Step program frusrates student

Young Voices, by Robert Day

At Wasilla Middle School there is a program of discipline called "The Step Program." It was made to keep students in line and out of trouble. I believe the school is abusing the program and frustrating the students. Many parents and students have the same opinion as I do about the program.

When a student misbehaves, they have to go to "Step 1." Step 1 is when they have to sit facing the wall without talking for five to 50 minutes. If they talk or turn around on Step 1, then they go to Step 2.

On Step 2, they have to stand up facing the wall. If they misbehave on Step 2, they will go to Step 3. On Step 3, they have to stand facing the wall while reading the school rule, which is, "No one has the right to interfere with the learning, safety, or well-being of others." If the student talks or misbehaves on Step 3, they go to Step 4. This is when the parents have to immediately come in and talk to the teacher.

If the parent is at work and can't come, the student will sit on Step 3 all day in a different classroom, without talking or turning around. Students can get an automatic Step 4 for serious things like fighting or destroying school property. The problem is that students also can get Step 4 for things that are not so bad. One time I got a Step 4 and my parents had to come to the school because I put a hat on inside the building after school was out. Another thing that many kids have gotten Step 4 for is throwing a basketball from half court trying to make a basket, which I think is not fair at all. One time my friend picked up a girl over his shoulder and he had to sit on Step 4 all day.

I think that removing kids from the class for things like this is breaking the school rule of not interfering with someone's learning. The student is not allowed to be in class nor do any of their school work while they are on step.

There are numerous small things that will get a student on Step 1. Here are some examples: If a student doesn't walk fast enough to class, they get Step 1 for "not being in motion." If they walk too fast, they get Step 1 for a "safety issue." They get Step 1 for stopping to talk to friends in the hall between classes. They get Step 1 for hugging a friend of the opposite sex.

One of the rules that I hated the most was that students were not allowed to go to the bathroom during class.

It was because of these rules and the Step program that I dropped out of school. I can tell you that I get a lot more done and I learn a lot more in homeschool than in Wasilla Middle School. At home I am treated like a 14-year-old instead of a 4-year-old.

Robert Day is a Wasilla eighth-grader.