My philosophy toward discipline is one in which discipline is not an obstacle, but rather a positive reinforcement to help promote education. It’s the responsibility of the teacher to provide an environment in which students can acquire a level of achievement which will reflect who they are as active members of our society. Discipline allows us as teachers to create this environment and evade obstacles that are an obstruction to the education process.

To provide the best learning environment for our students it’s important to keep students on task and focused which minimizes disruption. By having a through lesson, a teacher can keep students on task and have as little disruption as possible. Maintaining clear order in the classroom without being too authoritarian is critical to promoting the highest level of cognitive development. A teacher should institute a clear set of rules and goals which reflect the agenda of the teacher while also being fair and just.

Motivation is another key aspect of discipline. This can sometimes be one of the most difficult challenges as a teacher. By making learning personal and fun to the students, motivation becomes automatic, and less of an obstacle. When students follow and respect the classroom rules, you are likely to have a learning environment in which the students are self motivated.

Motivation is connected to self-discipline. As a teacher, as a role model, it’s important to present yourself as a good model to your students. To teach self-discipline, you have to first be disciplined yourself. Creating rules and goals for your classroom is only one step. Self-discipline means that students take control of their learning. That’s why critical thinking is so important. It makes learning personal, but more importantly it makes students question their learning, and question the meaning of knowledge. By implementing critical think and using a student directed approach, self-discipline is practiced and reinforced.

In summary, my philosophy of discipline is one in which creates an atmosphere where students can learn with little distractions, and where rules are seen as guidelines toward a better education, and not as barriers.

download pdf version