UNIT 2: Overview
Behaviour Management - Rewards and Consequences
OverviewIt is important for teachers and learners to understand that their behaviours lead to rewards and/or consequences. Many of the teachers at Umubano Academy remember being punished physically at school and have spoken about the difficulties in changing such behaviour. It is a challenge to find alternatives to using physical punishment as a form of behaviour management.
“In my former school, beating was used as a way of making the children behave. What I value the most at Umubano Academy is that they have many behaviour management strategies.” ~Teacher Ntore
As discussed in Unit One, Umubano Academy actively promotes non-violence, and uses positive behaviour management strategies to help teachers manage behaviour in a positive, inclusive and active way. This helps learners to develop positive values and attitudes. It also creates a culture of peace in the classroom where learners contribute freely, with an understanding of the expectations of the classroom environment, without fear of being punished.
Think about how you were treated at school. How do you feel about it now? Are there times when you wish you had access to different behaviour management strategies as a teacher or when you felt a child needed 'discipline' but you didn’t know which action would be appropriate?
Where possible, teachers at Umubano Academy use logical consequences e.g. if a learner makes a mess in the classroom, they are asked to spend break time cleaning up the mess. Physical punishment or harsh words are not allowed at Umubano Academy. Most importantly, when teachers and learners - everyone in the school community - uses positive strategies, we find we do not need harsh punishment!