The Edutopia Poll
by Sara Bernard
As student suspension rates rise dramatically, many schools and school districts are reconsidering their discipline policies -- and even state governments are weighing in. In Connecticut, for instance, the state House of Representatives voted unanimously last week in favor of a bill that would prevent suspensions of all students except those too dangerous or disruptive to be in class.
Supporters of the bill say that suspensions have been handed out too freely, and that simply forbidding students to come to school tends to exacerbate rather than remediate the problem. School officials, however, contend that this legislation is too restrictive and vague, and that alternatives to suspension -- such as in-school suspension or other programs -- are too costly. What do you think?
Education and the exceptional child
Submitted by Brett Thomsen (not verified) on March 16, 2008 - 09:55.
Is suspension from school an effective mode of discipline?
Efficacy is not the question some times it is strictly about SAFETY.
I have taught in many settings where a disruptive student is a challenge, but in several locations it was not the disruptive students that unnerved me it was the unstable and dangerous student that currently due to funding in most of my schools I have taught are still in the classroom frequently unassisted. So when you lumped the disruptive with the dangerous it is not reasonable to make a Yes No choice.
Yes. Misbehaving or DANGEROUS students disrupt other students’ learning and threaten their SAFETY. They should be prohibited from being on school grounds until they can behave appropriately.
Student Safety is our first concern no one can teach in an unsafe environ.
What's wrong with the world?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 10, 2008 - 11:51.
ummm idk what's wrong with the gov or these principals but where do you get off suspending a child for the rest of the year and 10 weeks of the next school year you people are crazy, the examples I've seen I'm scared to send my child to any school.
School suspensions
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 26, 2008 - 18:22.
i thank oss should be band from all schools in america because the kids thank of it as i get a day off of school or vacation.so i thank we should band oss and just have iss. Anouther punisment that all schools in america should do is make the kids have a detinsion on saturaday. SO BAND OSS FROM ALL SCHOOLS.
Student suspensions
Submitted by Kristi (not verified) on April 14, 2008 - 10:15.
I am a teacher of students with special needs, and I'm a parent of a student who is often in trouble in school (and has had OSS!). Regarding OSS, there are times when there aren't a lot of other options available to principals, especially with regards to dangerous behaviors. Trust me, my son's one suspension was not a holiday or day off for him: what happens at home for suspension is up to the parents - how kids will view suspension, etc. often reflects how parents feel about it. Having said that, it is not a realistic punishment for the majority of American families who have either one parent only (and he/she works) or two parents who work - who's getting punished? The same is true of Saturday school (though in theory it's a great idea).
In my opinion (which I have learned doesn't mean a whole lot) OSS should only be used in the case of DANGEROUS students as was mentioned by another person, above. But what is suspension doing to change the situation? It may work to temporarily remove the danger from school, but it is certainly not a long-term solution. Kristi in Virginia
Is suspension from school an effective mode of discipline?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 21, 2008 - 07:11.
I think also that oss should be taken out of schools especially when a student is not doing good in school in there studies and then give them oss. My son has been in oss three times this year over a new uniform policy they come up with this year and one time was because of the kind of shoes he had on.He even tryed to go on to school the one day and they made he come home I think the scool system needs to concentrate on school studies instead what kind of shoes someone wears.
Suspensions - Are they effective?
Submitted by Leslie (not verified) on February 4, 2008 - 17:12.
I have done a considerable amount of research on in-school vs out-of-school suspension policies around the United States. My school district (in Alaska) enacted an In-school suspension (ISS) program approx 3 weeks ago as an alternative to suspending students outside school.
The rationale is that out-of-school suspensions basically "reward" students for minor infractions such as skipping class or being tardy too many times. They sleep in, watch Jerry Springer, call their friends to hang out or cause mischief in the community while parents are at work. In-school suspension keeps them in school (isolated from peers), enables them to continue with class assignments w/o falling behind academically and "gets their attention!" This seems to be somewhat effective for good kids with a few minor disciplinary issues.
However, 37 years of research by the Northwest Regional Educational Labratory and other entities has shown that without a "counseling or behavior modification" component, there is no indication that shows an improvement in individual student behaviors over the long term. Students need to be TAUGHT social & behavioral skills to avoid repeating the problem behaviors that got them in trouble to begin with; otherwise ISS programs become a "dumping ground or holding tank" for students that staff don't want to deal with. In a perfect world, these skills would be taught at home by parents. The reality is a large majority of these students have never been taught the necessary appropriate behavioral & social skills. ISS is the perfect opportunity & place to teach these particular students that may not have the option to learn these skills anywhere else.
Personally, I would rather see a QUALITY, EFFECTIVE ISS program than continue to see students recieve out-of-school suspensions for minor infractions. You know, "The punishment should fit the crime" theory. Any situation that is a safety issue for students or staff should be dealt with by all legal means available...today's youth need to know that there ARE consequences for their actions and they ALWAYS have a choice on how to appropriately or inappropriately deal with a conflict or situation they are faced with.
I have worked in the alternative high schools of my district for the past 10 years. I am now in a "traditional" high school implementing this ISS program.
Every day I remind myself of a phrase spoken by Thomas Sergiovanni - "The children we teach will not care how much we know until they know how much we care."
This was ABSOLUTELY true in the alternative schools and our students let us know! It is much harder to make those connections with kids in the larger, traditional high schools, but I firmly believe these words are as important to student success as any program or curriculum we could implement!
out school suspension
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on January 25, 2008 - 21:27.
Ok iam a victim of an out school suspension because of a fight that happened in school wit my friends and anotha gurl .our friends were not friends with tha otha gurl because of a predicament dat occured before so a fight escaladed where some kids jumped in the fightNow I understand it was none of our buisness to fight and jump in from the get go we should have told our friend to jus leave dat situation alone..our parents where called into for a school meeting and we wherethen informed about oss we where all in jepordey because we wanted our parents to see us on the graduation stage graduating out the school to go to high school after we where informed that there is a possibility that u won't graduate because in oss they don't care bout u and my problem is why put a student of your school in oss when u know that you aren't cared about now to me it is shown on the teachers that they don't care about us and watever happens to us happens and and when u show that u don't care about a student it makes them seem as thou they have no porpuse of being in school to learn and that makes them want to act up more the day of the meeting our parents cried for us and begged and pleeded for the school to give us one more chance now some teachers or principal or whoever makes da descsion of wheater to keep situations like these in house or out house should at least think about now is imagine their own child going thru da same thing they would have tryed their best to get their daughter or son out of the situation cause it not good news hearing your child might not graduate.Now wen u go to oss I was told that its not up to the child to choose witch oss to go to its left up to the hearings and stuff some children have to go to oss in the bronx queens harlem and things like dat and it doesn't matter how far u live u have to be there on time now there is absolutely no sense to send a child to oss when u learn nothing and hearing that some students go a whole year its harsh come on yall teachers help the students I understand some kids are disrespectful and stuff and are stubborn but help them when you keep trying with them they will some where down the line realize thet you care and parents can do the same its hard on parents because some of them have to go to work and its extra money to give your own child for transportation and I think when schools do that its a sign of wickedness that's like being a devil I'm sorry to say.If teachers and principals and deans are expecting their schools to be good and be the best they should save children from suspension and offer programs inside the school to help them wit the problem and also ask the child if they think what they did was wong.Now all of us in the meeting with our parents knew we where wrong its not like we are sayin oh well what we did was totaly rite cauze it wasn't and have teachers help them get on the rite track and wen they are they move along from there.Now we are fighting for the principal to just keep the whole situation in house but have it come along wit consequenses and also a warning.Now I feel as though the board of education is wicked and likes to see children mess up and I have no doubt about that.Now the only thing us and our parents have left to do is pray.Its to much.
I have the solution
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 18, 2007 - 18:37.
I am a teacher that has to deal with children that really do not care. Could be a tough front might not be. It intrigues me how people that do not deal on the day to day basis with the situation have a cure all. Let's talk to the kids find out why they feel this way. Why do you feel that you have to misbehave? Could it really just be the kid is numb to life? Could it be that the concept of right and wrong is warped from the pollyanna days that we are living in? You tell me the solution is found in the home. Out of school does not help kids hang out when they are home. In school does not help students have non certified staff there basically keeping them quiet. Calling parents that have no control over there children does not help especially if neglect is evident and not substantiated by state standards. Stop making excuses for these kids and come up with the solution because if there is no consequence now they will have a consequence later and the judge will not care why do you feel this way. SPEND the money to create alternative counseling for those troubled students. Lower classroom size some students actually feel ignored and neglected in a room of 25 and what better way to get your attention is to act like an idiot. I don't understand is normally why many act up.
Stop relying on teachers to have a psych degree and let them figure out why do you feel the way you do? They do not get paid enough or do not have the time. Middle school and high school teachers see over 100 students in a day to day basis tell me do they have time to call up all of these students daily and find out why they feel they must behave. Time to inconvenience the parents. Let them come in and sit with their child. If they refuse then the child needs to not be with that parent. You don't have time to sit with your child then you don't need to keep the child.
Suspensions
Submitted by Leslie (not verified) on February 5, 2008 - 11:46.
I agree with most of your comments! My son was a very disruptive student and really didn't care about school. I had the record for parent/principal & parent/teacher conferences for his middle school. I'm not kidding - the principal had me on his speed dial! 6 years later and I'm still the ONLY parent to have EVER been on his speed dial!
At the time, I worked at another school approx 5 miles away. The school staff & his Dad and I were all at the end of our ropes.....we had tried everything we could think of to help him be successful @ school and to care about his education. Finally, my husband spent 2 days going to every class w/ our son.....what an amazing difference that made! The class clown was no longer "cool" with Daddy hanging out w/ him. Dad also got an inside view of how the schools worked and how aggravating it was for staff to have kids like our son. Problem was solved for the remainder of that year!
Our son's apathy toward education came from many different fronts. He was clinically depressed. He was diagnosed as BiPolar. We had him in counseling, which sometimes helped and sometimes didn't. BiPolar medications turned him into a zombie and a child we didn't recognize. He started caring about his education when he enrolled into our local alternative high school. He has always been good working w/ hands-on projects and assignments; which they utilize a lot. He was also able to take several welding courses, which he loved! He got school-to-work credits for maintaining a job within the community and only had to attend school for 3 hours a day. The staff DID have the time to talk to him, find out what was happening in his life and offer him assistance when he needed it; whether that was counseling, academic assistance, a kick in the butt (verbally), etc.
Thomas Sergiovanni once said,"The children we teach will not care how much we know until they know how much we care." This is very true. I have worked for my school district for 14 years; 10 in the alternative high schools. We get students the "traditional" schools have given up on or washed their hands of. I have close friends that teach in these large schools and they DO have over 130 students per day! HOW & WHEN do they have the time to check the emotional well-being of every student? How is a math teacher to instruct 47 students in a 45 min class period? Of course many of the discipline problem students act out because they don't understand the material and help isn't available when they need it - now they have time on their hands to disrupt others!
In the smaller school, we had an average of 15 students per class - we had time to check w/ Johnny to find out when his last meal was or where he was sleeping last night. When a student hasn't eaten in a few days, is sleeping in his truck in the cul-de-sac and is trying to figure out where to get gas $$ to make it to school tomorrow; he will have a very difficult time learning reading, writing & math. His attitude will probably not be good - at that point all it takes for Johnny to lose it is another rude student or a non-intentional slight by a teacher. Johnny's now a discipline problem because he lost his cool and responded inappropriately; he's sent to the office where admin throws the book at him and reaffirms his impression that no ones cares. Johnny now drops out because, "Why bother - they all hate me anyway. They don't care. I'm just stupid."
Many of today's youth do not parents/role models at home to teach them social and behavioral skills to avoid problem behaviors. Effective in-school suspension programs that utilize a counseling/behavior modification component have proven to be successful in assisting these students improve their behaviors. Limiting school sizes, class sizes, teacher workloads, etc would give staff the TIME to care and dig deeper into Johnny's issues!
The bottom line as I see it: It is our job as educators to teach students how to be successful, contributing, productive citizens within our schools and communities. Out of school suspensions DO NOT work toward that end goal. We need to guide students and provide them with the problem-solving skills they need to walk that road alone later in life. I believe knowing someone cares about them individually and the power of positive reinforcement, versus negative reactive measures, benefit students with behavioral issues more than anything else.
no i think suspention is a total waste of time
Submitted by Gossip Gurl (not verified) on December 10, 2007 - 17:07.
no its not at all. i have NEVER EVER IN MI LIFE been in iss oss or detention. and i jus dont c da point of taking a student out of class to let them sit in a room and do nothing but worksheets. for 1 they miss out on important class lessons and much more. i think that schools need to find a more affective way to dissapline students because iss and oss is just another way for kids to flunk. i do think that children should be responsible for their actions but should not miss valuble school time for them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
xoxo
Gossip Gurl
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