Philosophy of Discipline

The "Guidelines for Student Behavior" section in the Family Handbook expresses a biblical philosophy of discipline from the perspective of the student trying to develop a self-disciplined life. A biblical philosophy of discipline from the parent/teacher perspective is expressed in the RBCS TEACHER'S MANUAL, from which the following paragraphs are extracted. Since attendance at RBCS is a privilege and not a right, RBCS will neither admit nor retain students who will not conform to required behavioral standards, or whose parent(s) will not commit themselves to the "Statement of Cooperation" on the RBCS STUDENT APPLICATION FORM which requires family support of those standards.

"Discipline" is a word with several meanings or nuances. Secular government schools lack proper discipline in several ways because God's principles of child training, order, righteousness, and punishment are not followed. The purpose of the paragraphs below is to briefly describe the framework for proper discipline, and to prescribe some specific policies for teachers to use at RBCS.

One way to use the word discipline is to refer to the entire educational or training process designed to develop correct understanding, habits, and behavior in one growing toward maturity. RBCS attempts to discipline students in the sense that teachers are to be "teaching them to [obey] all that I [Christ] have commanded you...." (Matt 28:20) It is the concept of discipling or training children to be followers of Christ. The child is to learn God's truth in the home, church, and school, whether God has regenerated the child yet or not. The lost need God's Word since "faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ." (Rom l0:l7) We should pray that God works the miracle of the new birth in the hearts of our as yet unsaved children as we minister to them God's truth. Paul greatly profited from biblical training even while he was blind to the gospel and the knowledge that Jesus was Jehovah. When God brought salvation to him, Paul had a tremendous advantage in Christ's service over those Gentiles God saved under Paul's ministry. Only the regenerate, of course, can be true disciples of Christ. For the discipline of all children, however, both regenerate and not yet regenerate, it is appropriate to train them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. No other training is acceptable to Christian parents.

Basic to this concept of discipline is the fact that the child is created in the image of God. He is not a product of evolutionary forces. He is not an animal to be conditioned through modification of his environment. The child is fallen in Adam, and therefore, his problem is his sinful nature. The problem is not in his environment, but in himself. Through the saving work of Christ on the cross and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, the child may become a new creature. He then has the moral duty to walk in the Spirit of God. In our teaching and practice, we should not confuse morality with spirituality. For Christians and pagans, obeying God's law is a moral duty. Performing that duty may be evidence of spirituality, but that does not make one spiritual. Only God can make a human being spiritual.

Modern statist educational philosophy is humanistic. It is premised on the inherent goodness of the child, and therefore, is child-centered and permissive. There is no place for the grace of God, and God's law is not valid. The teacher in the Christian school must assist the parent in bringing up the child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This is a biblical concept of discipline.

This leads to a second way to use the word discipline. We often refer to an orderly classroom as a disciplined classroom. A teacher maintaining good classroom control is said to have good discipline in the classroom. A disruptive class is the biggest time waster in the schools. While some persons are gifted in the area of maintaining order, discipline can be learned, and teachers can make steady improvement in this area. A key to having good discipline is the desire to have it. The Christian school has every advantage over a government school in this respect. The students are sent willingly by the parents, not by compulsion.

Standing in loco parentis, teachers must require the same obedience parents should. The child is commanded by God to honor and obey his parents and, consequently, those who are delegated parental authority in the classroom. The classroom is not a democracy in which the children decide by majority vote what they are going to do.

God's Word requires us to make good use of our time. The children are to be taught Christian stewardship of time. A quiet, orderly atmosphere is to be maintained at all times in the classroom. God's Word requires us to respect our neighbor's property. In biblical times, property that was stolen was restored by the person who stole it. A pencil that is deliberately broken, a sheet of paper that is scribbled upon, a book that is improperly cared for, a desk that is defaced, or any other destructive acts on the part of the students are dealt with in terms of the biblical principles of restitution detailed in Appendix F of the TEACHER'S MANUAL.

Desks are to be kept neat and clean. Books, pencils, paper, etc., are not to be left on the floor. At the end of the day, all belongings are to be in the students' desks or lockers. The teacher is instructed to speak with a calm voice at all times. Students must also learn to speak quietly, and one at a time. Students should not be permitted to talk back to a teacher. Good behavior should be praised and bad behavior reprimanded. Individual offenders are therefore singled out for corrective action without punishing "the righteous." (A teacher who tries to be a buddy to the students is usually unable to maintain good order.)

Students are not supposed to run to the playground or the buses. When classes are dismissed, a quiet and orderly atmosphere prevails when children are let out by rows. The quietest row and those who have straightened up their desks first are usually dismissed first.

Two other matters in connection with classroom discipline ought to be mentioned. One is that homework should always be done unless the student brings an excuse from home. The other is that successful discipline can often be attained by keeping in close touch with the parents. In some instances, the parent has not maintained good discipline at home (that is often why there is a problem at school). In such cases, we may be able to guide the family to biblical principles. This is a Principal - level activity. One of the biggest mistakes is to ignore problems as though they will vanish with the passage of time. Such a notion is unrealistic and unsuccessful. Problems should not be avoided and simply passed on to another teacher; but they should be solved in light of the Bible.

Applying Scripture introduces a third way to use the word discipline -- a person's subjection to rules or laws. A disciplined person is one who adheres to standards. A self-disciplined person does not need external coercion to adhere to the standards. What standards should a Christian adhere to? The biblical answer is the law of Christ -- a royal law of liberty that defines God's law of love in harmony with God's standards of righteousness taught to man since Adam walked in the Garden of Eden. Man's laws, to include RBCS rules and teacher decisions, must be in harmony with God's principles of righteousness.

What must we do when a child violates God's principles of righteousness or the rules and instructions he is responsible to obey? It is impossible to cover all situations in this document. Books have been written on this fourth way in which we use the word discipline -- the consequences of wrongdoing such as correction, restitution, chastisement, and separation (which could extend to suspension or expulsion for students, and imprisonment or death for criminals). The word punishment is often used for this concept of discipline. The punishment must be commensurate with the offense and take into account the offender. Repeated misbehavior must be dealt with more severely than a first offense. Here are a few basic principles to guide us in this area.

A common element in the correction of wrongdoers is instruction from the Word of God. "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Tim 3:l6-l7) We should insure that the student understands what behavior was wrong and why. Sometimes it is useful to require the student to write Scripture or an essay to focus attention on the content of God's Word. (Several appropriate verses are written by category in Appendix J of the TEACHERS MANUAL. The practice of writing l00 times "I will not talk in class" (or whatever it might be), however, is of dubious value. In most cases, such corrective instruction is all that is necessary for the child to confess (agree with God that the behavior was wrong) and repent. For Christians, it should be all that is necessary, but even Christians can behave like fools by rebellious behavior.

Chastisement is the proper consequence for rebellion against authority. At RBCS, the word chastisement refers to correction by inflicting pain with the rod of correction. This is biblical and is even permitted by the state in Florida government schools. Guidelines for applying the "rod of correction" are detailed in Appendix G of the TEACHER'S MANUAL. Children are not to be slapped. Bizarre methods of punishment are not to be used.

Whenever possible, we prefer that chastisement be handled by the teacher. Children are not to be sent to Principals for minor offenses. If the teacher is unable to cope with the situation, he is to then discuss it with the Principal. Appropriate suggestions will then be made and steps taken to correct the situation.

Repeated rebellious or uncontrolled behavior may indicate a scornful attitude toward the things of God. The biblical method of dealing with a scorner (who by definition will not accept instruction or reproof) is separation. Since it may take some time to diagnose a true scorner, there are phases of separation which may be used. A teacher may reassign seats to achieve a desired separation. This may need to be done in coordination with the home room teacher in case a child should be permanently separated from another child with whom he creates problems. Children are not put in corners of the room. It is better to separate them to a place "under the teacher's nose." One important reason for this is that frequently they will pass the time by marking up the corner with a pen or pencil. Another reason is that the child will hardly benefit from the teaching. A third reason is that it makes a poor impression on persons visiting the room. There are other ways of getting results. A student is not to be separated by simply putting him outside the classroom. A further kind of separation is brought about when we conclude that a student is a scorner. He may be suspended from school for a period of time, or permanently expelled. A student suspended for the third time during any academic year is, with Superintendent approval, automatically expelled for the remainder of the academic year. Expulsions and re-enrollments for expelled students in future academic years, both require Superintendent approval.

Children are to be kept after school only with prior parent coordination. They may be kept in at recess if they will be under direct teacher supervision. One consideration is that the students who are disruptive are often the very ones who need to get out and run off some of their energy. It is often appropriate to have them run laps before starting detention. Students may also be required to do some kind of work such as raking leaves, picking up sticks, cleaning up the grounds, or cleaning up a classroom.

RBCS uses a "Tally System" in the Elementary Department. Information on this system is found in Appendix C and is separately distributed to parents of Elementary students at the beginning of the academic year.

Proper behavior is expected and required at all times when RBCS is responsible for students. This includes on-campus sporting events, class trips, special functions, and any other time school transportation is being used. If, for any reason, repeated occurrences of rebellious or uncontrolled behavior take place while traveling to and from school, offending students will be removed from the bus for a period of one week. Repeated violations will result in progressive discipline, leading to expulsion from the bus. This policy insures orderliness and is essential for the safety and welfare of our students.

Philosophy of Discipline

" A higher standard for preparing our youth for Life! "