Discipline: Big 'D' vs. little 'd'

So there I was, rather new to the classroom and eager to enforce a simple rule: no gum chewing.  And there he was, the slouching class clown, McDonald Kgomoyane, chomping away on a huge wad of gum, plain as Botswana’s sunniest day. 

Was he oblivious to his crime, or being deliberately provocative? I had my suspicions.  In any case, I demanded that McDonald dispose of his gum immediately.   It’s when I turned to write some notes on the blackboard that matters began to unravel. 

I heard giggles rippling through the class rising to a wave of laughter.  I turned to see what the cause of all the commotion might be.  There sat McDonald, beaming broadly, his formerly busy jaws now still.  But where had the gum gone? 

And then the glistening glob appeared, lowering itself like an elastic Sword of Damocles, suspended by a thinning strand from the cement ceiling above, from a point directly and conveniently over McDonald’s head. 

I walked over to McDonald and silently expressed my feelings about his method of gum disposal by seizing the pendant wad and pressing it into the centre of his carefully coiffed hair.  It was a well-earned, if inelegant, crown, and devilishly difficult to remove.  To my mind, justice had been administered in a swift and satisfying fashion. 

But, as you might imagine, a class originally intended to consider the battles of WWI, was now focused on more immediate hostilities.   Later that day, the headmaster made it clear how displeased he was with my handling of the incident.

I offer this little episode from my checkered teaching past to illustrate a point.  Teachers and parents are constantly distracted by all kinds of intense little skirmishes, what I call “little ‘d’ discipline” matters.  There are certainly better ways of dealing with them – and they must be dealt with -- than the method revealed above. 

But what concerns me is that schools and parents, having typically spent inordinate amounts of time and energy on these “little ‘d’ discipline” issues – epitomized by battles over gum chewing and, more frequently, the proper wearing of school uniforms – are in danger of losing sight of the infinitely more important “big ‘D’ Discipline” imperatives.

What exactly do I mean by “big ‘D’ Discipline”?  I mean the Discipline that comes from requiring students to make sacrifices: the sacrifice of time that might otherwise be spent watching TV, sms-ing, checking email, chattering on cell phones and hanging out, the sacrifice needed to serve their own future needs and the present needs of others.

Adolescents are notoriously self-conscious and self-absorbed.  It’s fair to say that your average household mirror reflects the faces of teenagers more than other age groups. Big ‘D’ Discipline requires that teenagers see beyond their own reflections and instead look closely at faces they don’t see in the mirror or, for that matter, on Facebook: the faces of orphans, of the elderly, of the disabled, the faces of those who need to be housed, clothed or fed. 

Such faces, and the lives they reflect, teach powerful lessons.  Students need the formative and affirming experience of being needed, of making a difference in the lives of others.  To achieve these ends, service activities must be required, planned and executed just as certainly, and with just as much teacher participation, as academic lessons.  

Nothing builds a student’s confidence faster than the realization that their efforts matter, that they have inspired a smile on the face of someone less fortunate.

Big ‘D’ Discipline requires that educators gradually dismantle the elaborate, but ultimately infantilizing, scaffolding suitable for little ‘d’ discipline.  Teachers must ease up on uniformity and bear down on bigger issues. We must embrace the exuberant, multi-faceted idealism of young people and help them face society’s most profound problems, the ones that require big ‘D’ Discipline to put right.

But all too many schools have daily, “little ‘d’ discipline” battles with students over the most petty aspects of their school uniforms; haggling endlessly over what is and what is not permitted and exactly how the uniform should be worn.   It’s a timeless and time-wasting ritual.   

While we cherish the differences in our students – differences of faith, language and learning style -- we are decidedly less appreciative of modest differences in daily dress.  It seems pretty obvious to say that students need to focus more on learning how to lead themselves and others, and less on trying to look exactly like every other student.

What if we accept the premise that -- beyond dress requirements and the expectation that clothing be neat, clean and appropriate -- it is actually desirable that students exercise a bit of discretion over what they wear every day?

So what do you typically talk about with your teenager: Big ‘D’ or little ‘d’ issues? In your household and family life, has shopping eclipsed serving?  How wide is your circle of concern?

In this season of light, perhaps we need to remind ourselves, teachers and parents alike, that there are people in this world that need our full attention, compassion and service.  These are the Big ‘D’ issues: they matter more than the wearing of uniforms and the chewing of gum.

Andrew Taylor is the Principal of the Maru-a-Pula School in Gaborone, Botswana.  His email address is: principal.map@gmail.com.  Maru-a-Pula’s website is: www.maruapula.org