Thoughts on Discipline

Discipline is defined as:


1. Punish

2. A field of study

3. Training that corrects molds or perfects

4. A system of rules governing conduct.

In today’s society, discipline has gone by the wayside. Lawbreakers get by with a slap on the hand. If they do get jail time, it amounts to very little. Thus, they are released on society again to commit the same crimes again. There was no lesson learned.

Discipline starts at home then continues in the schools. I do not advocate child abuse and am very thankful we have laws to protect children today. However, some laws are misinterpreted. Parents are afraid to discipline their child in any way for fear of the punishment falling on them.

Children do not behave at home and this conduct continues at school. Home and school become lax on any discipline as they have become afraid of the children. There is no longer the worry of punishment for the child thus they do as they want because there is no discipline to fear.

Once while substituting I was told by a sixth grader they were going to kill me because I corrected him for disrupting my class. I had him removed from class only to return with School Official saying he was sorry. Once back, he continued to disrupt the class. WHY NOT? No discipline is feared.

Not only do we do our children an injustice with NO DISCIPLINE but we have reached a point that in order to not upset them, they are passed on from grade to grade without the knowledge of what they were supposed to have learned in the grade they are leaving. The reading ability of most high school students is a real crime on our children. Not being able to read will hold them back in society.

Most Parents will not work with the school and our teachers find themselves in a real catch 22 situation.

Discipline can be achieved without abuse but discipline must come back to our Society.



Colleen Couvillon Gough

August 15, 2010