Imposing discipline among students is one of the key components that makes up a good teacher. For real, discipline fosters growth and development. Lack of discipline on the part of the student will lead to undesirable behavior. That is how important discipline is.

            When there is a need to discipline, teachers have different approaches. The most common way to discipline a student is to give punishment. But other teachers do not do that. Instead, they give rewards to those who behave and follow rules consistently. In a larger sense, which one is better? Punishment or rewards?

            Punishment serves two functions in discipline. The first one is that it acts as a deterrent to prevent repetition of socially undesirable acts. Second, it acts as a means of showing the child what the social groups regards as right or wrong.

Rewards, on the other hand, direct relationships to the act that one wishes to have repeated, and in that way the pleasant associations will motivate the child to repeat it. Form of praise is an example which is considered to be the most effective.

According to Rufino’s Child Growth and Development book (2005), only parents and total strangers can punish the child to serve as a release for their aggressions. But teachers and neighbors should never punish the child; instead reward is a more effective way to achieve their purposes.

 But as classroom teachers, it should be really arduous for us not to give punishment when the scenario gets worse. In my own belief and understanding, giving rewards is the better one in imposing discipline. But if we really have to use punishment, we must remember a thing: Punishment is not educational if it is not suited to the act. 

By: Ms. Danah Mae L. De Belen | Teacher III | San Pablo Elementary School | Dinalupihan, Bataan