Ending Punishment
Self-Esteem and Discipline
By Daniel Muniz
 

I came from a school where violence was not tolerated, and there were instant consequences in the form of in-school suspension, and eventually being sent to alternative school. In that school there was a strong potential for violence because of the close proximity of gangs and yet we had no violence problem. In my current school, when I refer a student for kicking, tripping, or bullying a classmate, they get "talked to" in the office and come out bragging to other students that they had "fun" in the office. I have one student who has been written up numerous times and even has had complaints from other parents because he torments younger students on the way home but there have been no strong consequences in spite of all of this.

The above comments are from an elementary school teacher about the unsafe environment of her classroom. Sadly, her experiences are not all that uncommon but they certainly are disturbing because it vividly demonstrates a breakdown of discipline that was initiated by school administrators.
 

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Back in the early 1990’s, the self-esteem movement began to gain tremendous popularity in numerous school districts across the country. The educational leadership saw this trend as a way to beef up a child’s self-confidence which could eventually help him or her to become a much better adult. So instead of children earning self-esteem, schools whole-heartedly gave it to them. Unfortunately, the way they went about it was to remove all negativity from the school environment, which also meant eliminating discipline.

Regardless of what type of misbehavior was involved, an administrator was apt to lavish a student with praise and a pep talk instead of punishing him. So in other words, there would be no negative consequences for bad behavior. That meant that going to the principal’s office would no longer be a moment of dread and fear. In fact, it would almost be an enriching experience because a full-grown adult with enormous authority would not only trivialize the misconduct, but would also make sure that the student felt good about himself before leaving the office.

Naturally, it didn’t take long for certain kids to realize this.

As a result, the bullies became meaner and nastier since they knew full well that they wouldn’t be penalized for whatever they did to their fellow classmates. And they could torment anybody they wanted with impunity because there wouldn’t be any ramifications involved.

Accordingly, when the self-esteem movement was applied to discipline, it didn’t make these kids a better person. It just helped them move one step closer to being a hoodlum.

Not surprisingly, teachers suffer because a breakdown of discipline means that they are unable to maintain control of their classrooms particularly when bad students know that they can misbehave and nothing will happen to them. And without discipline, the quality of an education greatly diminishes.

This circumstance is also disheartening to the dedicated educators because they know that they are unable to protect their students, especially the ones who are prone to be victimized. The kids who refuse to become a victim will lash out at the bullies in self-defense. An escalating hostile environment will simply lead to more violence and chaos. And about the only ones that will feel good about this will be the bullies.

Of course the kids who suffer the most will be the ones who are victimized. With administrators spouting this stupidity for discipline, these children must endure a dangerous environment.

Parents of the victims also suffer too. I have personally known people who have had to pull their kids out of these kinds of schools because they were too unsafe. And these parents felt disgusted that administrators were dumb enough to succumb to such an idiotic educational trend.

The self-esteem movement needs to come to an end, especially to how it is applied to disciplinary problems. The educational leadership is not on the cutting edge of social development by eliminating punishment. Instead, they are creating a steady stream of miscreants.

Giving a problem child self-esteem might look dynamite on paper but it does not work. These kids are not influenced to change their destructive ways by being lavished with praise. In fact, the opposite often occurs when they feel that they have been given the principal’s blessing to continue their harmful behavior.

Although punishment may not work in every case that too is fine as long as the option to remove the child from the school is still available. That is where the alternative schools come in, particularly for the kids who represent a danger to their classmates as well as to faculty and staff.

There is absolutely no reason for children to have to go to school in such a hazardous environment. Not only are these bullies a nuisance, they are dangerous to be around. And when the bullies grow up, they may very well end up being the kind of people that are a menace to society.

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