A student is creating a disruption in the language class. How should this…

Concept: In a constructivist, child-centred classroom, discipline is treated as a shared learning opportunity rather than as control imposed by an authority. The guiding principle is student agency: when a problem arises within the group, the group itself is invited to reflect on it, take ownership, and construct an acceptable resolution together. This builds self-regulation, mutual responsibility and a democratic class culture.

Applying this to a disruptive learner: the teacher turns the disruption into a collective problem to be solved, asking the children to discuss why it is happening and what fair classroom norms could address it. Engaging the learners in finding the solution keeps the response non-punitive, preserves the disruptive child's dignity, and addresses the behaviour through reflection and peer negotiation rather than through fear or removal.

• Focusing only on the industrious students ignores the disruption and abandons the learner who needs support, so the behaviour is never actually addressed.

• Depending on parents shifts a routine classroom-management responsibility outside the room and outside the teacher's immediate, child-centred role.

• Reporting the learner to the administration is an escalation/punitive route that bypasses reflective, in-class resolution and can stigmatise the child.