Philosophy Toward Discipline
It is vital to the well-being and successful development of young children
that they have clear, consistent, and appropriate limits on behavior. Because
of our commitment to developing a positive sense of self-esteem, and independent
responsible and caring behavior on the part of the children, we approach setting
limits or discipline in a predictable manner.
The limits we set arise from two areas
of importance: not hurting oneself or others, and respecting everything in
the physical environment. We also set up the environment to minimize the necessity
of limits, and share control with the children in the decision making process.
In disciplining a child, our primary goal
is to support the child in developing awareness in these two areas and then
establishing effective inner discipline or self control. This reduces their
dependence on adult-imposed control. Since developing inner discipline is
our primary objective, setting limits is treated as a learning process. If
a child's behavior is inappropriate or unsafe, an educative consequence appropriate
to the behavior, age, and individual child, is applied.
Our first course of action is positive
redirection (for instance a child may simply be directed to another activity)
and facilitation of win-win problem solving. Generally these two approaches
are successful. If they are not, other strategies are utilized, which may
include removing a child from an area or limiting access to materials for
a brief time until the child is more in control and able to respond to or
follow safety guidelines.
two-year old children receive many messages and reminders from
the teachers regarding what is appropriate and safe. Children
who are four and five years old may receive time away, or calming
down time, sometimes known as time-out. Time-out is not a punishment
and is not intended to be humiliating. It is used as a mechanism
to assist the child in calming down, reassessing the situation,
and re-establishing some inner control. It also provides the teacher
and child an opportunity to talk about feelings. Ideally, the
child determines the length of time-out by letting the teacher
know she/ he feels ready to participate in an appropriate manner.
At no time will a child ever be struck, roughly
handled, verbally abused, or demeaned as a disciplinary measure. We are happy
to discuss our philosophy of developing internal discipline with you individually.