Punishment, 1938 from Flickr via Wylio

© 1938 Seattle Municipal Archives, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

I’ve written a lot about my belief in a positive, not punitive, classroom management strategy. You can read my books and The Best Posts On Classroom Management to get a better sense of how I practice what I preach.

I thought readers might find it helpful, though, if I pulled out many of my prior posts specifically on the typical ineffectiveness of punishment. Of course, there are some serious offenses that warrant it, and sometimes, when nothing else has seemed to work, I have asked students to help develop a “punishment” that they think would deter them from repeating an inappropriate behavior.

The vast majority of the time, however, I don’t find punishment to be particularly helpful to get what I want out of students, which is for them to behave as responsible members of a learning community.

Here are some resources explaining why that is the case (feel free to contribute more):

Punishing kids for lying just doesn’t work is from Science Daily.

“People who are angry pay more attention to rewards than threats” — No Kidding!

“Anger At Our Children” (Or Our Students)

Collective Punishment In The Classroom

Whenever You’re Tempted To Use Punishment As A Classroom Management Tool, Remember This Comic Strip

This Is What Students Learn When We Use Punishment As Our Classroom Management Strategy

Another Shocker – NOT! Students Respond Better To Support Than Threats

A Little Respect Can Go A Long Way In The Classroom

Being Reminded Of The Consequences Of Losing Self-Control Doesn’t Help; Asking About Goals Does

“Flowchart For When A Day Goes Bad In Classroom Management”

“The Darn Thing’s Not Working”

Keeping Our Eyes On The Wrong Prize

“Detentions make no difference, pupils claim”

Surprise, Surprise – Punishment May Not Be The Best Parenting (Or Teaching) Strategy

What If Everything You Knew About Disciplining Kids Was Wrong? is from Mother Jones.

Eureka Alert reports that “Adolescents focus on rewards and are less able to learn to avoid punishment or consider the consequences of alternative actions, finds a new UCL-led study.”

New Study Finds That Punishment May Encourage The Behavior Being Targeted

Surprise – NOT! New Study Finds That Punishment May Not Promote Cooperation

YOU’RE UNLIKELY TO FIND MORE USEFUL ARTICLES TO HELP WITH STUDENT MOTIVATION THAN THESE TWO…

What ‘Go to Your Room’ Teaches Kids About Dealing With Emotions is from The Atlantic.

NEW REPORT SAYS CORPORAL PUNISHMENT DOESN’T WORK

BIG SURPRISE – NOT: STUDY FINDS PRAISE IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN PUNISHMENT WITH CHILDREN

NEW STUDY FINDS THAT HAVING A HARSH PRINCIPAL DOESN’T HELP ANYBODY

NEW STUDY ON WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TEACHERS TEND TO ACT MORE PUNITIVELY WOULD BE GOOD OUTLINE FOR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PD