Do you believe in corporal punishment?

Corporal punishment is still a contentious issue in many homes and schools across South Africa with many different and opposing views.

The Joshua Generation Church (JGC) recently found itself in a battle with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over it’s corporal punishment recommendations. The JGC is of the opinion that corporal punishment, within reason, as it describes in it’s 39 page parent manual, is the best way to discipline children from as young as one year’s old. The SAHRC counters that such punishment as spankings are against a child’s human rights.

But if parents can’t spank their children, what can they do? Discovery Primary Full Service School has worked together with Professor Khalil Osiris, an American educator, author, social entrepreneur and life coach to implement a system of alternative discipline that is mandatory in USA schools called, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) for it’s pupils and parents. PBIS Africa, which caters to specific African needs was implemented for the first time at Discovery Primary School in 2015 and is now running for a second year.

Kevin Feldman, acting deputy principle and PBIS leader at Discovery Primary said that PBIS is a research based school management system designed to support all learners in achieving important behavioural and academic outcomes in every grade.It takes a behaviourist point of view with core beliefs that all behaviour is learned, misbehaviour can be unlearned and emphasizing that positive behaviour must be taught, modeled, practiced and reinforced. Some tools used by the system include school-wide values, social skills development, building intentional, positive relationships and a Positive Change Model.

Parents and teachers form a home-school support network to teach, model, practice and reinforce positive behaviour consistently both at home and in the classroom. Parents and teachers are encouraged to teach expected behaviours both verbally and in practice, as well as acknowledge and reward positive behaviour exhibited by children. A three-tiered system is used for behavioural support and corrective consequences which focus on correcting behaviour rather than punishing is used. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining school-wide, classroom and individual systems of support for all children.

PBIS has a positive focus and is value driven using the core values be safe (to create a safe and bully-free environment), be respectful (where children are trained to observe and practice courtesy towards others), be responsible (children are taught to make responsible choices that encourage good citizenship) and be healthy (children take responsibility for improving personal hygiene and making healthy choices).

“The system is still in it’s experimental phase working with ideals,” says Feldman, but is marked from a system of corporal punishment in that it:

a) Minimizes conflict.

b) Is consistent in modelling correct behaviour.

c) Emphasizes communication so children and adults work together.

d) Changes the dynamic between parent teacher and child to a more positive one.

e) Is less instructional and focuses on mentorship.

f) Breaks the cycle of physically and emotionally harming children

g) Focuses on human rights and social justice.

As far as behavioural difficulties are concerned, it was found that 80 per cent of children comply with the programme, 15 per cent need guidance and only five per cent of children requiring intervention. Intervention is carried out using a three part system varying in intensity focused on support and re-teaching of correct behaviours instead of mindless punishment. Consequences for misdemeanors need to focus on teaching the cognitive, emotional and social skills needed to correct misbehaviour. This builds children up instead of breaking them down.

Although PBIS is new, it is a valuable alternative that is more in line with SAHRC standards, protecting human rights and building up-standing citizens.

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