“[…]si
la disciplina exigida es saludable,
lo es también la comprensión de esa
disciplina, si es democrática la forma
de crearla y de vivirla, si son saludables los sujetos forjadores de la
disciplina indispensable, ella siempre implica la experiencia de los límites, el juego contradictorio entre
la libertad y la autoridad, y jamás
puede prescindir de una sólida base ética.”
I wanted to begin this reflection
with the lines written above because it reflects the heart of Freire’s tenth
letter: the discipline, how it must be taken and handled into the
classroom. At the same time, these words
reminded me of my first days as a ‘teacher’.
When I got into this reading, I thought
about the connection between ‘discipline’ and my ‘classrooms’. Some words, or
images, came to my mind: students sat on their chairs paying attention,
students talking while I’m explaining the lesson, students respecting their
classmates, students making fun of other classmates, etc. Experience talks! And
this is the contrast between disciplined and misbehaving students. Then I
wondered “What do I mean by discipline?” In
general terms, discipline is acting, taking steps or following rules to achieve
a purpose, or simply, because there are reasons to act or behave like that. In the
educational context, I think, discipline is not just a matter of keeping the order or having students
under control, but it is making students aware of the importance of following
rules and how it benefit themselves and others.
How is Freire’s perception about ‘discipline’ connected to my
experience in the classroom? To explain this, I will go back to my first days
of teaching. There were times my lessons
turned into a mess because of ‘lack of
discipline’ from some students.
After I reflected on this, I became aware of how ‘misbehaviour’ affects the learning process of students and,
consequently, I understood the importance of setting rules for the classroom
and make them be respected.
“Rules
are important because they regulate behavior, set the limits, and help to
create a sense of fairness among individuals.” This is what I read once and I
think it relates enough to the topic in matter. On the other hand, Freire
talks, somehow, about proposing but
not imposing. Then, what do we have?
Rules introduced to students as a proposal, in which they have the freedom to express their agreement or
disagreement about it, or even better, in which they can add rules they think
they are going to benefit from. Once students know the rules, they know
there are limits, too.
To sum up, I take some words from
Freire’s perspective about ‘discipline’: firm
but not authoritarian, and students’ freedom
to participate (democracy) in the
framework for the sense of ‘discipline’ in their classrooms. This is the
connection I find between Freire’s perspective about discipline and mine’s
viewed from my short experience as a teacher.
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