- In the classroom, punishment as discipline is too often used for those who don’t need it. These students will respond without punitive action.
- Imposing punishment moves ownership from the student to the teacher.
- Imposing punishment is teacher-dependent. The threat of punishment may coerce a student to act appropriately in one class but have no effect on the way the student interacts with others outside of that class.
- By the time students have reached the secondary level, some have been lectured to, yelled at, sent out of the classroom, kept after school, referred to the office, suspended in school, suspended from school, and referred to Saturday school so often that these students simply no longer care.
- Behavior may temporarily change at
Posts Tagged Problems with Imposed Punishment
Social scientists have determined that we accept inner responsibility for a behavior when we think we have chosen to perform it in the absence of outside pressure, such as a large reward.
The incentive or reward may get us to perform a certain action, but it won’t get us to accept inner responsibility for the act. Consequently, we won’t feel committed to it. The same is true of a strong threat; it may motivate immediate compliance, but it is unlikely to produce long-term commitment.
These conclusions have important implications for parents and teachers. It suggests that we should not use bribes (rewards) or threats (punishment) to discipline children or coerce them to do the things we want them to do. … >>>
READ MORE >>> →A common myth is that imposed punishments are necessary to change young people’s behavior. In reality, imposed punishment comes out of our desire to control. In contrast, when the desire is to teach and raise responsible citizens, teaching and guidance prevail.
Despite succeeding in stopping irresponsible behavior in some cases, imposed punishments are ineffective with far too many young people as a method for helping them make lasting changes in their behavior. In fact, here are the top 10 problems with using imposed punishments as discipline:
Imposed punishments…
- Are temporary
- Are adult-dependent rather than self-dependent
- Are inconsistently applied
- Are based on avoidance
- Lose their effectiveness over time
- Do nothing to help a young person learn to modify irresponsible behavior
- Foster
By using rewards and imposed punishments as discipline strategies, we give children the easy way out—at the expense of their development and maturation. Rather than empowering them with responsibility and the gift of self-discipline, they quickly learn that temporary compliance will get them off the hook, either in the form of accepting a loss of privileges or writing apology notes that will right all wrongs. Many children would rather take the pain of imposed punishment than take the time to make difficult decisions and exert self-control.
When we use rewards and imposed punishments as motivational strategies, we are teaching kids to make their decisions based on someone else’s reaction. We reinforce the practice of people making their decisions based on … >>>
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