Classroom discipline - how has it changed?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Classroom discipline - how had it changed? - Collette Reynolds

School discipline had changed in many ways over the years and probably the main change is the abolition of corporal punishment in the early 1980's.

Before then much of the inappropriate behaviour within school would be dealt with this way, and it could be argued that this was sometimes used too often and not as a last resort which is what would have been expected. Many of those children, who are adults today, will have vivid memories of corporal punishment and this will sometimes be the most memorable aspect of their school life, rather than the things that they learned.

This of course will not apply to everyone, but the old fashioned discipline methods involved a lot of fear and intimidation, children were treated strictly and grouped together as a whole. No allowances were made for possible reasons for inappropriate behaviour, anything inappropriate would be dealt with seriously. There were strict rules to be followed, and the children would learn never to question teachers' methods, this would even reach parents too and teachers were held up with the same kind of respect that