While writing this essay on Effective Discipline in the 21st Century, all the articles, sources, and teachers I talked to all said that the most effective disciplinarian is an assertive teacher. In the following paragraphs I will discuss what discipline is, how teachers can deal with discipline and different techniques on discipline.
Discipline is more than keeping a group of children or young people quiet while being talked to. Preserving good behavior is certainly one aspect to discipline, for learning it in an atmosphere of confusion is difficult. Children have to learn to conform to the rules of behavior needed in a classroom. However, discipline should be described as ongoing, proactive set of behaviors used to create a cooperative environment, which minimizes the likelihood of negative, disruptive behavior. Teachers have the right to ask for a quiet class, keep the students in their seats, and have the right to discipline them if they do not cooperate.
In order for a teacher to have his or her needs met, they can influence the behavior of the children. Until the past decade, students and parents looked at the teacher as the main person in the classroom. The teacher, simply because of their role status, had respect and authority. Today, a teacher has to earn the respect of both the students and their parents. A teacher's basic techniques of influence, or discipline, is no longer as effective as getting the desired results. The teacher cannot rely on the strong support of the parents anymore. Many parents are openly questioning, the education that their children are receiving, and do not feel they want to support the needs of their child's teachers.
Teachers cannot get their needs met in a classroom unless they have an effective method of discipline in which they thoroughly understand and...