Guidelines for Maintaining Discipline

There should be clear and achievable learning outcomes.

The outcomes should be at the right level – not too easy or too difficult.

A well-prepared educator is self-confident (Links to an external site.), and the learners will notice this.

Educators should arouse and sustain interest in their lessons.

It is no good having a wonderful start to the lesson if the rest of the lesson is dull and uninteresting.

During lessons, the educator (Links to an external site.)should constantly monitor learners’ progress.

Discipline problems arise when educators sit at their desks busy with their own activities, or leave the room for a smoke break while the learners finish work.

Educators should learn their learners’ names as soon as possible. Not only will the learners respond in a more positive way, but educators will have a better idea why learners misbehave.

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There should be clear and achievable learning outcomes.

Let the learners help to draw up the class rules. If they are involved in creating rules, they are more likely to feel the need to obey them.

Educators should be careful observers so they can prevent small problems from developing into large ones; prevention is better than cure.

Punishment (Links to an external site.)should be varied and limited. Teachers should not use the same punishment for every infraction. Try to make the punishment fair and quick so that the learner can get back to normal.

Educators must earn respect from their learners, and not expect it because of the position they are in. Be firm, but fair.

Reward good behaviour.

Serve as a positive model. Educators know they have done well when they hear a child say, ‘I want to grow up to be like my teacher!’ (Prinsloo and Van Schalkwyk, 2008:149).

Case Study

“Get out of my class,”Sarah screamed,“and don’t come back!”

Jake scuttled out of the classroom and went to sit under the trees. He felt that although he had been naughty, there were other boys who should also have been punished. His teacher was really in a bad mood today. One of the Group 1s had wet her pants, and the teacher had shouted at her. The poor little girl had been in tears all morning. The teacher had punished one group for making a mess but said nothing to the other group when they had done the same. Jake knew that she had seen Sam pass a note to him, and yet she had said nothing. She had been in the middle of teaching and she had just frowned. She was usually so nice to the learners who did not understand the maths, but today she had made them write out each sum ten times. It was not fair – just because they did not understand, they had been punished. There was the bell for end of school. As he joined his friends to walk home, one of them said, “I hope she’s in a better mood tomorrow!”