The Importance of Teaching Self-Discipline

Understanding child development takes the emphasis away from the child's character looking at the child as good or bad. The emphasis is put on behaviour as a communication. Making self-discipline so far as a problem-solver.

Self-discipline involves resisting temptation and being determined. With all learners having dreams, to make those dreams come to reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort. The three forms of self-discipline are active discipline, reactive discipline and proactive discipline.

It is easier to build up a child than it is to repair an adult. Self-disciplined children, stay focused and motivated irrespective of one’s feelings, emotions or physical weaknesses.

A self-disciplined child does not need anyone to tell them what to do. According to Sherrie Campbell, self-disciplined children are empathetic, responsible, self-motivated, self-confident, respectful, accountable and resilient.

TRAITS OF SELF-DISCIPLINED CHILDREN

In Lauren Greenlee’s words, “A self-disciplined child says ‘no’ to desirable objects in the immediate but also chooses to say, ‘yes’ to what is right regardless of how she or he feels.”

We live in a culture that breeds egoism, the habit of valuing everything only regarding personal interest, beyond all else. Self-disciplined children, in contrast, seek to see beyond themselves and can put themselves in someone else’s shoes.

Self-disciplined children see their role as a valuable one and strive to put forth their best effort, knowing their actions affect others as well as themselves.

They respect the authority figures in their life, viewing their role as helpful and valuable. Instead of undermining someone in Leadership when they disagree, a self-disciplined child has the confidence to assert themselves and does so through a respectful appeal.

EXAMPLES OF SELF-DISCIPLINE

· Greetings

· Brushing teeth

· Tidying up

· Doing homework

· Bathing

· Making the bed

Children learn self-discipline from routines, family chores and family schedules. They also learn self-discipline when they know the consequence awaiting them if they don’t follow through with their routines, especially at home.

As said by Dr James Dobson that loving self-discipline encourages a child to respect other people and live as a responsible, constructive citizen. Hence, we should develop self-discipline by starting with small goals and increasing the level of challenge slowly with time.

CHILDREN WHO ARE WELL-BEHAVED

We live in a culture where the highest compliment a parent can receive is that his or her kid is “well-behaved”. These are children who conduct themselves in proper ways according to the rules set; they listen to and do what they are told to do.

They are always willing to take a back seat for somebody else to take the one in front or give opportunities to a more needy person.

They are mindful, sincere, and polite and strive to work to the best of their ability.

HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS?

Being aware of how we inaccurately interchange “well-behaved” with behaviours such as “shy” is something worth considering.

“The definitions of “nice” or “polite” are completely subjective. The concept of emotional control has devolved from the skill of regulating strong emotions so as not to act out in an aggressive manner. Emotional control has become a desired ability to respond with emotion publicly in a way that is deemed appropriate by Western elites (Waltz, 2020).”

To this, I reflect on a Parenting Support Worker’s statement that “Don’t mistake ‘shy’ for well-behaved.” These words were the ones I didn’t know that I needed to hear because the two are not the same and truly, people exchange “shy” for “well-behaved.

Well-behaved children unlike self-disciplined children need somebody to remind them what to do or how to behave.

IMPORTANCE OF SELF DISCIPLINE

Self-discipline is important because it helps maintain focus, acquits children with inner self and further better self-control.

According to Topper, self-control is the stepping stone to a disciplined life.

It allows children to control their emotions and become more practical in life.

Self-control helps in pushing oneself to attain their goals and success.

Furthermore, self-discipline is advantageous because it helps:

· the students to overcome bad habits.

· believe in themselves and their ability to succeed.

· to stick to their commitments more easily.

· to see projects through to completion.

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The Role of Personalized Learning in Student Success

July 21, 2026

Every Student learns differently! Think about it like this; In the real world, we customize our coffee orders, hairstyles, our music playlists, and occasionally take our own clothes to the tailor to get a perfect fit in line with our our tastes. All this is done to provide the best customer service as well as for the customer to cherish it. So, why should our children’s educational journeys be treated differently? From time immemorial until now, the education system has evolved drastically from the former traditional teaching where the teacher was ‘ Mr. I know it All , where learners were just like passive passengers on an intellectual train to the current modern approach known as Personalized Learning. When put together, Personalized Learning’ means teachers provide targeted learning towards each student’s unique learning needs, interests, learning styles and modify their experiences. Personalized Learning ensures every lesson is resourceful, relevant and engaging with all students, which helps them grasp concepts taught more effectively leaving them with a touch of confidence in themselves. How Do Personalized Learning Approaches Support Different Learning Styles and Learner Progress? As educators at Gaborone International School, we understand that learning how our learners process information is not just beneficial to them, but it is a crucial part of our work to become excellent at our jobs and in ensuring every student succeeds in their academic journey. At GIS, we adopt these fou r famous and common learning styles for our learners: 1. Visual Learners These are learners who understand and remember things best when they see them. Thus, as teachers at GIS, we make use of PowerPoint Presentations, use information in diagrammatic form, images/pictures and videos while teaching our students. Our growing innovative techniques with digital equipment; for example, making use of projectors and iPads with learners has proven very helpful to these specific learners. 2. Auditory Learners : These learn best by hearing information and they remember spoken words. For these students, we make use of assigning group tasks to certain subtopics in a topic/question and once a set time is over, we push for students to teach it /explain it to the whole class (peer teaching). Additionally, rather than the teacher delivering all the information, learners are given a chance to collaborate with each other, and this makes them retain concepts taught easily. 3. Kinesthetic Learners: These learners enjoy hands-on activities, they learn quicker by doing & moving or changing seating positions. DIY Ferris Wheels by Std 3 Learners during a Robotics lesson As teachers, we try to make this possible as they engage in different specialist subjects. For example, However, we can make these learners get involved as we take them to the labs, Music, Art, PE and making use of buildings blocks/models. This way, learners can 10 channel their energy productively without disrupting their concentration span. 4. Reading /Writing Learners: These are learners who understand better when they read and write things down. This one is a classic traditional style where students write notes during class, read out loud what is on the board, and they love reading articles. In the Lower Primary school, particularly Standard 1 to 3, our Guided Readers program takes care of such learners. By adding all these techniques to how we teach learners, it has helped us to answer a lot of questions our parents had and remove anxieties as they drop off their children at school each day. This makes them confident that their children are treated as individuals with unique talents and goals and are given room to thrive in a system that values them more and allows self-advocacy and the best to come out of them.