A Beautiful Question: Discipline
There are multiple ways that parents punish children for their misbehavior. One of the most common and popular forms of discipline are time-outs. When time-outs are used, parents first demand and warn that their child stop misbehaving or else there will be consequences. If the act continues, the child is then required to go and sit alone in a room, or stand facing a corner. The child is separated from family and friends and warned not to come out of the room/corner until they can control their behavior. There are many reports that time-outs are not an effective form of discipline for children.
So, I wondered, “what if disciplinary techniques were more effective?” My question is categorized as a beautiful question. Warren Berger, creator of beautiful questions, is a journalist innovator who wrote the book A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas, believes questions are more important than answers. Berger defines a beautiful question as, “an ambitious yet actionable question that can begin to shift the way we perceive or think about something—and that might serve as a catalyst to bring about change” (Berger, 8). My beautiful question challenges the authority of parents, adults, and educators. I chose this question, because I am very passionate about children. This includes their well-being, academics, and social development. A few questions that follow my beautiful question include: How do children learn proper behavior? Why is discipline enforced in different cultures?
Professor Jackson’s discussion on sociological mindfulness and Professor Laird’s music perspective both shared similar characteristics, themes, and ideas that influenced my beautiful question. Professor Jackson’s presentation discussed beautiful questions and leadership through a sociological lens. One of Professor Jackson sources, Dalton Conley stated, “what most others take for granted about society”, frames the foundation for sociologists who question society through a sociological lens. My question relates to Professor’s Jackson presentation, because you have to look at the social environment the children are in, in order to fulfill the type of discipline they need to learn from and to reflect on their behavior. Professor Laird used music to elicit questions from leaders. These leaders then ask beautiful questions about discipline through a deliberative (children misbehave to receive attention), confrontational (teacher vs. student disagreements), and pragmatic (discipline) approaches. Although both professors discussed varying topics, both professors taught that leaders come in and from various backgrounds and perspectives.
To form my beautiful question about discipline, I followed Berger’s formula for asking beautiful questions. First, you must ask why, what if, and/or how about a problem. Next, you start questioning plus action then equals innovation. Beautiful questions should “challenge authority, disrupt established structures, processes, and systems, and force people to have to at least think about doing something differently” (Berger, 6). Again, my question does challenge those in authority because it forces them to reflect on the current model of discipling children. For example, if a child is a class disturbance, the teacher scolds them. Instead the teacher should ask another beautiful question: why are they drawing attention to themselves?
Works Cited Page
Berger, Warren. A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough
Ideas. New York: Bloomsbury, 2014.
Jackson, Regine. “Sociological Mindfulness and Social Change,” LDR 102 Moodle.
Laird, Tracey. “Music and Leadership”, LDR 102 Moodle.
