Introduction
Discipline is something that is crucial to a classroom environment because it helps maintain order and decorum in the classroom and helps students and the teacher focus better on the lesson. Non-compliance to the rules and regulations of the school would result in disciplinary action. Disciplinary action refers to the corrective action that is used in response to misconduct poor performance, or the violation of rules. Enforcing discipline is one of the most important duties of a teacher, whether the class is being conducted online or offline. The way discipline is enforced, however, is different in the different scenarios
Importance of Discipline in Education
As mentioned above, the role discipline plays in education is quite huge. It plays a vital role in the success of a student, but that’s not all - here are a few ways discipline is very important in the education system.
Right vs Wrong
The students get trained early on in life about what is right and what is wrong, which is very important for them in the long run. Disciplinary action taken against doing the wrong can act as reinforcement for helping them in determining the same.
Compliance
One of the most important qualities that students need to take into their professional life is compliance. There are a lot of rules and regulations they will have to follow if they make their way into corporate companies, so it is important to train students to fall in line from a young age.
Social Development
One of the most overlooked aspects of discipline is the social development aspect of discipline. Discipline helps in creating stronger bonds among students, students and teachers, students and parents, etc. which leads them to value the limits of the relationship. For example, when there is ample discipline, the student will know what the limits are when communicating with a teacher, as well as what to say and what not to say.
Build Habits
As the old saying goes, “Old habits die hard.” The more habits one has that yield positive results, the more productive one can be in life. Habits are cultivated over time, and the only way to cultivate healthy habits is by practicing the same from a young age, which in turn, requires discipline.
How to Enforce Discipline in Online Class
Even though there have been quick steps have been taken in the direction of setting up and running an online class, there has been very less discussion about maintaining discipline in online classes and consequently, disciplinary action for indiscipline. Indiscipline in online classes may not be as profound as in the case of traditional brick and mortar classrooms. Indiscipline can range from being inattentive in class, joining the class late, causing intentional disruptions in class, etc. It might seem like maintaining discipline in online school will be difficult but it should not be that big of a deal, because there is hardly any major class disrupting behavior that is presented as being consistent. This is mainly because students do understand that online classes can present different learning curves for teachers, but even so, at the end of the day, children will be children and it is the duty of the teacher to enforce discipline via disciplinary action.
Here are a few ways disciplinary action can be enforced in class:
Removing From the Class
Removing students from class when they are being disruptive in class is one of the oldest methods of disciplinary action in practice. The same can be applied to online classes as well. If a student is being excessively disruptive in class, the teacher can issue a warning, after which they can remove the student from the class.
Asking Students to Turn On Their Camera
A lot of teachers ask their students to keep their cameras turned on so that they do not do any mischievous activities with the cameras turned off. This ensures that even if someone does commit indiscipline in the classroom, they are accountable for it and must face the consequences of their actions.
Preventing Distractions
Simple things like making sure that the teacher has a solid internet connection can have a great impact on the discipline of a classroom. Distractions in online classes can get amplified very quickly because of the nature of the class, and something as simple as a faltering connection can serve as a distraction. Since Teachmint requires only a very low bandwidth, the problem of a bad connection is significantly low.
Proctoring Exams
Online proctoring of exams can be done with the students’ videos turned on and the teacher personally proctoring the exam. This makes sure that there is no cheating in online exams.
Conclusion
The methods mentioned above are just some that teachers use nowadays. Different teachers and institutions are using different methods that they feel will work in their respective environments. If you are a teacher and need help with maintaining discipline in the class, come up with your own disciplinary action corresponding to whatever is being done, and run it through the administration before implementing it. If there is such a method that you find especially effective, share it with fellow teachers and help them maintain class decorum in an easier and less strenuous way. The takeaway here is that there is no right or wrong way of enforcing discipline as long as the disciplinary action is ethical in nature, which is why it is better to review the disciplinary action with the administration before implementing it in class.
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