Does punishment still work in school?

I think that in my philosophy of teaching, I will generally use more of a positive approach. I don’t really think that punishment is always a way to solve problems. I think that there are circumstances in which to punish, but for the most part my upbringing has showed me that punishment gets old and students eventually start to expect it but the behavior does not change. I believe in taking away things that the individual is very fond of. If my mother would have done that to me and my siblings more often, I think we would have grown up to be more disciplined individuals. I’m not saying that we are undisciplined or spoiled, but I think that my parents were a bit relaxed in our upbringing.

I definitely agree with the Response Cost way of motivation. My brother and I were/are big fans of video games when we were younger. When my mother did take away the video game systems, my brother and I were forced to do whatever it was she asked. In this short example, I can say that removing something that we enjoyed, we were then motivated to do something else that was required of us. This strategy along with positive reinforcement seem to be strong ways to approach students of any kind. (A.L.)

I really loved talking about the consequences. I am more of a positive reinforcement type of person. I do it with my t-ball team every practice and every game. I really hope I keep it up when I start teaching in the classroom. I do not want to be a teacher who always uses punishment. I have heard the students say how much they despise going to the class. I want my students to want to come to class and learn, but we all know that is a dream world. (Vero Gene Frady)