Assertive discipline is an approach to classroom management. It involves a high level of teacher control in the class. It is also called the “take-control” approach to teaching, as the teacher controls their classroom in a firm but positive manner. The approach maintains that teachers must establish rules and directions that clearly define the limits of acceptable and unacceptable student behavior, teach these rules and directions, and ask for assistance from parents and/or administrators when support is needed in handling the behavior of students.
The underlying goal of assertive discipline is to allow teacher to employ students in the learning course uninterrupted by students’ misbehavior.
Assumptions of this approach include: Students will misbehave. Students must be forced to conform to rules. Teachers have needs, wants and feelings and the right to teach without disruption by students misbehaving. Punishment will make students avoid breaking the rules and positive reinforcement will encourage good behavior.
Part of this approach is developing a clear classroom discipline plan that consists of rules which students must follow at all times, positive recognition that students will receive for following the rules, and consequences that result when students choose not to follow the rules. These consequences should rise when a student breaks the rules more than once in the same lesson. But (except in unusual circumstances) the slate starts anew the next day.
In the present day where the students behavior is quite unruly the success of this type of discipline rely lies on how rigid the teacher is in making decisions. Because once the students prove his firmness, they will start to choose whether to receive reward/ recognition in good deeds for the day or face the consequences of misbehavior in class. And the everyday’s learning of the students of what so called “discipline” will eventually follow.
By: Ms. Maricel G. Roxas | Teacher I – Science| Mariveles National High School – Cabcaben, Mariveles, Bataan
