It's the 5th week of school and by now we have covered behaviorism and operant conditioning in all three of the classes I teach. I teach that we reinforce productive, desirable behavior before punishing undesirable behavior, and that removal punishment (taking away a privilege or object) should be used before resorting to presentation punishment (scolding or a negative consequence). This is counterintuitive, especially because many of us were raised in environments in which corporal punishment was normative.
Discussion is always freeform in my classes and comments are encouraged. I present concrete situations from real life, like my daughter drawing on the wall or a student not being able to stay seated during on-task time. Inevitably spanking comes up in these educational psychology discussions. "If you just pop them, then they will stop immediately... If I got hit, I never did the thing again... little kids are too young to understand other consequences..."
As a mother to a young child, I get the same unsolicited advice to spank my child all the time from friends, family, and even coworkers. I just smile, nod, and say it is not for me. At least in the classroom, I feel like more of an authority figure. Not only am I older than most students, but I have research to point to - For example, this recent meta-analysis summarizes the results of many studies. The authors conclude that negative effects of spanking are significant. However, students (just like family members) don't often understand or trust "research." I try to explain that beyond the negative psychological harm spanking could cause, my biggest problem with the practice is that it doesn't TEACH acceptable, alternative attitudes and behaviors. It is a consequence that is not educative.
This semester, I finally figured out the best response to shut down pro-spanking comments in class: "Despite your personal views, spanking will not be an option in your professional role as a teacher, therapist, or coach, etc." Because corporal punishment, where permissible by law, is very closely regulated, it is unlikely that my students will be performing this sort of punishment in their future roles as educators. Since it is not a feasible option, we don't have to consider spanking or hitting as an appropriate consequence for learners.
And Ramona has only colored on the wall once - we didn't hit her... Now coloring on the bathtub wall is far game.
Discussion is always freeform in my classes and comments are encouraged. I present concrete situations from real life, like my daughter drawing on the wall or a student not being able to stay seated during on-task time. Inevitably spanking comes up in these educational psychology discussions. "If you just pop them, then they will stop immediately... If I got hit, I never did the thing again... little kids are too young to understand other consequences..."
As a mother to a young child, I get the same unsolicited advice to spank my child all the time from friends, family, and even coworkers. I just smile, nod, and say it is not for me. At least in the classroom, I feel like more of an authority figure. Not only am I older than most students, but I have research to point to - For example, this recent meta-analysis summarizes the results of many studies. The authors conclude that negative effects of spanking are significant. However, students (just like family members) don't often understand or trust "research." I try to explain that beyond the negative psychological harm spanking could cause, my biggest problem with the practice is that it doesn't TEACH acceptable, alternative attitudes and behaviors. It is a consequence that is not educative.
This semester, I finally figured out the best response to shut down pro-spanking comments in class: "Despite your personal views, spanking will not be an option in your professional role as a teacher, therapist, or coach, etc." Because corporal punishment, where permissible by law, is very closely regulated, it is unlikely that my students will be performing this sort of punishment in their future roles as educators. Since it is not a feasible option, we don't have to consider spanking or hitting as an appropriate consequence for learners.
And Ramona has only colored on the wall once - we didn't hit her... Now coloring on the bathtub wall is far game.
I stumbled across all this while researching Borderline Personality Disorder and I'm sure I've said it before but every time we cross paths, Im always thoroughly impressed with you. Keep it up, I hope everythings going good!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words!
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