Effects on Children of Classroom Punishment

I believe that one of the most serious questions about child development in relation to classroom practice is this: is the use of punishment ever justified in the classroom? It is well-known that discipline is a major problem in schools today. Not only are students more unruly, teachers are finding that traditional behavior control techniques like punishment are no longer effective (Kindsvatter & Levine, 1980). This fact alone demonstrates the necessity for change in classroom disciplinary practices, but I contend that the more serious issue here is the emotional and developmental repercussions that punishment has on the child being punished and the children witnessing the punishment.

Skinner (1971) has argued for decades that punishment is an ineffective and inhumane behavior modification strategy: positive reinforcement of desirable behaviors and non-reinforcement of undesirable behaviors lead to much better long-term results. The latter two methods also leave no emotional scars on the person whose behavior is being modified. Punishment, on the other hand, creates only short-term behavior changes and gives the child a poor role model (Kindsvatter & Levine, 1980; Hill, 1982). When a child is punished, the first thing he learns is that it is appropriate to use one's power to force someone weaker to do one's bidding. The second thing he learns is, of course, not to get caught when he breaks rules. He does not learn not to break rules and not to hurt others. Thus, al

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rce competition not only with her mother, but with her older sister. The father states, "Lisa just isn't a good kid like her older sister - and I wish she'd stop acting like a baby." This statement is provocative because it shows not only Lisa's problem (her father's preference for her sister), but also her chosen coping mechanism, namely regression. Lisa's regressive tendencies can be seen in her excessively oral behavior (e.g. thumb-sucking and sweater-chewing), and in her immature crying and tantrums. Freud would also probably speculate that her attachment to her finger puppet "Smurfles" demonstrates a compulsion to fill up orifices, but I hesitate to give this interpretation much credence. An Ericksonian interpretation of Lisa's behavior would also emphasize her developmental stage. On this model, Lisa would be operating in the Initiative vs. Guilt stage, and that she probably had negative resolutions to the crises of her two previous developmental stages: Basic Trust vs, Mistrust and Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Erickson, 1963). A negative outcome of stage one (Basic Trust vs. Mistrust) could have come about if the mother were too busy with the older sister to adequately meet Lisa's needs. This lack of nurturing

Category: Psychology - E