Instead, students should be required to spend time doing homework or discussing their disruptive behavior, she recommends. Some experts, like Alfie Kohn, believe consequences are merely disguised versions of punishments, and have the same negative effects on children. Many other experts, however, see a genuine distinction between punishments and consequences. According to Nancy Martin of the University of Texas at San Antonio, punishments make children feel worse, foster resentment and anger, and don't teach children what to do. Whether consequences are a form of punishment is not the only area of disagreement among experts, however.
Some experts challenge the premise that punishment is always counterproductive.
Punishments do have a place in the classroom, believes Edmund Emmer of the University of Texas at Austin. But Emmer also cautions educators against a tendency to overuse punishment, rather than considering ways to restructure the classroom. When Students Misbehave Perhaps the biggest classroom-management challenge teachers face is deciding how to respond when a student breaks the rules. That works miracles. DeSisto agrees that consequences should be applied consistently.