which can be gathered (like money) to buy a toy or prize are secondary reinforcers. Money is a secondary reinforcer. No one was born wanting a dirty piece of green paper. However, it becomes rewarding because of what we can get with it.

Negative reinforcement is often more difficult to understand because we don't usually recognize its use. A negative reinforcer is something that, when removed, strengthens the chance a behavior will occur again. The seat-belt buzzer is a good example of a secondary reinforcer. When you put on your seat belt, the annoying noise goes away.

Punishment is not the same thing as reinforcement. While reinforcement (or what we usually call rewards) seeks to increase behaviors, punishment seeks to decrease certain behaviors. Punishment is something that, when applied, decreases the chance a behavior will occur again. Unfortunately, punishment does not have a direct connection with the behavior we are trying to discourage. For example, if we want a child to stop hitting other children and we take away his snack time, snack time has nothing to do with hitting other children.

Extinction can also be used. Extinction is the removal of rewards that encourage or keep a behavior going. For example, if we laugh at the class clown when he does something for attention, that is usually rewarding or reinforcing; but if we ignore the class clown, we are using extinction. We are removing the rewards (laughing) that keep the clown going. (For more information see Michael J. Anthony, Foundations of Ministry [Wheaton, IL: BridgePoint Books, 1992].)

What do you like about giving rewards? What do you not like about giving rewards? What do children learn when you give them rewards? When should you give rewards? For what should rewards be given?

Another way of dealing with discipline is more concerned with children's thinking about their actions than their simply behaving in appropriate ways. The focus is to get children to think about their actions. Sanctions are used instead of rewards or punishment. Children have specific reasons for disliking rewards and punishment. Sanctions are designed to help children think about their actions so they will act in moral ways. Four recommended sanctions are: (1) temporary exclusion from the group; (2) calling the child's attention to the consequences of his actions; (3) depriving the child of whatever he has misused; and (4) perhaps the most important—restitution. Restitution means a child must make good that which he has harmed.

Temporary exclusion from the group is not the same thing as time-out. If a child does something inappropriate during a class meeting, the child is sent to time-out for five minutes. The adult says, "Go to time-out, and don't come back for five minutes." Temporary exclusion from the group is different. A child is asked to leave the group until he can participate and follow the rules of the group. The child makes the decision when he is able and ready to come back and participate. Of course, this will not work with some children. For example, introverts may be pleased to leave the group and choose never to come back. However, children who really enjoy being a part of and participating in the group will be more influenced by temporary exclusion.

Calling a child's attention to the consequences of his actions is another sanction. A child who is breaking crayons can be told, "When you break all the crayons, we will not have any more to use." Of course, anyone who has worked with children will know that some children will defiantly say, "I don't care." In these cases the third sanction might be used.

Depriving the child of whatever he has abused or misused is a sanction a teacher might apply in this instance. When a child is breaking crayons, a natural consequence is that the child cannot use the crayons. As with all sanctions, the consequences are directly related to the child's actions.

Restitution is perhaps the most important sanction we can use. Restitution means "making good that which you have harmed." Whether a child intentionally commits a transgression or accidentally hurts someone or damages something, restitution can be a powerful tool to help children think about their actions and the consequences of such actions.

Here is a true story about how restitution can be effective. A sixth-grader once accidentally spilled blue ink on the white blouse of the girl sitting in front of him. The teacher decided to use restitution. How can the boy make good that which he has damaged? The girl couldn't take off her blouse in class. The teacher thought about it and said to the boy, "I know you didn't mean to spill ink on her blouse, but you must make it right. I've asked the girl to bring her blouse to school tomorrow. It is your job to try to get the ink out. Your mother or father can make suggestions, but it is your job to fix it. I'll call your mother and explain the situation."

The next day the ink-stained white blouse was brought back to school. The boy took it home. His mother showed him how to use bleach and lemon juice, but she left him to make decisions about how to clean the garment. After three tries, the ink came out. The next day the boy brought the blouse back to school, after he had cleaned, dried, and pressed it. This was a powerful lesson.

Sometimes restitution is not possible. For example, if one child pushes another one and breaks his arm, how can the child make restitution? The child is not a physician. Even so, there are ways the child can make restitution. For example, the child can be responsible for carrying books for the child with the broken arm. She can run errands for the child with the broken limb, such as getting assignments from school. While exact restitution may not always be possible, the important thing to remember is that if we make a mistake we must do what we can to correct it.

Having children come up with their own solutions for restitution is often helpful. This is also helpful for disputes. When children have an argument, the most likely solution is to tattle. Adults can discourage this by telling children to work to solve their own disputes and then come back and tell you what they decided and how they solved the problem.

What do you believe about restitution? What does the Bible say about restitution? Can you think of specific stories in the Bible in which restitution was used? Can rewards and punishment be used as well as restitution? If so, how?

Problems with rewards. In the book Punished by Rewards, Alfie Kohn suggests five reasons rewards are harmful to children: (1) rewards punish; (2) rewards negatively influence relationships; (3) rewards do not consider reasons; (4) rewards discourage appropriate risk-taking; and (5) rewards may make children less interested in activities they naturally enjoy. (For more information see Alfie Kohn, Punished by Rewards [New York; Houghton Mifflin, 1993].)

Rewards punish. How can rewards possibly punish children—especially when they are designed to do the opposite? For example, in Bible study some teachers give children a star in their crown on a poster for every Bible verse they memorize. One child in the class has a learning disability, another has attention deficit disorder, and yet another is in special education at school for mental retardation. These students are punished because of their mental abilities. Further, rewards are like punishment in that both are used to manipulate people into doing what we want them to do.

Rewards negatively influence relationships. Rewards often foster competition and thus damage or destroy cooperative relationships. If only one person can win in a game, every other child is seen as someone to beat.

Is that the message you want to send children?

Rewards also do not consider reasons children do things. If a child is constantly fighting, parents and teachers might give rewards or administer punishment to change the child's behavior. The problem with this is that rewards and punishment do not consider why the child is constantly fighting. When we give rewards, we are not addressing the real issue—why children do the things they do.

Rewards do not encourage appropriate risk-taking. The key word here is appropriate. What, exactly, is appropriate risk-taking? When a child is working for a reward, he may do only what is necessary to get the reward. He won't do any more. For example, let's go back to the example of a Bible study, in which children are given stars for memorizing Bible verses. If a child is interested in learning more about a particular Bible passage, he would probably not take the initiative to try to learn or read more because he would be focused on getting the stars. Children are naturally interested in learning, but if we give rewards, we may be discouraging them from digging deeper into the Scriptures for fear they might miss a reward. Rewards work, and they work fast; but in the long term, they may do more harm than good.

Rewards may make children less interested in activities they naturally enjoy. For those children who naturally like to draw or paint, rewards for drawing or painting are discouraging. In one study of children and rewards, children (who generally like to play with blocks) were shown two sets of identical blocks in their preschool classroom. The teacher told the children that if they played with one set of blocks they would receive a reward. However, they could play with the other set of blocks, but they would not receive any rewards. What do you think happened? Children immediately went to play with the blocks for which they would receive rewards. However, after a couple of weeks, the teacher said, "You can now play with either set of blocks, but you will not receive any rewards." Then what happened? The children rarely ever played with the blocks for which they had earlier received rewards. They most often went to play with the other set of blocks. When we reward children for things they naturally like to do, we are sending a message: "This is not fun. You must be rewarded for doing this."