Discipline and Managing Behavior in the Classroom

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Instilling discipline in early childhood entails acquisition of important skills because children at this age are not able to fully express themselves. In most cases, their actions will speak more than their words. Children will use whatever is available to express their feelings; for example, children will seclude themselves from the rest if there is something bothering them. Alternatively, they may draw what they think or are bottling up within themselves. Hence, they are deemed inventive, and reflective, resourceful.

In addition, this is the time when children reflect what they obtain from their interactions with adults. A very keen teacher is able to identify if a child is on the right track or not in reference to good behavior. This timely identification can only be achieved through high-quality training programs for early childhood teachers. Attainment of discipline and acceptable behavior within a child is important; hence, the purpose of this paper, which is to give insight into the strategies that educators can adapt to discipline and guide behavior during early childhood in the classroom.

The first step towards discipline enhancement in children is establishing ways to lexicon acquirement. One-to-one interactions between children and the educators are very effective (What Early Childhood Teachers Need to Know, 2000). During this childhood period, a one-to-one relationship with a child helps to know what he or she feels, and in so doing, the child learns to express his or her feelings through writing, drawing or talking.

These one-to-one interactions can be guided by discussing topics on relationships, for example, child-mother relationship, child-teacher relationship, and child-child relationship, and what is expected of each individual in the relationship. In addition, such a relationship builds trust and confidence in a child to the extent that he or she will be willing to take in whatever you give her. Storybooks have proven to have a way through to children. During childhood, children do not have the capacity to fathom unhappy endings, or endings that have suspense. The choice of story to read to children, therefore, requires early childhood teachers to have the knowledge and skills of selecting appropriate reading materials for children.

Educating children is a very sensitive area that requires a very creative educator. The cognitive ability of young children is still developing; thus, their comprehending ability is not high. Young children will utilize their eyes and the sense of touch to interact with the environment, and will not have a second thought. They are in fact referred to as noble savages. The background environment of a child is very important in defining their comprehension ability.

In an incidence provided by Harlin (2008), use of blocks by two boys from low socioeconomic classes revealed this concept. The stage when discipline should be taught to children gives rise to different schools of thought; whereas some scholars will argue that teaching discipline should begin at birth, others will argue that it should begin at conception. During pregnancy, the mother is asked to take care of herself and avoid stressful situations. After birth, the manner of language and care given to the child determines how the child responds to the environment. For example, if a child is brought up in a home defined by violence, it may have an extreme positive effect whereby the child will seek for peace and change, or an extreme negative outcome might result where the child becomes antisocial and harsh. It is because of such adverse effects from a child’s background that an early childhood educator should have adequate skills to counteract these negative attitudes and perceptions obtained from home.

Family involvement, thereby, becomes an essential component for consideration in the provision of early childhood education programs. Morrison (2012) highlights that building family and community relationships is among the six standards of professional development for individuals involved in an early childhood program. A child spends equal times at home and in school; therefore, understanding the behavior of a child when exposed to different stimuli is important for both teachers and parents in molding a child’s behavior. Hence, the reason for the collaborative efforts of both the family and the school.

Harlin’s (2008) study indicates the varying opinions of the early childhood teachers and the parents. Such differences are not beneficial in guiding behavior because they may end up confusing a child due to different treatment from the people who matter most in a child’s life at the moment. Hence, the need for teamwork between the parents and the early childhood educators. Subsequently, whatever a child learns while in the class is the same as what the parents say at home, and this helps to reinforce good behavior.

The current education processes during early childhood have a basis from early theorists, who realized the need for prebirth and early childhood care and education. Initially, no importance was given to children as they grew up. Despite the belief that nature is able to take care of its own, it is the responsibility of adults to take care of children by guiding them in the right manner while simultaneously, nurturing their abilities (Platz & Arellano, 2011). High-quality education programs have proven effective for children between the ages 0 to 5. A teacher should allow children to set their own goals and ways to achieve these goals. In the classroom, children will not just understand by telling them what to do. They need to interact and get a feel of what an educator aims at achieving, and the best way through which this can be achieved is self-discovery.

Children will also learn best from one another. Unfortunately, and especially in situations of multiculturalism, children will be segregated, and this limits learning from each other. Despite the notion that children require instruction at this stage, some cultures have very strong morals and virtues that can be learned by children from other cultures (New York State, 2012, p. 41-43). The teacher can objectively pair students so that they can work together, for example, do coloring together, make some drawings, or do some mathematics. Watching their peers perform a particular task prompts a child to accomplish what his or her peers can accomplish.

The training and experiences of a child since conception determine his or her nature and learning in the long term. The first learning environment is a child’s home. Rousseau emphasizes the importance of a liberal environment where toddlers can learn (Platz & Arellano, 2011). Childhood is the time when children can make mistakes without having to face severe punishment as an aftermath because the parent or educator is yet to develop a mode of communication. During this time, children make their own discovery of pain, and an educator can associate wrong behavior with pain. Every experience in a child’s life is a learning experience, and it is necessary that parent, educators and the entire community take part in modeling acceptable behaviors.

Play might seem trivial, but it is a very effective learning tool. Play has both emotional and psychological benefits; it is not just for the amusement and fun of children (Platz & Arellano, 2011). Play exposes children to challenging environments and an outcome because at the end of every game, there is either a winner or a loser. Children learn what they have to do in order to win, and also get to learn their mistakes in the event of failure. In such a scenario, children learn the element of consequences, which can be used in guiding behavior. Play usually meets the requirements of a natural environment, which is advocated as the ideal mode of learning, including learning acceptable behavior.

Literature stresses the importance of effective baccalaureate-level training for teachers to meet the needs of children between the ages 0 to 4. Unfortunately, this is yet to be achieved because not all teachers in early childhood programs have attained baccalaureate degrees. In addition, the depth and breadth of the baccalaureate degree programs do not meet the recommendations given by Fillmore and Snow as far as language preparation is concerned (What Early Childhood Teachers Need to Know, 2000).

The pre-school years determine the communication ability of most children. Unfortunately, there is disparity in the provision of attention. It has been found out that children who are good communicators at kindergarten receive more attention compared with poor communicators, yet the converse should be the case. Subsequently, this leads to deterioration in a child’s development, and social issues, which disrupt attainment of discipline at this level and in later years, begin to set.

Currently, the start off point for education is the kindergarten, but this has been deemed to be too late for early childhood programs. Too many details and complex information is not beneficial to children, and may thwart learning efforts during early childhood. As a result, children-friendly activities such as coloring and block plays have a significant impact, and are deemed more beneficial in instilling discipline and guiding behavior.

References

Harlin, R. P. (2008). Research into practice: Identifying variables that enhance or interfere with children’s learning. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 23(2), 252-261. Web.

Morrison, G. S. (2012). Early childhood education today (12^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Web.

New York State. (2012). Early learning guidelines. Web.

Platz, D., & Arellano, J. (2011). Time tested early childhood theories and practices. Education, 132(1), 54-63. Web.

What Early Childhood Teachers Need to Know about Language. (2000). Eric Digests. Web.

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Discipline and Managing Behavior in the Classroom

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