The Christian EducatorA publication of North Valley Baptist Schools

Behavior Modification in the Christian School

By Leslee Hussin

Behavior modification is an effective but unethical and unbiblical approach to discipline. That behavior modification is effective there can be no doubt. The implementation of systems of punishment and reward in homes, schools, prisons, and mental institutions to influence and encourage appropriate future behavior is quite common and successful.

The problem is, behaviorism promotes a distinctly evolutionary philosophy of life. Watson, Pavlov and Skinner believed life was “mechanical.” To them, this was an “exclusively material world,” one which can only consist of “scientific, provable assumptions, methods confined to external observations, physical tests, and mathematical measurement.” To insist that students (evolved “organisms”) submit to an authority figure (a “manipulator”) is contradictory to their child-centered approach in education.

Children will misbehave in a classroom environment, but how their misbehavior is accounted for and how it is to be corrected determines the role their teacher will occupy in the classroom. The traditional, Christian approach to discipline requires confrontation of the individual, correction of the transgressions, and encouragement to appropriate future behavior (II Timothy 4:2). The responsibility is placed solely on the transgressor, not his environment. Self-discipline is accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit which indwells the Christian. Man’s spiritual dimension and his conscience, though intangible, exist and play a great role in the development of his maturity. This approach seeks to produce a free-thinking, conscientious individual who will rely on principles to guide him through this present life, as well as prepare him for the next.

In contrast, the success of behavior modification is dependent on rewards. Teachers become “behavior modifiers,” offering visible reactions as rewards to a child who considers it important and repetition of the same reward for the same behavior as reinforcement. Discipline is not an objective, but a process which involves multiple steps and constant manipulation by an external force. This “shaping” process includes the use of enforcements, room environments, and tasks to accomplish the desired behavioral change.

In this system, when a child misbehaves, a certain amount of responsibility is placed upon others in the group. Perhaps the teacher himself is the cause of the child’s disruptiveness. The teacher as the behavior modifier should then arrange the environment so that the child will stop misbehaving (e.g., placing the child in “time-out”).

Another method of dealing with misbehavior in this sytem is to ignore it. If the child does not receive the “payoff” for his maladaptive behavior, then his behavior should terminate. This opposes God’s plan of confrontational discipline. In the Bible, King David's continual failure to confront his son Absalom resulted in Absalom becoming rebellious, spoiled, and deceitful, which ultimately led to an untimely end for that young man.

The Christian educator should remember that discipline in the Bible corresponds with training for a future purpose, but for the behaviorist, this present life is the only reality. Behaviorism can work effectively in a classroom environment; however, the pragmatic thinking of “whatever works is wonderful” is misleading and should be avoided.

About the Author: Leslee Hussin joined the NVBS staff in August 2001 as a high school teacher. She currently teaches Algebra II, plane geometry, trigonometry, calculus, yearbook, and graphic and Web design.

In 2001, Leslee earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from Golden State Baptist College. She went on to earn her Master of Science in mathematics education in 2004 from Pensacola Christian College, where she is also currently a doctoral candidate in education.