Long-time educator Dr. Sidney Trubowitz recalls his years as an elementary school student in the late 1930s. His teachers were rigid, students were taught to be quiet and compliant, and Trubowitz learned to follow instructions without questioning them. When one teacher went too far with her discipline, his mother, an immigrant, stood up for him --…

It is well documented that recess helps elementary schoolchildren learn and develop socially, emotionally, and physically. Rather than simply a break from class, recess offers benefits with the potential to enhance student learning. Yet many children, especially those in low-income and Black and Latinx communities, do not have the same access to…

Outlines the behavior, the human relations, and the pedagogical models of disciplinary practices that can serve as alternatives to punishment. Argues that increased, societywide efforts to find and implement alternatives to punishment are called for. (IRT)

Training, not education, is a common outcome of Japanese education--even at the university level. Individual initiative and independent thought are savagely repressed, and students are harshly punished or bullied for nonconformist behavior. Children of executives transferred to foreign countries face great discrimination when reentering Japanese…

In this article, the author discusses the "O" grade that is sometimes given out to students who do not complete their work. The author feels there are two issues to consider and in this article, he discusses those two issues. First, and most important, is to determine the appropriate consequence for students who fail to complete an assignment. The…

Uses three specific classroom dilemmas to promote understanding of ethical issues and reasoning involved in teaching. Examines the conflicting principles of benefit maximization and equal respect for persons as a springboard for moral reflection. (MLH)

Criticizes a "Cosby Show" episode for airing mixed messages about teenage drinking. Instead of negotiating a logical consequence for their daughter's misbehavior, the TV parents (the Huxtables) projected the message that drunkenness is funny and a hangover is a fitting punishment. (MLH)

By understanding the purpose of a student's misbehavior, letting him experience the logical consequences of his actions, letting him choose, and getting a commitment to an alternative action, the disciplinary process can systematically modify purposes and create responsible students. (Author)

Responding to Paul Chance's November 1992 "Kappan" article on motivational value of rewards, this article argues that manipulating student behavior with either punishments or rewards is unnecessary and counterproductive. Extrinsic rewards can never buy more than short-term compliance because they are inherently controlling and…

Discussing Piaget's theory of developmental stages, the author presents the theory of autonomy. He feels that, if applied by educators as a fundamental reexamination of educational objectives, it could revolutionize education. (MD)

Calls for increasing the severity of punishment ignore the nonschool origins of discipline problems and fail to consider the role of the schools themselves as a contributing factor to the problems. (Author/IRT)

Although intrinsic rewards are important, they (along with punishment and encouragement) are insufficient for efficient learning. Teachers must supplement intrinsic rewards with extrinsic rewards, such as praising, complimenting, applauding, and providing other forms of recognition for good work. Teachers should use the weakest reward required to…

Teachers, principals, school systems, parents, and textbook publishers have been blamed for students' failure to meet tougher standards. Instead, expectations for achieving unreasonable state and Goals 2000 standards should be critically examined. Testing state legislators, school board members, administrators, and teachers might illuminate the…

Japanese teachers participating in a workshop activity shared observations about U.S. schools. Teachers saw American schools' disciplinary procedures as stricter and more punitive than their own, marveled at principals' visibility and students' attention to attire, and noted that strict grading practices conflicted with instructional creativity…

Standardized test results are skewed by family socioeconomic status. Until top-down, corporate-style testing is eliminated, genuine reforms like cooperative learning and multi-age classrooms will be doomed. Citizens should learn about local tests, talk to neighbors, speak out at school board meetings, write legislators, and challenge proponents to…