As I have mentioned before, I learned so much from my mentor, Dr. Jayne Sargent, former superintendent of Jackson and Meridian. One of my favorite quotes of hers is that “if we knew better, we’d do better.” As usual, I believe her. Recent repeated statements regarding discipline issues in the schools have continued to raise feelings of frustration from a variety of sources in the community; however, as Dr. Sargent taught me, “if we knew better, we’d do better.”

Of course, teachers have been frustrated; administration has expressed awareness and efforts to address it; concerned citizens have publicized it; anonymous readers have continued to place the blame on teachers, school leaders, and of course, parents! Natchez United has acknowledged the need for parental support in finding solutions and has begun to garner support for training to reverse the trends. Continued attention has led us to realize that revisiting the subject to understand the truth about discipline might be helpful.

Discipline has often been confused with practices of punishment, control and compliance. The truth is that the word ‘discipline’ comes from a Latin root meaning ‘to teach’ or ‘to train.’ Behavior is actually a learned strategy for meeting one’s needs; when we tell students to stop behaving in anti-social patterns without teaching them better ways to meet their needs, we are actually telling them to stop meeting those needs. I know — some short-sighted people will blame it on the parents again, but the truth is that if they knew how to meet the needs in more acceptable ways, they would be teaching their children and the children would be complying.

In psychology, we learn that there are a range of parenting or adolescent authority responses.

The traditional form that says, “do what I say because I said so — I am in charge” and which includes punitive consequences is an authoritarian position. Research has shown this style of guardianship to produce children who do what they are told as long as someone is watching, and if the consequences are brutal enough. The challenge in the 21st century school is that there are not enough authorities to always be watching, and it is illegal to be harder on students than the streets have already been to them.

A more contemporary form at the other end of the spectrum is a permissive position in which less than appropriate behavior is allowed to continue. This allowance may be based in negligence because of adult distractions or indulgent to be perceived as “cool” or at least “accepting.” Both of these forms lead to high levels of disrespect and disregard for authority.

A third form of response, which has proven to have high levels of positive results in producing responsible and successful youth, is termed authoritative. Authoritative strategies include opportunities for discussion and higher-order thinking that is based in the provision of one or more appropriate choices with conversation that elaborates on the outcomes or consequences for each choice with benefits as well as costs. Research suggests that in authoritative settings, young people develop habits of behaving in pro-social patterns because they understand the benefits that come with doing “the right thing” because it is the right thing to do.

Natchez United commends the Natchez-Adams School District for beginning the path to authoritative discipline through the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBiS) strategies. The website describes the program in the following way:

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the Technical Assistance Center on PBIS supports schools, districts, and states to build systems capacity for implementing a multi-tiered approach to social, emotional and behavior support. The broad purpose of PBIS is to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of schools and other agencies. PBIS improves social, emotional and academic outcomes for all students, including students with disabilities and students from underrepresented groups.

It is our hope that the community and district will also find ways to incorporate Covey’s 7 Habits programs in the school and with the families so that all may begin to enjoy the benefits of discipline methods that teach, rather than punish. I believe that when we know better, we’ll do better.
Dr. Marvin Jeter is an education consultant and a member of Natchez United.