30/07/2026
DISCIPLINE IS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
We recently attended a timely and meaningful seminar on child discipline conducted by Atty. Estrada and organized by NOPSSCEA.
The discussion reminded us that discipline in school is not simply about correcting misbehavior. It is about the shared responsibility of parents and educators in forming a child’s character.
1. In Loco Parentis: The School Stands in the Place of the Parent
Atty. Estrada discussed the legal principle of in loco parentis, which means “in the place of the parent.”
While children are under the supervision of the school, teachers and school administrators are entrusted with a special parental role. They are responsible not only for teaching lessons but also for protecting learners, guiding their behavior, maintaining order, and correcting misconduct appropriately.
This authority is not unlimited. Discipline must always be lawful, reasonable, respectful, and nonviolent. However, protecting children from abusive punishment does not mean removing the school’s authority to enforce rules and impose appropriate consequences.
2. Discipline Is a Shared Responsibility
Discipline cannot be the responsibility of the school alone.
The values taught at home must be reinforced in school, while the expectations taught in school must also be supported at home. When parents and teachers give children conflicting messages, discipline becomes ineffective.
When a child is corrected, the parent’s first response should not automatically be to defend the child or blame the teacher. We must first ask:
What happened?
What rule or expectation was not followed?
Was the correction handled properly?
How can the home and school help the child improve?
Parents have the right to ask questions, raise concerns, and request proper investigation. Schools also have the duty to listen and follow due process. But concerns must be addressed respectfully and through the proper channels—not through insults, threats, intimidation, or violence.
3. The School Has a Role in Disciplining Children
Schools are not only places where children learn reading, mathematics, science, and language.
Schools are also communities where children learn:
☝️how to respect authority;
☝️how to follow reasonable rules;
☝️how to accept correction;
☝️how to manage their emotions;
☝️how to consider the rights of others; and
☝️how to take responsibility for their choices.
A teacher who reminds a learner about proper behavior, grooming, attendance, classroom conduct, or school policies is not automatically attacking the child. When correction is done appropriately, the teacher is fulfilling an important educational responsibility.
A school that refuses to correct misconduct is not protecting children. It may be allowing harmful behavior to continue.
4. Child Discipline Is About Character Formation
Discipline is not merely punishment.
True discipline teaches children what to do differently the next time. It helps develop respect, accountability, self-control, resilience, humility, and responsibility.
The goal is not to produce children who obey only because they are afraid. The goal is to form young people who understand why rules matter and who can make responsible choices even when no adult is watching.
Child protection and accountability must go together.
Children must be protected from cruelty, humiliation, and abusive punishment. But they must not be protected from every correction, boundary, or reasonable consequence.
Discipline is not the enemy of children. Abuse is.
5. Education Is Also a Contract
Atty. Estrada also emphasized that education is a contract.
When parents enroll their child in a school, they are not merely paying for classroom instruction. They are entering into a partnership with the institution.
The school commits to provide education, supervision, protection, and appropriate support. In return, the learner and the family agree to respect the school’s philosophy, policies, standards, and code of conduct.
Enrollment therefore comes with both rights and responsibilities.
Parents may disagree with a school policy and respectfully seek clarification or appeal. However, a family cannot enroll a child, accept the benefits of the school, and then disregard every rule it finds inconvenient.
A contract works only when both sides fulfill their responsibilities.
The school must act fairly and responsibly.
Teachers must discipline with wisdom and restraint.
Parents must cooperate with the school.
Learners must follow reasonable rules and accept accountability.
This lesson is especially relevant today, following reports of a teacher in Davao de Oro who was allegedly attacked after addressing a student’s violation of a school rule.
Children need protection.
Teachers need protection, too.
And schools need the authority to maintain a safe, respectful, and orderly learning environment.
Thank you, NOPSSCEA, for organizing this very timely seminar, and thank you, Atty. Estrada, for helping educators better understand the legal, moral, and shared responsibilities involved in disciplining and forming our learners.