Truth AND Consequences

A common thread running throughout the Bible is the role of consequences as God brings people toward maturity. Both pleasant and unpleasant outcomes occur as a result of the decisions people make. Helping students take responsibility for their decisions is one of the most important life lessons we can teach students.

Types of Consequences

A. Relate behavior and consequences with a "P-L-A-N"

1. Preventing consequences:

a. Provide structured choices: When possible, give students a choice of two outcomes, both of which satisfy you. Giving them a little freedom often results in better cooperation than telling them exactly what to do. You might say, "Can you play without banging your hockey stick against the floor, or would you rather play without a stick"?

b. "Say what you mean, mean what you say": Avoid giving students empty threats. Instead of saying, "Do I need to move you?", follow through with prior expectations by calmly moving a disruptive student where he won't bother others. Consistency in dealing with students helps alleviate the need for future consequences.

c. Consider student's perception: A student's perception of a problem is as important as what actually happened. Listen carefully to students and try to ease their concerns, instead of telling them they shouldn't have those concerns.

2. Logical consequences: A consequence is logical when it is related to the child's misconduct. (Num 11:18-32; Mt 6:14-15)

3. Artificial consequences: A consequence is artificial when it is unrelated to the child's misconduct. (Num 11:33-34)

4. Natural consequences: A consequence is natural when it is related and it occurs in accordance with God's natural laws, apart from adult intent. (2Co 2:5-8; Gal 6:7)

B. Examples of consequences

Practice writing an example of each type of consequence for each of the following situations:

Situation 1: Susan got a drink after the ball game and spit water on a classmate.

Situation 2: After receiving a warning, Bobby continues to dribble the ball while the teacher is talking.

Situation 3: Dan forgot his swimsuit on the day students were practicing strokes for the test.

Examples of consequences for the above situations appear on another webpage accessed below. Examples are not exhaustive, nor do they necessarily represent the best choice possible.

Examples of consequences for situations

Criteria for determining choice of consequence are described on another webpage accessed below. Criteria represent consequences in general, rather than consequences specific to the above situations.

Criteria for selecting consequences

© Steven A. Henkel, 12/02