I co-taught with another teacher in an overflow situation. She had four kids enroll the last three weeks of school and was able to get another teacher in so she can get some help managing the class while she finish testing/preping for the end of the school year.
It was a rare opportunity to observe a peer's different classroom management style. When there is a conflict or accusation, she would bring the kids to the fore of the class and discipline publicly. Dispensing justice like a the Queen, the class would watch as she make an example of the accused.
I tend to abstract the process. With a conflict, I would ask for volunteers to stand in for the culprits and use them to act out what they should do to resolve the problem. I want to ensure the kids also know what they CAN do, not just what they cannot do. I would talk to the accused in private. My goal is to acknowledge that I am aware of the conflict and doing something about it but also to minimize attention to the kids involved.
When I first saw her style of management, I started to consider changing mine. I felt so good to see justice served so publicly! Then I noticed lots of tattling - telling on someone just to get them into trouble. The kids also expected the teacher to solve all the problems. Then I remembered why I choose positive discipline. By focusing on behavior, I don't give negative attention; I rather have kids strive for positive attention on their positive behavior. I also train them to think of solutions and empowering them to be problem solvers.
Did the classroom (especially the victim) feel a greater sense of justice when the accused was judged publicly? Yes, I did feel that in the room. However, I saw kids respond to the positive discipline style with more self sufficiency and more focus on earning praise for their own behavior rather than satisfaction at getting someone else in trouble. In the long term, that counts for more.
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