Discipline

The first column of soldiers moved forward briskly as one man as soon as the parade commander gave the order for the march-past to begin. The massed bands had struck up a lively tune. Soon, the various contingents were swinging past the saluting dais, every man in step, columned and filed in precise straight lines. Hours of hard, discipline, and work had gone into making the parade a grand success.

And it is in the same way too that life can be made successful. In fact, it is only through discipline that living becomes smooth and peaceful. Law is nothing more than community discipline. People who keep to the law accept the discipline of the state. Thus, the criminal — the thief, murderer, gangster — shows by his defiance of the law, that he refuses to be disciplined.

As a child is punished when it misbehaves itself — that is , when it shows lack of discipline — so also is a criminal shown, by punishment or some penal treatment, that he has to conform to the discipline of the state. As a child is shown kindness as well as firmness when being taught discipline, so also should a wrongdoer be treated understandingly as well as strictly, so that he may not become hardened in crime.

The image of the education of a child is especially appropriate in illustrating the need for and power of discipline. From its birth, a child is taught discipline. Its feeding and sleeping are regulated, otherwise, the child will grow up unhealthy. Bowel training is important, otherwise, there will be frequent stomach upsets, with their consequent ill-effects on the growing body. As the child grows, it is taught respectful and unselfish behavior, or it will turn into a young savage. Discipline features in every stage of the child’s development, whether mental or physical.

The word “discipline” is associated most frequently with school life. it is, perhaps, useful at this juncture to examine the meaning of the term. The dictionary defines “discipline” as “instruction: training and mode of life in accordance with rules: subjection to control …” It has the same origin as the word “disciple” meaning “pupil, follower”. It is in school, especially, that discipline is taught with reference to all aspects of the definition given. A schoolboy is given instruction in various subjects; he is trained and shown a mode of reasonable existence which will fit him for adult life; and, to his repeated annoyance, he is subject to constant control.

“Discipline” must be distinguished from “order” with which it is frequently confused. Order is the condition that results from discipline. But order may be imposed from without. Discipline, finally, comes from within. True discipline is always self-discipline. The aim of all schooling is to teach children to discipline themselves; to guarantee that order will result from a child’s recognition of the fact that order is utterly necessary. Discipline certainly cannot be based on mere fear of authority. For, as a child approaches adulthood, it is moving more and more away from the figures of authority. A person becomes more and more independent as he grows up. With this growing sense of independence must also grow a sense of discipline and respect for the rights of others.

A disciplined child, growing into a disciplined adolescent, will finally emerge into society as a disciplined adult — one who is ready to play a constructive role in his community. Life will have its trials and disappointments; it is a discipline that will enable a person to remain cool and sensible amidst the stresses of life. When the temptation to evil occurs, it is a discipline that will help overcome it. Should a person fall, it is a discipline which will set him on his feet again. All this is trite and what modern “enlightened” people would call “moral”. It is a fact, however, which cannot be denied.

In recent years, there were some misguided psychologists who said that a child should be left to develop on its own, that it should be allowed to do anything it willed — free discipline should be encouraged. the woeful effects of “free” discipline show that the child becomes neither “free” to develop healthily, nor “disciplined”. And other psychologists have come up to say that a child wants discipline. In its uncertainty, a child craves guidance. And that is what discipline eventually gives him, so that, growing up, he may be able to see his way about the mazes of life.