When you first begin to hold community meetings, you may notice that students tend to think up very punitive suggestions while brainstorming. Many of their ideas are modeled on their past experience. To create a nurturing respectful environment that encourages learning, you will need to take the time to teach the skills of finding non-punitive solutions. Take an entire class meeting time to focus on the differences between punishment and solutions. Remind them that any form of punishment is both disrespectful and discouraging.
Punishment is based on several false concepts.
To make someone do better, we first have to make him or her feel worse. It is more important to make someone pay for what they have done than to learn from what they have done. People learn better through control and intimidation than through exploring the results of their choices in a nurturing environment. You might try having a discussion about these statements and encouraging your students to explore how they react to punishment. Help your students understand that it is their job to find solutions to solving problems, instead of looking for ways to make a person pay for past mistakes.