Is Group Punishment Effective?

[JoyG]

Nevermind, not worth it.

 

[poohandwendy]

No, I don't think group discipline is effective. I also don't think zero tolerance is effective. I think the dynamics of each situation should be taken into consideration, before deciding punishment.

 

[gina2000]

Group punishment isn't fair to the group when there are a specific subset of students who consistantly do not perform or behave. Make a contract with the individual students who do not behave and exclude them from the classroom contract. They then sink or swim on their own while the rest of the class performs as a unit.

I hate group projects. One or two students usually do the majority of the work. Very often students with less academic ability do contribute and gain knowledge from the exercise but just as often they slack off and leave others to do the work. To me, those odds are not favorable for a positive learning environment.

 

[MM27]

.

For the record?...
I do not think my kid is perfect.
I let her pick and fight her own battles.
I would like for things to be fair - I want her to get the grade she deserves. If that is an "A", great. If she deserves an "F", then that's that and there's always summer school.
I don't expect every class to be peachy-keen for her, I don't expect every teacher to like her or for her to be inspired every day, I couldn't care less if she's in a group project with a friend or *not*. She is still expected to do her best, even when put in a group with people who do little or no work.

That's wonderful, but there are some on this board that have a totally different attitude than you. Any time something comes up about schools they get nasty with their comments and complain about what an easy, overpaid job it is. Someone even mentioned telling their child not to put in the effort because it wasn't worth it. Good message to send to a kid. I just hope that the tone people use here is not used in front of the children. Believe me, the kids with the parents like that can be identified from the first day they walk into the classroom because they usually have the same attitude as their parent.

I understand complaining about things that bother you. I do it too, it releases some of the stress of the day. I was actually talking to my assistant principal about this today and she said they like to share these things to show the teachers that it is not just them. That the parents that have issues with the 6th grade teacher also had problems with the K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers as well. You wonder if they ever think that maybe it isn't the teacher.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I think working in groups can be nice sometimes during class - it teaches cooperation and gives kids a chance to help each other - but I definitely don't think a child should be graded on what someone else does.

 

[Kath2003]

Working in groups is not only useful, it's essential. Not all the time, but it's important that children are given the opportunity to complete group work. I don't believe it should count towards grades, though - how can you assess who did what?

Group punishment - IF it's necessary. If there's a large portion of the class messing around or if they are ignoring safety instructions. Sometimes people need to learn that their actions impact other people. No, it's not fair on the kids that weren't acting up, of course there are still the underlying issues of the individuals concerned which must also be addressed, and it should be used sparingly - but it does have its place.

 

[agnes!]

Group punishment isn't fair to the group when there are a specific subset of students who consistantly do not perform or behave. Make a contract with the individual students who do not behave and exclude them from the classroom contract. They then sink or swim on their own while the rest of the class performs as a unit...

Hmmmm...that would be interesting. Set up a separate rubric of expectations (behavior/learning) for those students.

agnes!