Discipline and Management Comparison

Runninghead: DISCIPLINE AND MANAGEMENT: DIFFERENT YET RELATED COMPARISON

Discipline and Management: Different Yet Related Comparison Essay

Corwin K. Richardson

Grand Canyon University

Discipline and Management: Different Yet Related Comparison Essay

Thinking on classroom management and the ability to effectively teach and guide students of several different backgrounds tends to be a daunting thought. One that has pressed the hearts and minds of teachers and administrators for many days past and which will probably continue to press for many days to come. Being confident that you are aware; management alone is a skill that requires several years of practice to become proficient at, not to mention the management of students and their personalities. This essay will deal with the comparisons of discipline and management as it relates to the comparison of behavior versus misbehavior. Each term will be defined in personal understanding and then expounded upon with citations from noted authorities in each subject matter. There similarities and differences will be presented in addition to there apparent relationship with each other.

Discipline is something that is the result of an unwanted act. It can be seen as a corrective action that is taken to discourage a behavior that needs to be discontinued. Ex. Mr. Brown quickly removed the unruly student from the classroom. In this example, Mr. Brown chose to remove the disruptive student from the classroom as a method of discipline. However, discipline may be seen as a measure of self-control that someone applies to themselves. This is in any case, a measure of correction. According to Charles, discipline is defined as a teacher’s efforts to maintain classroom decorum and secure students’ cooperation in learning and exercising self-control (p. 45, 2008). This understanding opens up the window of possibilities as to what measure is taken by means of discipline that is deemed necessary to keep the classroom flowing with full cooperation in learning. Regarding self-control; this is a willful act on the student’s part based upon their understanding of order and how it affects their life, even in the classroom. The responsibility of teaching students the need for order can be argued to be the parents; but somehow it ends up being the teachers’.

Management is the order in which someone takes things and place them in a systematic way that they can manage them better. Ex. Ms. Wendy moved all of the noisy students’ seats in a way that brought quiet and focus to the class. In this example Ms. Wendy’s management system was to arrange the classroom in such a way that all the class could benefit from the lesson. A collaborative definition of management as expressed by Canter is an environment created by a teacher who motivates and believes in the students; one who effectively plans to manage student behavior in all classroom activities and instructional strategies; a teacher who has the trust of all the students (pp. 6-7, 2006).

Behavior is simply the way someone conducts themself. Ex. Bobby obeys every word his father says. In the example, Bobby’s behavior was obedient. This is clearly a defining point in behavior that illustrates how someone acts in an environment or situation. Some authorities such as Canter believe that behavior is greatly influenced by a teacher’s ability to establish a classroom that promotes academic success for all students from the very first day of school (p. 31, 2006).

Misbehavior is when someone conducts themselves in a way that is unacceptable. Ex. Janie has random outbursts in class and doesn’t respect her teachers. This shows that Janie is misbehaving by not respecting her teachers and by her outbursts. Canter also suggests that students don’t like or respect teachers who let them get away with misbehavior (p. 26, 2006). This would indicate that the disrespect that some students show their teachers is a direct result of the teacher’s inability to convey their authority and order in the classroom with their students. In other words, the students may feel as though the teachers are “push-over’s”.

In conclusion, discipline is a product of management which is directly related to the effectiveness by which management is executed, which determines the level of discipline needed to maintain it. On the other wise, behavior is the product of discipline and is directly influenced towards acceptable or unacceptable conduct by the effectiveness of the management plan. If the management system is proficient then a good disciplinary plan will be in place and if so, then behavior will be appropriate and almost all misbehavior will be eliminated.

References

Charles, C.M. (2008). Building classroom discipline (10th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Canter, L. (2006). Lee Canter’s classroom management for academic success. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

References: Charles, C.M. (2008). Building classroom discipline (10th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Canter, L. (2006). Lee Canter’s classroom management for academic success. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.