For educators who view discipline systems in terms of keeping students “safe and under control,” the presumed benefit would be a classroom that would be a “well-oiled machine” with very few disruptions that would maximize instruction and learning time. A good disciplinary approach that would complement this philosophy nicely would be the
“brickwall” structure, as described by Barb Colorosco in her lecture entitled, “Winning at teaching…without beating your kids.” The “benevolent dictatorship” quality of the
“brickwall” discipline structure would be effective in meeting the needs of a discipline philosophy that echoes the goals and aims of a military-like, rank-and-file approach to classroom management hinted at keeping the kids “safe and under control.” The reason I
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The difference between the two philosophies for classroom discipline lies in students as a classroom whole and differentiation among individual students. I think the discipline system that focuses on developing student character allows more room to foster
Colorosco’s “Six Critical Life Messages” and to explore Dr. Kagan’s “7 Positions” as described in the video “Welcome to Win-Win Discipline.” The drawback to this approach is the per capita time spent with each student and how to manage the time this approach needs to be implemented.
Personally, even though both of these discipline approaches on each its own merit can be successful as defined by the third criteria of what makes an effective teacher: “making effective use of classroom management techniques” (Marzano, p.3), I gravitate more towards the “developing character” philosophy on a general basis, but with the need for a
“safe” learning environment as a prerequisite to any classroom situation