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14 AUGUST 2009
NO 1474
Positive discipline
In order to explore the reasons why children misbehave in the homes, at school and in the community, the participants were asked to choose a setting and brainstorm factors that might lead to children behaving badly. Interestingly, during the report-back sessions, participants noted that none of the reasons they could think of for children behaving badly could be attributed to the children themselves. Their discussions revealed that in both the home and at schools children behaved badly because they might have poor role models; poor value systems that degrade children; repressive rules and procedures that stifle curiosity and cognition; and that the patriarchal society also contributed to children's behavioural difficulties. The participants mentioned that there was a lack of or poor understanding of human rights issues in communities, particularly pertaining to children; unemployment; poverty; breakdown of families due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic; substance abuse and peer pressure. These circumstances can lead to rebellious behaviour by children and young people.
'You can't tell by iooking' – Open
window session
The session enjoyed most by the teacher trainers was the 'open window'
session. This session required participants to stand by the windows of
the conference room and look out at people passing by in order to guess
each person's character, likes, dislikes, family background and history,
and to give reasons for their guesses. They realised that one cannot
tell who a person really is by looking at them unless you talked to that
person. The way a person appears, walks or talks might give an
indication of their character, but only through communicating with them
would one really get to know who they are and what they are like. The
teacher trainers agreed that this also applies to children. Unless one
talks and listens to the child, one may never know why the child is
behaving in a particular way. It followed that whatever disciplinary
measures were used for a particular child, these would be in vain as
they would not address the root causes of the problem if the person
disciplining the child does not know the child and what he or she is
like.
'Let's catch them doing right' – Look
for positives!
The teacher trainers admitted that often teachers want to catch children
doing wrong and thus they do not see the many things that children do
right. The 'looking for positives' in children exercise added a
different dimension to teacher-pupil relationships for the participants.
They came to realise that to catch children doing right is a good
approach for any teacher, as focusing on positive things about children
will make a teacher's life less stressful. They liked the idea of
engaging with parents when their children do things right rather than
always only summoning them for their children's bad behaviour.
'Too many Mr Slacks in the schools!' – The question of demotivated teachers
After a video showing of a demotivated teacher called Mr Slack whose
pupil, John, caused endless trouble in class in addition to not doing
his homework and frequently playing truant from school, the teacher
trainers observed that with poor working conditions and meagre salaries,
there are too many "Mr Slacks" in the Zambian school system. They had
the following to say about the Mr Slack video:
He has no interest for the learners and the environment in the class is not conducive to teaching and learning.
The meaning of corrective measures was lost through his actions.
The teacher trainers recognised the need for them to help teachers develop their passion for teaching. They strongly agreed that motivated teachers build self-esteem and create interest in the learner.
What next?
The teacher trainers outlined what needed to be done in schools in order
to foster positive learning environments through positive discipline.
They said a whole paradigm shift needed to take place in schools in
Zambia. They agreed that the implementation of positive discipline would
be most effective when all the role-players were involved (i.e. the
school management, the teachers, the learners and the parents) in
creating a childfriendly learning environment focused on 'the best
interests of the child' and involving 'child participation' in all
matters that affect children. It should be an environment that not only
promotes learners' rights and responsibilities, but also enhances
teacher capacity, morale and commitment. This discussion led to various
roles and responsibilities being identified for the school management,
teachers, learners and parents, in order to create an environment that
embraces the notion of positive discipline.
Let us throw away the sticks!
On the last day in order to reflect the shift in the participants'
perception of corporal punishment, the group threw away sticks as a
symbolic gesture acknowledging the effectiveness of positive discipline.
JUDITH MULENGA
Mulenga, J. (2008). Let's catch them doing right. Article 19, 4, 1. pp. 9-10.
