Teach English in Shuangyang Zhen - Zibo Shi

Punishment is a tricky subject, especially when it comes to cross-cultural situations. It is difficult to know the best way to discipline someone without reference to the cultural norms that are present in their society. Even knowing these norms, it can be awkward for someone not native to that society to adapt. Growing up I was exposed to various types of discipline. I lived in the U.K., then in the Caribbean, and now reside in Japan. Each country treats discipline quite differently. In England, the technique was a little confrontational. Teachers started by reprimanding students in a stern voice, and escalated to shouting if necessary. In some cases, students were sent to a higher authority, usually the headmaster. In extremis, students were suspended or even expelled, ostracized from the society of the school, but this existed at lower levels, too, with students sometimes being told to stand outside the classroom in the corridor alone. In the Caribbean, I experienced similarly confrontational techniques, but also a fair amount of corporal punishment, too. This usually took the form of a light slap on the head or arm, but occasionally was more severe. On one memorable occasion, my classmate and I had our heads lightly knocked together after climbing up onto the school roof. In Japan, I have rarely seen such confrontational measures used in schools, unless the student was doing something extremely dangerous or had been previously disciplined many times. The emphasis in Japan seems to be much less on what Western people would call “discipline”, and much more centered on “guidance”. Teachers often make an earnest attempt to talk directly to the student to find out why they are not conforming, and try to diffuse the situation before it escalates. If a student is recalcitrant, the teacher often uses the technique of shaming. This sounds rather harsh, but really just involves singling the student out in some way. Usually it begins with the teacher just saying the name of the student, leading to a hushed classroom in which all eyes fall upon the student in question. In the majority of cases, that attention alone is enough to convince the student to behave. It would be easy to say that the Japanese method sounds much better, and should replace the other methods. However, that would overlook an important cultural aspect. In the Caribbean, many people are much less affected by public shaming. People tend to be more confident and outgoing in general, and hold strong convictions. At least in types of experiences I had, it would certainly not help to make the troublesome student the center of attention; on the contrary, that would play directly into their hands. In such cases, direct confrontation, whether by shouting or by reasoned argument, is likely much more effective. In the U.K., however, the technique of shaming might be a little more effective, as people tend to be less sure of themselves, and more self-conscious about what their peers think of them. Additionally, corporal punishment is not unknown in Japan, though it is becoming more and more frowned-upon. Corporal punishment has of course not generally been seen as acceptable in Western countries in recent years. I agree that it should not be used, though in my case, it was certainly effective when used extremely sparingly. The few incidents in which I received corporal punishment were ones in which I was endangering myself and others, and the shock of being physically disciplined had an enormous effect on my behavior. I never again did the things that led to it. This was not necessarily out of a fear or the same punishment, but rather of an understanding of how wrong that behavior was, to have elicited such a strong response from my teachers. This may, however, simply be a result of my growing up in a culture where such punishments were not the norm. There will probably never be a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of how best to discipline students. Each culture is unique, and defines “punishment” in different ways. The only way to really handle working in such different environments is by understanding the cultures a little better. This also involves agreeing to accept certain methods even though they may not be particularly palatable to oneself.