If you are an education major with an underlining interest in psychology, you may favor the classroom discipline philosophy of Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs: Logical Consequences. This discipline model focuses on what motivates misbehavior, how it is manifested, and immediate strategies to stop inappropriate behavior. The term Logical Consequences refer to prearranged penalties that are immediately and carefully administered to influence a student’s behavior and reduce reoccurring misbehavior.
The key principle of Logical Consequences is that children should be given a choice rather than be forced to behave in a particular way. Dr. Dreikurs derived his theory from the belief that people, including children, consider themselves to be of value and worthy of respect; thus, they refuse to allow others to infringe on their freedom and dignity. So, when individuals feel unattended or undervalued, they act out in ways so as to gain the attention they desire.
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According to Dr. Dreikurs, the motives for all behavior, including misbehavior, is purposeful and directed towards achieving social recognition. Unfortunately, our culture does not provide the means for every child to receive their interpretation of satisfactory attention. So when this desire for attention is unfulfilled, children usually misbehave to gain whatever attention they can. The Logical Consequences model identifies goals and schemes that motivate negative behavior and outline corrective measures that promote behavioral change through pleasant and helpful means.
Misbehavior by young children is typically manifested through attention seeking schemes. Youngsters that demand excessive attention attempt to gain it by being disruptive, asking irrelevant questions, needing special assistance, and monopolizing the teacher’s time. Attention seeking behavior should be ignored so that children will not associate attention with inappropriate behavior.
When attention seeking is ineffective, children will often engage in a power struggle with teachers. The Logical Consequence model advises that teachers resist taking the bait. Applying pressure for students to confirm will only increase the child’s frustration, which will provoke even more irrational and power-seeking behavior. For example, if a child constantly disrupts a lesson in progress, let the episode cease before continuing with instruction. Eventually, the child will realize he/she did not make the impact he/she hoped for.
When children cannot take control of their environment, they may turn to exacting revenge. When in this mode, children are convinced no one likes them, and they try to extract proof by provoking others to retaliate. Logical Consequences recommend teachers encourage the class to remain positive in effort to downplay the incident. Teachers should also make every effort to keep the other students from permanently ostracizing the rebel student.
The success of the Logical Consequences classroom discipline is very much dependent upon teachers’ personalities and their teaching styles. Democratic teaching is the recommended style for this discipline model. Democratic teachers provide firm guidance but allow students some freedom to self-govern themselves. Democratic teachers have a nice balance of order and boundaries without usurping their students’ right to autonomy.
Appropriately Managing Misbehavior In The Classroom
Choosing to obtain a degree in education is a serious commitment that one can follow by taking online courses. Once you become a teacher, you will develop your own unique identity. If you consider yourself to be an analytical educator, whose teaching methodology encourages collaboration, discovery, and exploration, the Logical Consequences classroom discipline model may be the perfect companion to your education philosophy.
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