The word discipline has such negative connotations; one immediately thinks of an overbearing parent or teacher. In today's instant gratification world; it is more of a challenge with these tech saavy students. I often hear my colleagues stating that when "we were in college we'd never think of..." often mentioning things like; coming to class late; leaving early; on the cell-phone, texting etc.
The greatest hurdle is getting the student to understand that this impacts them and their future as an employee. Many feel entitled as was mentioned in this module; they pay good money therefore they deserve a good grade etc. Sometimes, doing reverse psychology helps - I have played the part of the disinterested student/teacher - albeit I get laughs from my students they come to understand that it impacts not just one but many if not all those in the class; when they are not engaged in class.
However, to take the "taboo" away from disipline we discuss lighter things like athletes or working out or whatever that seems more remote; but when asked; well how did that person become the greatest running back? How did they lose all that weight? It all comes back to discipline. Putting forth the effort to get the reward.
Yet, there are those that still want the reward without the effort, is there a way to reach them as well?
Laura,
Your last sentence captures what we need to help our students develop. Personal discipline is what got most of us to the success point we now enjoy. When you share your own story of how you developed the discipline you have I am sure you have their attention because they are learning that they need to work hard at self discipline if they are going to enjoy success in their own careers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Students require discipline to achieve success; in fact we all require discipline to achieve success.
I always use myself as an example with my students. I tell them, truthfully, that I grew up with a decided lack of discipline; some due to lack of good parental guidance taught and some of it was my own(un)doing. I have had to work very hard to achieve some measure of discipline and have noted its direct contribution or lack thereof to my career successes and failures.
Personal discipline leads to making better and more informed decisions.
Discipline is a key element in critical thinking. We need to be willing to spend the necessary time to become good at communicating and acquiring all of the necessary skills to become effect and proficient in the field that we want to work in.
Self discipline is very important for critical thinking. It is so easy to be led in the wrong direction by the loudest speaker in a group or past experiences that do not relate to the current situation. It takes discipline to ask all the questions of the current problem to ensure you move forward with all the facts.
Tequilla,
Discipline especially self discipline seems to be lacking in a lot of the students I have currently. Students need to see the value as well as the results of self discipline and how it can pay off in terms of results. The more experiences and examples we can share with them along this line the better.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discipline forces us to give up the notion that we are in control of everything. Those who struggle with control issues and "power trips" will have to be disciplined in order to embrace the critical thinking process. Discipline means setting aside the need for instant gratification, and allowing oneself to go through the process. Without discipline, critical thinking becomes a burden on the mind because it is an overload of information.
Maggie,
Self-discipline seems to be lacking in a lot of our students. They do no want to invest the time it takes to acquire self-discipline and as a result they don't become the high quality critical thinkers they want to be. Those that do put in the time and effort see their careers take off.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I believe in order to have a successfull career, discipline must be develop first. It is impossible to provide a positive solution without developing self-discipline.
Daniel,
Your last sentence is a powerful one. In our culture today of wanting instant results self discipline has slipped way down in the thought process of students. They need to be taught how to bring self discipline into their lives and then use it to become critical thinkers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Neelam,
Self discipline is essential in the development of problem solving skills. Many people today just want a quick fix without going to the effort of considering different options and then thinking through the consequences.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Critical thinking cannot be carried out without discipline. It would be an exercise in futility. If an individual is not willing to try to develop a skill or acquire knowledge, that individual will not be able to develop his/her techniques of critical thinking. Personal discipline must be considered one of the cornerstones of critical thinking.
Discipline is important component of research and development.It teaches us to control and take proper steps and be accountable when we are decion making.It makes a person dedicated and commited and do the problem soving.
Wendy,
I reinforce this concept many times over. This seems to be one of the most common reasons for failure with students. They rush and don't spend the time nor take the patience to think through different options and then seek results.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Personal discipline requires time (as in waiting for results). In our culture instant gratification is so ubiquitous that many of our students haven't experienced the sense of wonder and accomplishment that comes with the results of applied discipline and the sense of empowerment that comes with it.
Cindy,
Sadly for many students self discipline is not a part of their development. The more we can help them to develop self discipline the greater service we will have provided them as learning leaders.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
learning discipline helps us accomplish our goals we need to have some sort of discipline so we can get the work done in a job we may not always like the type of work we have to perform so learning to discipline ourselves to get them done is important.
Robert,
Well said. Personal discipline is the key and that seems to be lacking with so many individuals today.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Edward,
Yes, it does. It is not the easiest way to go either. This is why it takes self discipline to get to this level of expertise in problem solving.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Without personal discipline, a person makes hasty decisions based on things like time retraints, peer pressure, political concerns, etc. By taking time to seriously consider an issue, a person thoughtfully considers many options and concerns, leading to a more sound decision.
