Introduction

In 21 st century which is full of challenges, education has grown in its importance as

it provides those who pursue it with knowledge. Schools, therefore, naturally become a
place where kids are sent to, with the hope that they will be kept updated with secular
knowledge which will eventually comes in handy in the later stage of their lives. Having
mentioned this, it becomes doubtless that teachers responsibility grows heavier as well
(Hammond, 2006). According to Dunn and Dunn model, in order to ensure effective
teaching, teachers have to be able to identify students learning style and disseminate
knowledge using ways the students learn best (Dunn, Dunn & Perrin, 1994). However,
this alone is not sufficient. In order to ensure effective teaching, identification of students
learning styles has to come hand in hand with sound classroom management strategies.
This brings us to the purpose of this paperwork, which is to analyse a case entitled
Interruptions and evaluate Miss Saks discipline management strategies. The content
of this paper shall be divided into three sections. The first section shall deal with ripple
effect and teachers firmness while the second section shall deal with the use of rewards
and punishments in the classroom. The last section shall deal with the setting of ground
rules in classroom, which will then be discussed in term of its effectiveness in Malaysian
context.
Ripple effect and firmness in action
In my opinion, Ms. Saks has successfully managed her classroom discipline well in
the sense that she showed withitness as she was always aware of what was going on
in her class. This is proven when she again and again displayed her ability to detect
disciplinary problems in her class. The situation in which Ms. Saks reprimanded Margo
who passed note and Antonio who was off task, clearly illustrate the point. As proposed
by Kounins model of classroom discipline, withitness shown by teachers is crucial as it
makes students feel cared and thus encouraging them to return the favour by behaving
well (Zuris, 2008). Kounins model of classroom discipline also points out that it is very
crucial for teachers to immediately reprimand misbehaving students in order to maximise
the ripple effect on the nearby students (Pressman, 2011). In this aspect, Ms. Saks has
also shown her effectiveness by quickly addressing the discipline problems in her class.
One instance is when Ms. Saks immediately reprimanded Thalia, who helped Margo to
pass note in the class. By being always together with the students and able to

immediately reprimand certain students misbehaviour, positive ripple effect can be

produced (Pressman 2011). This is because students will begin to develop respect for
their teachers and start reducing misbehaviour in the class to avoid being reprimanded
the way their classmates did.
Nevertheless, Ms. Sakss way of managing class discipline has its flaws as well.
Ms. Saks did not seem to be consistent in her techniques in handling misbehaving
students. In handling the issue in which her students passed notes, for example, Ms.
Saks only punished Margo and let Thalia off the hook. Although it looks fair as Thalia
was not the one who initiated the note-passing activity, Ms. Saks should punish her as
well, as by helping Margo to pass the note, she has become an accomplice to the
crime. In this case, punishment in which pegs are to be removed from the pegboards
should be carried out to both of them. The failure to punish Thalia will very probably
produce negative ripple effect on other students as after witnessing Thalia escaped
unpunished, they would be subconsciously taught that helping their friends to misbehave
is fine, as long as they themselves do not misbehave.
From the excerpt, Ms. Saks also showed clarity and firmness in correcting
misbehaviour, as in the case in which she punished Margo after clearly stated her
mistakes and did not budge despite Margos begging. The firmness and clarity that Ms.
Saks showed is the key to creating ripple effect which will positively influence nearby
students (Wuest, 1999). From the perspective of Glassers model of choice, however,
the firmness demonstrated by teachers can bring negative impact on students, as they
will feel that they do not have a say in the class, or any choices to select, but to totally
follow teachers instructions (Mills, 2010). In long term, this can lead to dissatisfaction or
even rebellious actions as students begin to feel fed up with teachers authoritarian style
(Dunbar, 2004). Therefore, Ms. Saks has to carefully consider the pros and cons of her
technique in handling classroom discipline from the perspective of different models.

Use of rewards and punishments

Based on Skinners behaviourist theory, Ms Saks has done a fairly good job in
managing her classroom disciplinary problems through reinforcing good behaviour by

giving rewards. Marzano, Norford, Paynter, Pickering and Gaddy (2001) agree to Ms.
Saks technique by stating that reinforcement is an effective technique in maintaining
students good behaviour. Their view is supported by behaviourist theory which holds the
principle that reinforcement is the key to creating and maintaining good behaviour
(Diedrich, 2010). As a strong proponent of behaviourist theory, Skinner believed that
consequences of an action will alter human behaviour, depending on whether they want
to keep getting pleasant consequences or to avoid unpleasant ones (Dunn, 2002). In the
spirit of Skinner, Ms. Saks has effectively used reward system in manipulating her
students behaviour. This is clearly illustrated in scenario in which Ms. Saks used pegs,
which could be exchanged with a chance at the grab bag, to motivate her students to
show good behaviour. As students generally are intrigued with the idea of getting a
chance at the grab bag, they will be motivated to behave well. It is therefore a good idea
to give rewards as it tends to increase the frequency of good behaviours among
students (Blanford, 1998).
As effective as this technique might look, it is actually considered to be inhumane
from the perspective of Glassers model of choice theory. Glassers model holds the
principle that human should be offered choices before deciding on what to do (Senter &
Charles, 2005). Contrary to this principle, Ms. Saks seemed to be very authoritarian in
managing her students discipline as she always expected her instructions to be obeyed
without questions. By using pegs to motivate good behaviour, Ms. Saks has failed to
offer her students choices and guide them in selecting the right one by explaining of the
consequences of each action chosen. This failure is due to the reason that her students
only behaved in desired manner to earn pegs, not out of their understanding on why they
should behave in that manner. In long run, students will stop showing good behaviour as
the rewards are removed (Deci, Ryan & Koestner, 1999).
Another weakness that can be seen in reward-punishment system lies in the fact
that the teachers who are supposed to reward or punish students, in most cases, are not
able to be fair and just to every student (Jones, 2007). From the case in which Richard
was reprimanded for hitting Luke, it can be seen that Ms. Saks only punished Richard
without doing the same to Luke, even though Richard claimed that Luke hit him first. As
Ms. Saks did not witness it, she could not punish Luke, even if Richards claim was true.
This leads to the situation in which teachers decision in punishing students becomes

questionable. In long run, it may even lead to an increase in students disciplinary

problems as they begin to feel that they are unjustly punished, as in Antonios case.

Setting of classroom rules

From the excerpt, Ms. Saks clearly showed her ability to manage classroom
discipline by setting classroom rules. By having a set of rules that she expected her
students to follow, Ms. Saks could handle her classroom discipline well to a certain
extent. From the text, it can be seen that Ms. Saks managed to stop students from
misbehaving by mentioning specific classroom rules. The implementation of these rules
shows that Ms. Saks knew that as a teacher, she had the right to insist her students to
behave well and to determine rules and routines which she deemed can facilitate
learning process (Lyons, Ford & Arthur-Kelly, 2011). Apart from that, Ms. Saks also
showed her firmness in refusing to listen to excuses for her students misbehaviours. All
these point to the fact that Ms. Saks used Canters model of assertive discipline in
handling misbehaviours in her classroom (Desiderio & Mullennix, 2005).
The correct employment of these methods will lead to effective teaching. By setting
classroom rules and routines, students will know what they are expected to do, as well
as the reasons and consequences behind each action they take (Cooper, Leighton,
Martorella, Morine-Dershimer, Sadker, Sadker, Shostak, Tenbrink & Weber, 1999). As a
result, the flow of teaching and learning process will not be disrupted. This is important
to give students the feeling that they are able to process the input given. By feeling that
the content of the lesson is within their comprehension, students will be motivated to pay
attention. Motivated to keep up with the lesson, students will indirectly behave well,
which in turn allows effective teaching to take place. This is in parallel with the concept
proposed by Kounins model of classroom discipline, which is effective teaching is the
key to managing misbehaviours in classrooms (Zuris, 2008). From the text, Ms. Saks
seemed to be able to handle her class well earlier the day until she started handing out
spelling homework to her students.
In Malaysia, predetermined rules play a very vital role in teachers repertoire of
classroom management. Many Malaysian teachers have made it a point to set some
ground rules for their students in the beginning of the year before they start teaching

(Siti, 2004). In Malaysian schools, it is common for teachers to use the merit-demerit
system in effort to reduce misbehaviour among students (Fairuz, 2011). Siyamla (2011)
also agrees to this by stating that teachers in SMK Berapit are using this system in
handling students discipline. By being told of their teachers expectation towards them
during the class, students tend to conduct less misbehaviour in order to avoid getting
demerit points, which in severe cases, will lead to them being expelled from schools
(Kuhlenschmidt & Layne, 1999). Having mentioned this, merit-demerit system does not
necessarily bring the same impact on every student. Students who despise schools and
who have already developed immunity to this system will not bother and continue posing
disciplinary problems, to the extent that sometimes even police have to be involved in
suppressing their deviant behaviour (Tong, 2014). In solving such cases, Jones and
Jones (1992), recommend schools to work hand-in-hand with local law enforcers.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper discusses the effectiveness of Miss Saks discipline
management strategies. In this first section, it is mentioned that Miss Sax showed great
withitness as well as clarity and firmness in correcting misbehaviours. This, however, if
not being carried out well, can produce negative ripple effect on nearby students.
Meanwhile, in the second section, the use of rewards and punishments which was
employed by Miss Saks, is discussed from both positive and negative aspect. The use of
rewards will motivate students to behave well. In long run, nevertheless, students will not
learn the underlying logics behind their behaviours, as they are extrinsically motivated.
Last but not least, in the last section, Miss Saks discipline management strategy has
been discussed in term of setting of classroom rules. In general, having classroom rules
is good as students will know the ways they are expected to behave. Setting of
classroom rules has also been discussed in term of its effectiveness in Malaysian
classroom.