Title: 13
Author: JOEG
Last saved by: pauld
Company: Auth Co

© 2003 Joe Griffin		03-01-28.CC02-84 /

Clanking Chains: Intrinsic & Extrinsic Training; The Blackboard System: Consistency of Process and Procedure; Developing Respect for Law
		10.	Everything that happens in the blackboard system, whether reward or punishment, is the result of the child’s volitional decisions.  Let’s review:
a.	The child knowingly enters into a contract with his parents.  He understands the policy and the promised reward.
b.	Secondly, he understands the consequences if he does not live up to the contract.
c.	He seals the contract with his signature and a handshake.
d.	Over the course of the probationary period he either makes good decisions that broaden his future options or he makes poor decisions that limit his future options.
e.	If he makes good decisions he is the recipient of the promised reward.  If he makes poor decisions he is the recipient of the promised punishment.
f.	Whether he enjoys reward or incurs punishment is entirely the result of his own intrinsic volitional decisions.
g.	At this point the parents have done nothing but establish house rules with rewards promised for compliance and punishment assured for noncompliance.
h.	The child has signed off indicating that he understands the conditions of the contract and has shaken hands in agreement with its provisions. 
i.	All that transpires afterward is the direct result of his volitional decisions for which he will either be rewarded or held personally responsible.
j.	The Frankfurt and Summerhill philosophers offer a cosmic counterattack to this system: “Rules are authoritarian and parents who impose rules and discipline, especially corporal punishment, limit a child’s freedom to develop his personality.”  This view promotes freedom without responsibility for one’s decisions and thus no restraint on one’s actions.
		11.	Policy, written down on an impersonal board becomes the moral authority which must be respected.  Parents become impersonal enforcers of the policy.
	12.	This process prepares the child for introduction to divine policy written in the Bible which God will enforce through divine authority.  God will reward compliance with His policies and punish noncompliance.
	13.	In both cases, the child is trained primarily by intrinsic decision-making.  He learns to choose paths of least resistance which are facilitated wheel-tracks based on establishment or doctrinal policies.
	14.	This system also limits extrinsic influence from the parents so that the child learns from both his successes and his failures.
	15.	Intrinsic decision-making by the child might be compared to the directive will of God.  The child chooses to comply with policy and the only involvement by God and parents is blessing.
	16.	Parents’ decisions to overlook violations of policy in the process of evaluating the motivations behind certain behavior patterns might be compared to the permissive will of God which is intended to both show mercy and allow time for self-correction.
	17.	On occasion, parents must intervene and impose policy regardless of the child’s wishes and desires.  This is extrinsic training and is comparable to the overruling will of God which is imposed when violations of the rules of engagement threaten the stability of the system.
		18.	Extrinsic training also includes the decision of parents to cancel the child’s volition when circumstances dictate.  Such intervention must occur when it is obvious the child does not have the capacity to make the right decision and must be protected.
		19.	Part of the parents’ overruling will includes the use of corporal punishment.  When rebellion is identified and confirmed then this maximum expression of severity must be administered.
		20.	During the confirmation process, the behavior that alerts the parents to possible rebellion is listed on the positive board with rewards indicated for corrected behavior.
		21.	On the negative board the child is informed of the consequences for not doing so.  These consequences are intensified with each noncompliance until finally corporal punishment is introduced. 
		22.	If the behavior is then repeated once more the contract requires that this highest expression of severity be administered.
		23.	This occurs when the child is fully aware of the causes that led to this circumstance:
a.	Policies designed to alter the rebellious behavior were clearly expressed on the positive board.  Rewards for corrected behavior were also indicated.  The child had signed off on these and had shaken hands.
b.	When violations occurred, various levels of discipline were administered.  On each occasion the level of discipline was stated on the negative board and the child had signed off and shaken hands.  Each time the child understood and agreed upon the form of punishment that would be imposed for noncompliance.
c.	On each occasion the contract was broken and the prescribed punishment was administered.  Now the child has taken himself to the point of corporal punishment.
d.	Although the parents administer the punishment the child made the volitional decisions that forced them to live up to the conditions of the contract.
24.	Corporal punishment is therefore an extrinsic form of discipline because the child’s volition has not been changed by the preceding applications of punishment.  Thus it is rebellion that is being disciplined at this point, not the violations of policy.
25.	In all cases of misbehavior, parents should lead the child to admit wrongdoing to them and then seek forgiveness through a confessionary prayer to God.
26.	The sequence of events should be (1) admission of wrongdoing to self and verbalized to the parents; (2) a rebound prayer to God, and (3) the administration of the agreed upon punishment.
27.	However, for the recalcitrant child who is in rebellion, quite often he will not admit wrongdoing and reject the grace provision of rebound.
28.	The spiritual dynamics related to the child’s confession, rebound, and discipline need to be explained so we will do it through a series of principles.  We will then note a biblical passage that provides some illustrative principles, and then finally an illustration from one of Monty’s books that deals with corrective discipline.
Doctrinal Guidance for Parental Management of Misbehavior
	I.	Introduction:
		1)	The purpose of this discussion is to provide a biblical perspective for the discipline of children.  Christian parents must always maintain the objective of leading their child to salvation and then to the efficient inculcation of Bible doctrine.
		2)	Therefore, the management of misbehavior must be as much a teaching experience as any other aspect of child rearing.
		3)	Christian parents readily find ways to communicate doctrine while carrying out the daily activities of the household.  This should also be the case during times of punishment.
		4)	These doctrines and principles are communicated as much by process and procedure as they are verbally.  A right thing done in a wrong way is wrong.
		5)	There are several doctrines that offer guidance and insight for parents as they manage the discipline and punishment of their children. 
		6)	These doctrines help put into perspective the rationales behind child discipline and how they correlate with the child’s spiritual life once saved.
	II.	Principles from the Law of Volitional Responsibility:
		1)	Under the law of volitional responsibility we cause our own misery and suffering.  So far in our survey of child discipline we have been emphasizing the importance of developing the child’s decision-making processes.
		2)	Every person must be held responsible for his own decisions.  For the child, punishment is designed to teach him the principle of volitional responsibility.
		3)	Parents must learn to allow their child to make wrong decisions and then require him to take the responsibility for those wrong decisions.

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