Gaonomics

Remember I wrote earlier that I would try to find some ideas to help teachers find alternative ways of dealing with the children instead of yelling and speaking to the children in a manner that makes the children feel bad? I have now done some research that I want to share on my blog. In order to get things started I need to have a benchmark, so I found an interesting fact sheet from UNICEF Malaysia, which includes the convention and list of principles of positive discipline.

Here goes:

Convention On The Rights Of The Child – Relevant Articles To Positive Discipline

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is an international treaty that recognises the human rights of children, defined as persons up to the age of 18 years old, in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols.

Two articles in the CRC address the rights of children to be disciplined in a manner that respects their dignity.

Article 28 (Rights to Education):

All children have the right to a primary education, which should be free. Discipline in schools should respect children’s dignity. For children to benefit from education, schools must be run in an orderly way – without the use of violence. Any form of school discipline should take into account the child’s human dignity. Therefore, governments must ensure that school administrators review their discipline policies and eliminate any discipline practices involving physical or mental violence, abuse or neglect. The Convention places a high value on education. Young people should be encouraged to reach the highest level of education of which they are capable.

Article 29 (Goals of Education):

Children’s education should develop each child’s personality, talents and abilities to the fullest. It should encourage children to respect others, human rights and their own and other cultures. It should also help them learn to live peacefully, protect the environment and respect other people. Children have a particular responsibility to respect the rights their parents, and education should aim to develop respect for the values and culture of their parents.

In line with the values of the CRC, the 2006 UN Study on Violence Against Children recommended that schools should be safe, child-friendly and promote rights-based curricula, so that children are able to learn free from violence and learn non-violent behaviours.

Towards this end, schools should adopt and implement codes of conduct for staff and students that confront all forms of violence. School staff should use non-violent teaching strategies that emphasise positive reinforcement, constructive criticism, clear guidance and instruction, and firm but fair treatment.

Principles of Positive Discipline:

Respect

· Recognising that other people have feelings

· Mutual respect

· Celebrating different skills and competences

· Healthy competition

· Shared decisions

· Shared long-term goals

· Agreed short term limits

Two-way communication

· Listening

· Hearing

· Speaking

· Understanding

· Learning

· Teaching

· Facilitating feedback

· Complaints mechanisms

Life-long, life-skills learning

· Self-awareness

· Self-discipline

· Confidence

· Humility

· Negotiation skills

· Non-violent conflict resolution

· Managing stress

· Dealing with frustration

· Taking responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions

Source: UNICEF Malaysia Communications, Oct 2008 - http://www.unicef.org/malaysia/Positive_Discipline.pdf

This is a good starting point, as with this convention no one can argue whether a child has a right to be treated properly and with respect in school, because they do, and any teacher that doesn’t live up to the articles of this convention doesn’t belong in the education system. But how do teachers, who have been schooled differently, learn how to adapt to the new approach of positive discipline? It is not easy and it will take time, but I am hopeful that it is possible for the teachers to make the transition sooner rather than later for the benefit of our children. 

The aim of the following postings concerning this topic is to share some ideas to help teachers find creative ways of fulfilling the promises and principles of positive discipline.