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guest_
· 6 years ago
· FIRST
Yes and no. There are elements of group psychology and aspects of the developing mind to consider. Look at the military, where whole groups are punished for the actions of one. This can both help build a group cohesiveness through shared suffering as well as reinforce the authority of the figure in power against challenges from other group members. It can also foster an investment in “self policing” among the group where all are accountable for one, and so all are motivated to help prevent or correct bad behavior out of self interest. Accounting. For personality types it can also prevent the isolation of one individual, which may be more effective and overall a healthier approach than singling out, and it avoids having to hold “court” over who did what or what level of involvement was held by which parties. Positive reinforcement is considered more effective in modern times than negative, but where negative reinforcement is used, group punishment can be an effective tool.
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catfluff
· 6 years ago
Or, like in our class, it led to more chaos and the disruptive kids becoming the norm "because we are all going to be punished anyway so let's fuck shit up", with one or two students attempting to keep the class (and teachers) sane.
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guest_
· 6 years ago
Very true. It’s the classic dillema. Be too strict or too distant and you can mess a kid up for life. Be too lienient or too involved and you can mess a kid up for life. A finely crafted, perfectly weighted hammer is a fine tool. Trying to use a sledge hammer to sink thumb tacks into drywall would not be very productive though, and trying to use a claw hammer to glue a plate back together would work as well as using a tube of glue to try and hammer the nails for building a house. If the tool is sound, you can’t blame the tool, you blame the craftsman. Every tool has an application or situation, every tool can do many jobs but will do some better (a wrench makes a poor hammer but may do in a pinch, but a hammer usually makes a terrible wrench..) having diverse tools in the box, knowing which tool to best use where, and the best technique to apply a tool is key to any effort. It sounds like your craftsman failed on one or more of these points.
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Edited 6 years ago
hangryyetti
· 6 years ago
The metaphors in this comment are great.
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