Crime and Punishment

By Kim

One of the key concepts of good parenting is making sure that punishment for an infraction fits the crime and that a lesson is learned. I’m not so sure that the same considerations are made in the school system. This year has been extreme, but I just lost my 8th student on a forty-day suspension for smoking marijuana during the school day. The suspension is convertible to twenty days, if the student agrees to and completes drug counseling.   Now, the truth is, for most of my students, four to eight weeks off of school is more of an enjoyable vacation than it is a punishment, and it obviously hasn’t worked very well as a deterrent for other students, either. Ironically, getting in a fight – assaulting another person – only gets five to ten days.

The fact is, most of the students who get caught smoking weed on campus are not our top students, nor are they highly motivated to succeed. Thus, kicking them out for half a quarter in the best case (and a full quarter in the worst), almost guarantees both failure and loss of credit. This, in turn, greatly ups the chance that this kid will drop out. So what are our options as educators? In-school suspensions have not proven effective at helping kids keep their grades up, either. Partially because it can be so difficult and time consuming for teachers to create alternative assignments to those being missed in the classroom that rotate around lectures, discussions, or group projects. My small learning community is in the process of developing an alternative to out-of-school suspension. Kids will still be allowed to attend classes, but they will lose their passing times and lunches to teacher supervision. Additionally, they will be required to attend a one-hour detention Monday through Friday, which will include two days of study hall and two days of drug counseling. Our hope is that we will take away enough of the fun part of school from the kids that they will want to toe the line, while ensuring that they still have a chance to pass their classes and graduate on time.

What other alternatives are out there for long-term suspensions?

Comments

[Kim]

Tom you asked an interesting question in your first comment. I think that there are times and crimes that absolutely warrant the removal of a kid from the classroom. In fact, anytime that one child monopolizes so much of the teacher's time that teaching becomes impossible. However, in the case of drug offenses, I don't see a reason that other kids would be hurt by having the offenders in class.

[Kristin]

Good for you for being willing to supervise a child during break. It will increase your workload, but it reinforces the message that school is important.

My school also suspends frequently and for long periods of time. I hate it. Students almost NEVER get the work made up. A suspension almost always means a low grade for the quarter.

I used to teach at a school with an in-house suspension. It was driven not by good education policy, it was driven by parents who didn't want to have to deal with a kid all day, but it worked. You're right that a 40-day suspension is seen as a holiday. Four days spent in a windowless room with a supervisor are not.

[Tom]

I'm curious to find out what other alternatives your group comes up with. While removing the student may not be the best thing for that particular student, what about the other students it hurts? Is it fair to them?

[David Cohen]

You're absolutely right that removing students from school or classes is the wrong kind of punishment for many infractions. I can see where it might be a good idea in cases involving fights/violence - perhaps good to have some separation for a while. The focus should more often be placed on education and restoration.

[Tom]

Back in the day, I spent a fair amount of time at "Saturday Detention." It was brutal. We had to clean the toilets for three hours. I'm not sure how that would work in tis day and age, though.

[Mark]

The alternative you describe above is pretty much the only alternative I've heard of. But you're right, the whole concept of removing kids from school as punishment is horribly misguided. If they cared about school all that much in the first place, they probably wouldn't be making those choices.