How to Restore Discipline to Classrooms

What is the single biggest problem with today's public schools?

Ivory tower academics, from whom educational policies emanate are obsessed with research and data. They are fond of studying problems scientifically by conducting experiments, measuring results, drawing conclusions and then devising a solution. The problem with all this is that those academicians are not in the classroom. True, they are more intelligent and pedagogically proficient than the teachers whom they guide; but they are living in their own bubble of what has been "proven" to be sound.

From the Uncertainty Principle (and also from the Law of Unintended Consequences) we know that it's impossible to observe the environment without the environment being altered in response. The studies hold up in the observational and experimental field, but once applied they affect outcomes in unforeseen and deleterious ways, often to the extent of rendering social programs more harmful than beneficial.

The sad truth is that all of the harping about testing, evaluation of teachers, rigorous standards etc. pales as a significant factor in education in comparison to the one big elephant in the room: children coming to school mentally unprepared to learn. And there's nothing the teacher can do to change the child's mindset since the teacher's mandate is to teach, not to mentally enable the student to learn. Student discipline is almost completely neglected in today's teacher preparation courses, such as the one I attended "Teacher Ready".

What can schools do to restore discipline in the classroom?

First let me say that I categorically condemn the notion that schoolchildren, in general, can be disciplined without any corporal punishment. From my observation and experience in life and in the classroom, I have become convinced that children are not rational creatures, and so adults often (though not always) are unable to reason with them. Adults are simply unable to verbally make a compelling case for them to stop misbehaving. Skinnerian reinforcement (whether positive or negative) works better, but its inherent shortcoming is that whereas it motivates good behavior it does bot deter bad behavior. Deterring bad behavior is far more challenging than inducing good behavior since there are plenty of palpable rewards that a student can envision for getting food grades, for example. But there's often little in the way of a punishing consequence that a child will envisage for, e.g., talking in class.

The only thing left is for educators to administer physical punishment. Bodily punishment is swift (it takes seconds to execute) and has a pronounced and lasting effect on the delinquent student, AND on others present by way of deterrence. Whereas a pep talk must be long and its tone severe to be taken seriously, and even then the student is only under its spell while the event is ongoing -- the effects of physical punishment continue long after the punishment is over, as the child ponders the actions that led to such an adverse consequence.

Here's the type of corporal punishment regimen that I think is demonstrably implementable, even given the prevailing liberal spirit of the day:

At the beginning of the school year, principals (in Florida where paddling is legal) should send out a note and/or corral and orally explain to all parents why he believes that corporal punishment is essential to the success of the school and the child. The principal should take a brave stand by forcefully advocating for its use. Parents would then be asked to permit the school to use corporal punishment on its students without having to notify them first. It would be nice if the principal could give examples of an act or behavioral pattern that would result in corporal punishment, and non-examples of acts and behavior that would not rise to that level.

Principals and AP's will then command much greater respect from students. Teachers should be able to easily refer students to the Principal or AP for such punishment (thought of course they too will be trained on when to exercise such a referral and when not to). Even if such corporal punishment does not occur often, the very awareness on the part of students of its existence as an option will serve as an effective deterrent, possibly even for children of parents who have not opted in to his program.

I also recommend that teachers should be allowed to seize a delinquent student under certain conditions (for example, if the teacher asks a student to identify themselves after running in the hallway and they refuse, and the teacher then directs the student to follow him to the office and the student balks, the teacher should then be allowed to grab the students arm and say "you're coming with me"). I realize that this is a bit more controversial and could prove problematic in our times. It is clearly a notch above the practice of paddling by admins, and so I'm not insistent on its implementation, especially as a first step toward restoring discipline in schools.