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Show School Discipline: What it Is , What It Should Be kids enough to allow them to make many decisions. Teachers must make most decisions. They are responsible for controlling children to the extent that a safe, conducive learning environment is provided. "Of course, all teachers, like all parents, have personal differences differen-ces as to the amount of control they feel necesary to impose on children. Likewise students vary as to the amount of freedom they need to learn. The important thing is to try to strike a balance between the needs of the child, the needs of his classmates, and the needs of the teacher." Asked whether discipline becomes be-comes less authoritarian as children progress in maturity, Mr. Elwell, in reference to elementary school-aged children, replied, "No, it probably gets tighter as the child gets older and wants to make more decisions. This is one reason more serious conflicts may develop between school (or parent) and child later on." This view was supported by sixth-grader Kenny Lawson, Mar-sac's Mar-sac's student governor. "They won't let us play tackle football even though we have our own safety equipment and know the rules. Also, why do older kids have to taste everything on their plates? We already know what all the cafeteria food tastes like. We know which things we like, and which things are good for us, too." At the high school level, however, Dr. Simmons says thai students automatically are given more freedom as they grow older. "For example, seventh and eighth graders can't go to many night activities, and have few class choices. Seniors, on the other hand, may choose six of their seven classes, English being the only requirement. Or they may work part-time, or begin a university experience." Studentbody President Greg Pratt confirmed that, "Past ninth grade you're mostly on your own to perform to choose class schedules, whatever as long as you're not bothering anybody. "We've had a hand in making the rules which do exist," explained Pratt. "We recently revised the school constitution in every area except classes required requir-ed to graduate. We eliminated dress codes and hair length requirements, but put in 'no smoking on school grounds' and passed new rules against loudness loud-ness in the halls and other disruptive behavior." This would appear to be sound evidence that Park City schools have been effective in teaching self-discipline, which according to Dr. Goodworth is the only true discipline. Thus, before Park City parents heed the national hue and cry for more tightly controlled classrooms, class-rooms, they might do well to consider the success of their present system in graduating students with preparation for and experience in controlling themselves. A remarkably consistent view of discipline what it is and what it should be emerged from three Park City school officials interviewed by the Record last week: Elementary School Principal Elwell, High School Principal Simmons, and District School Superintendent Goodworth. "The only real discipline is a personal discipline," said Dr. Simmons. What some people want is not discipline, but control. Control is what you have in the state prison. They don't teach discipline they teach people to obey orders, to sit still, to not bother anybody. Kids at Provo Canyon are controlled, 24 hours a day, and it's expensive; that kind of control costs their parents $1,100 a month. What they're working with is behavior modification. modifi-cation. What we're trying to do is to teach self-discipline. Control does not permit self-discipline." Dr. Goodworth voiced essentially essen-tially the same view. "Discipline can be defined as control that is, forcing children to adher to rules. But true discipline is self-control. We should be working work-ing from a basis of control, necessary with young children, toward eventual self-control by older students." Dr. Goodworth, Dr. Simmons, and Mr. Elwell each emphasized that for the most part, discipline is taught at home. "The few serious discipline problems we do have come from either extremely permissive homes or extremely authoritarian homes," said Mr. Elwell. "Both are situations in which the child hasn't had an opportunity to learn self-limits." But the school, they agreed, has a responsibility. "I hope we teach students self-discipline by explaining rights and responsibilities responsi-bilities of individuals," said Dr. Simmons. Dr. Goodworth, when asked how self-mastery might be taught, replied, "By offering students opportunities, within the guidelines of the law, to exhibit more freedom; for example, giving them freedom to interact with the system that governs them, the opportunity to have input in relationship to rules." Does the school system provide students an opportunity to practice prac-tice democracy true self-government? self-government? "We could do better in that area," said Dr. Goodworth. "Democracy in the school is a consideration, but not a high priority of the society," said Mr. Elwell. "Basically, we don't trust |