Positive Discipline in the Classroom

For my Pedagogy II class we are required to do a presentation on a chosen theorist.  I am currently working with my partner to research Jane Nelson and Lynn Lott’s “Encouragement and Support.”  We have to design a 15 minute interactive presentation and create a  handout for our fellow classmates outlining the key points of this theory.

I think this theory brings up an important, maybe controversial, topic of discipline in the classroom.  Jane Nelsen and Lynn Lott support a positive environment and cutting out punishment in classrooms.  In order to supplement my presentation I ordered their book, Positive Discipline in the Classroom, and started reading their ideas on how to be effective.

I have always been an advocate for encouraging and supporting good behavior inside the classroom.  Lynn Lott stated that, “to create a nurturing, respectful environment that is conducive to learning teachers must take the first step to eliminate humiliation and punishment.  Rudolf Dreikers says, “Children need encouragement like plants need water.”  As teachers I feel it is important to support this theory in order to have a positive and safe environment for our students.

I think teachers often get caught up in the misconception that punishment and humiliation makes students want to work harder.  I personally think this just puts your classroom into a bad state.  It won’t push students to do better; instead, they will just be more careful to not get caught and hold themselves back.  It is extremely detrimental to students learning and development if your classroom is based around punishment.

Nelsen and Lott encourage teachers to remove all punishment and humiliation from the classroom setting because it is harmful to students.  By removing these negative practices, students are more likely to thrive in your classroom.  They will enjoy the freedom of being themselves and not being afraid of getting caught making the wrong move.

Nelsen and Lott state that, “a Positive Discipline classroom is a process of putting together parts of a puzzle.”  The book contains this diagram:

Each of these components is important to creating a positive environment in the classroom.  If you create an ineffective classroom environment, your students will not be able to grow and develop as much as they would in a positive classroom environment.  One of the main parts to the puzzle is using encouragement.  This needs to be a part of our classroom each and every day.  Encouragement is vital for students to thrive.  Also, some students may be lacking encouragement at home and it is important for us as teachers to create that safe and nurturing environment in school for them.

So far I have really enjoyed this book and I think it contains a lot of great ideas for the classroom.  I am glad that my partner and I chose to research these two theorists.  I believe that their work will influence my classroom and be beneficial for me and my students.  It is important to realize what students need in the classroom in order for them to work at their highest potential.  Implementing these theories into the classroom can be the missing ingredient that takes learning to a whole new level for your students.

Until now I haven’t had much experience in creating a positive classroom environment.  I hope that in my PSII experience and in my student teaching I will have the opportunity to see how this works inside a successful classroom.  I know that this type of environment most likely takes time, practice, and experience to develop.  My goal is to start off as best as I can and improve as I get further into my teaching career.