{"id":4168,"date":"2013-07-13T01:53:55","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4168"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:53:55","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:53:55","slug":"28-discipline-vol-12-on-education-volume-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/12-on-education-volume-12\/28-discipline-vol-12-on-education-volume-12","title":{"rendered":"-28_Discipline.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

kindliness that encourages what is good and does not severely
\nemphasise what is bad. Grace is always closer to the truth than justice.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1961<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mother, what should be done in a class when a child refuses to
\nconform to a discipline? Should he be left to do as he likes? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Generally speaking, above the age of twelve all children need
\ndiscipline. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span>Some teachers believe
\nthat you are opposed to discipline<\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

For them, discipline is an arbitrary rule that they impose on the
\nlittle ones, without conforming to it themselves. I am opposed to that kind of
\ndiscipline.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

So discipline is a rule which the child should impose on himself.
\nHow can he be led to recognise the need for it? How can he be helped to follow
\nit? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Example is the most powerful instructor. Never demand from a child
\nan effort of discipline that you do not make yourself. Calm, equanimity, order,
\nmethod, absence of useless words, ought to be constantly practised by the
\nteacher if he wants to instil them into his pupils. <\/span><\/p>\n

The teacher should always be punctual and come to the class a few
\nminutes before it begins, always properly dressed. And above all, so that his
\nstudents should never lie, he must never lie himself; so that his students
\nshould never lose their tempers, he should never lose his temper with them; and
\nto have the right to say to them, \u201cRough play often ends in tears\u201d, he should <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 194<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>never raise his hand
\nagainst any of them. <\/span><\/p>\n

These are elementary and preliminary things which ought to be
\npractised in all schools without exception. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

One can be in psychological control of the children only when one
\nis in control of one’s own nature. <\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


\n\u00a0<\/span><\/i>16
\n July 1963<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

First, know thoroughly what you have to teach. Try to get a good
\nunderstanding of your students and their particular needs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Be very calm and very patient, never get angry; one must be master
\nof oneself in order to be a master of others. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n


\n\u00a0<\/span><\/i>7
\n December 1964<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you have to exercise authority, have authority over yourself
\nfirst. If you cannot keep discipline amongst the children, don’t beat or shout
\nor get agitated –that is not permissible. Bring down calm and peace from above
\nand under their pressure things will improve. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

And what should we do for the little children, Mother? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Oh, little children are wonderful! I see a lot of little children.
\nPeople have got into the habit of bringing them to me. And the consciousness
\nthat is already there in those who are less than two years old, is magnificent.
\nThey are conscious. They don’t have the means to express themselves, the words
\nare not there, but they are very conscious. And so to scold a child, that
\nseems\u2026! <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage – 195<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

The other day, the day before yesterday, one was brought to me,
\nand he was grumbling. And of course his mother\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>So I gave him a rose: \u201cSee! It’s for you!\u201d
\nOf course, he didn’t understand the words, but he turned the rose this way and
\nthat, and he calmed down. Little children are wonderful. It is quite enough to
\nsurround them with things and to let them be. Never interfere unless it is
\nabsolutely necessary. And let them be. And never scold them. <\/span><\/p>\n


\n\u00a0<\/span><\/i>31
\n July 1967<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

You are a good teacher but it is your way of dealing with the
\nchildren that is objectionable. <\/span><\/p>\n

The children must be educated in an atmosphere of love and
\ngentleness. <\/span><\/p>\n

No violence, never. <\/span><\/p>\n

No scolding, never. <\/span><\/p>\n

Always a gentle kindness and the teacher must be the living example<\/span> of the virtues the
\nchild must acquire.<\/span><\/p>\n

The children must be happy<\/span>
\nto go to school, happy<\/span> to
\nlearn, and the teacher must be their best friend who gives them the example of
\nthe qualities they must acquire. <\/span><\/p>\n

And all that depends exclusively on the teacher. What he does and
\nhow he behaves. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The students talk so much in the class that I have to scold them
\noften. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

It is not with severity but with self-mastery<\/span> that children are controlled.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I must tell you that if a teacher wants to be respected, he<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 196<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>must be respectable<\/span><\/i>. X is
\nnot the only one to say that you use violence to make yourself obeyed; nothing
\nis less respectable. You must first control yourself and never use brute force
\nto impose your will.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I have always thought that something in the teacher’s character
\nwas responsible for the indiscipline of his students. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I hope you will give me precise instructions which will help me to
\nkeep order in my classes. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

The most important is to master yourself and never lose your
\ntemper. If you don’t have control over yourself, how can you expect to control
\nothers, above all, children, who feel it immediately when someone is not master
\nof himself?\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To the teachers of all the infant classes<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

One rule which must be rigorously applied: <\/span><\/p>\n

It is absolutely
\nforbidden<\/span> to hit the children \u2013 all blows are forbidden, even the
\nslightest little slap or the so-called friendly punch. To give a blow to a
\nchild because he does not obey or does not understand or because he is
\ndisturbing the others indicates a lack of self-control, and it is harmful for
\nboth teacher and student. <\/span><\/p>\n

Disciplinary measures may be taken if necessary, but in complete
\ncalm and not because of a personal reaction. <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 197<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

What can I do to achieve a silent
\natmosphere in the classroom? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Be completely silent yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bring a piece of cardboard with you, about one metre long, on
\nwhich you write in very big letters, black on white, <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/span>S<\/font><\/span>ILENCE<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

(much bigger than that) and as soon as the students start talking,
\nput the cardboard in front of you. <\/span><\/p>\n

Blessings. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Never tell a child something it has to forget in order to truly
\nknow. Never do something in front of a child that it must not do when it is
\ngrown up. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Never forget that a little child under six knows much more than he
\ncan express. \u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n              <\/span>
\nHOMEWORK<\/span> <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\n <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n


\n
\nAll the students complain that their teachers think only of their
\nown classes and want to give them homework, each one thinking that he is giving
\nvery little and not understanding that all these little bits together make up a
\nconsiderable amount. <\/span><\/font><\/i>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 198<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

kindliness that encourages what is good and does not severely emphasise what is bad. Grace is always closer to the truth than justice.\u00a0 \u00a0 1961\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12-on-education-volume-12","wpcat-118-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}