Class Discipline
I forget exactly where I disagree with Alan from Occam's Carbuncle over the whole teacher-student relationship and the entire issue of class discipline, so I'll just discuss the issue in general.
I'm a traditionalist in my views. What separates me from most traditionalists is that I don't want or hope to use the state to propogate my traditionalist values. For example, as a Sikh, I'm not sure whether homosexuality is natural or not (since it's not covered in our scriptures), but as a Sikh, I could safely assume that marriage does not work for homosexuals (for a variety of religiously-based reasons which I do not wish to get into). This is a personal view - I have no desire to go out and ban sodomy (which was illegal in certain US States up until two years ago), and I have no desire to go out and restrict homosexual activity in any way. Not only that, but as a Sikh, it goes against a core value to forcefully prevent someone from committing a sin - free will is important in determining our destiny and in realizing our potential.
Anyways, a bit off topic, as usual. However, there are some traditional views which seem to simply work. One such issue is discipline in the classroom. Okay, now, before I start, let me say that I'm not the best at articulating my position on this topic but I base my opinion on the issue completely off of experience. Experiences that comes from witnessing the differences between second and third generation Punjabi/Sikh students. Going with the assumption that 98-99% of teachers are fundamentally good people who have no intentions to abuse their students, the parents of second generation students tend (in my experience) to be less enthusiastic to interfere in and micromanage the school lives of their children, and when they do, it's simply to side with the teacher (assuming the case does not involve abuse or anything like that). When second-generation students grow up and have children of their own and when those children begin to attend school, the system doesn't seem to work as well. Parents begin to be obsessive about every last detail of their child's life and they'll believe anything that the child says. Yes, they should believe the child when he or she claims abuse or something extreme, but to side with the child even in every random case of seemingly mindless discipline (writing lines, "go to the corner", detention, and anything else non-physical) RUINS the atmosphere in the classroom. It erodes the teacher's authority. Yes, the teacher will probably dish out unjustified discipline every now and then when he or she is either misinformed or grumpy, but as long as that discipline is non-physical, parents should learn to relax. It's tough being a teacher. It's tough maintaining the fear and respect of your students and in most cases, fear is more important than respect. Respecting authority is something that many kids don't even grasp - fear is the only way to keep them in check. Fear of having their parents informed about their actions, fear of having to write "lines", fear of being suspended or whatever. Unless that fear exists for disobedient students, the classroom atmosphere is far from ideal. When students believe that they can be in a completely reliable alliance with their parents to endlessly whine and complain about ANY form of discipline to a school's administration and have any punishment overturned, academic learning suffers as well. Again, just my experiences. Students should not feel as if their parents will back them up no matter what. Students should think that their parents will SIDE with their teacher.
Also, I think it's foolish to consider the teacher to be an agent of the state; the teacher is simply an authority figure. Respecting authority before we become an adult is necessary, even when it might seem mindless. What does a little kid know anyway?
As for being programmed as "nanny-state-bots" or whatever, that's a non-issue. Parents should be able to teach their children the differences between different types of authority. Just authority vs. unjust authority. The teacher is usually a just form of authority and his or her authority should be feared and usually, when kids mature into adults they look back and learn to respect that authority as well.
I'm a traditionalist in my views. What separates me from most traditionalists is that I don't want or hope to use the state to propogate my traditionalist values. For example, as a Sikh, I'm not sure whether homosexuality is natural or not (since it's not covered in our scriptures), but as a Sikh, I could safely assume that marriage does not work for homosexuals (for a variety of religiously-based reasons which I do not wish to get into). This is a personal view - I have no desire to go out and ban sodomy (which was illegal in certain US States up until two years ago), and I have no desire to go out and restrict homosexual activity in any way. Not only that, but as a Sikh, it goes against a core value to forcefully prevent someone from committing a sin - free will is important in determining our destiny and in realizing our potential.
Anyways, a bit off topic, as usual. However, there are some traditional views which seem to simply work. One such issue is discipline in the classroom. Okay, now, before I start, let me say that I'm not the best at articulating my position on this topic but I base my opinion on the issue completely off of experience. Experiences that comes from witnessing the differences between second and third generation Punjabi/Sikh students. Going with the assumption that 98-99% of teachers are fundamentally good people who have no intentions to abuse their students, the parents of second generation students tend (in my experience) to be less enthusiastic to interfere in and micromanage the school lives of their children, and when they do, it's simply to side with the teacher (assuming the case does not involve abuse or anything like that). When second-generation students grow up and have children of their own and when those children begin to attend school, the system doesn't seem to work as well. Parents begin to be obsessive about every last detail of their child's life and they'll believe anything that the child says. Yes, they should believe the child when he or she claims abuse or something extreme, but to side with the child even in every random case of seemingly mindless discipline (writing lines, "go to the corner", detention, and anything else non-physical) RUINS the atmosphere in the classroom. It erodes the teacher's authority. Yes, the teacher will probably dish out unjustified discipline every now and then when he or she is either misinformed or grumpy, but as long as that discipline is non-physical, parents should learn to relax. It's tough being a teacher. It's tough maintaining the fear and respect of your students and in most cases, fear is more important than respect. Respecting authority is something that many kids don't even grasp - fear is the only way to keep them in check. Fear of having their parents informed about their actions, fear of having to write "lines", fear of being suspended or whatever. Unless that fear exists for disobedient students, the classroom atmosphere is far from ideal. When students believe that they can be in a completely reliable alliance with their parents to endlessly whine and complain about ANY form of discipline to a school's administration and have any punishment overturned, academic learning suffers as well. Again, just my experiences. Students should not feel as if their parents will back them up no matter what. Students should think that their parents will SIDE with their teacher.
Also, I think it's foolish to consider the teacher to be an agent of the state; the teacher is simply an authority figure. Respecting authority before we become an adult is necessary, even when it might seem mindless. What does a little kid know anyway?
As for being programmed as "nanny-state-bots" or whatever, that's a non-issue. Parents should be able to teach their children the differences between different types of authority. Just authority vs. unjust authority. The teacher is usually a just form of authority and his or her authority should be feared and usually, when kids mature into adults they look back and learn to respect that authority as well.
posted by Japnaam Singh at
5:38 PM
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