Where does the buck stop? Schools no longer punish middle-schoolers

Frontiersman editorial board

Our society protects our rights and guarantees due process. These values have had unmistakable consequences on the environment of public schools.

A growing number of parents are so concerned with the state of public school discipline that they are removing kids from traditional public schools and turning to private, religious and home schools. The bulk of kids, however, continue public schooling.

The Make Your Day program which Valley middle schools currently use to address student behavior takes that authority away from teachers. Under MYD philosophy, teachers are not to punish unruly students by taking away recess, giving detentions or administering any other punishments.

Instead, students "choose" to go through a series of steps if they disrupt the class or talk out of turn. The first three steps are very similar, requiring students to face away from the class to think about their behavior. According to the philosophy, there are no "bad" choices, and no one is ever punished.

While this sounds very democratic, the consequences of disruptive choices are rather paltry and prolonged. During each step, the student waits about five minutes before the teacher asks if they are ready to return to class. If they aren't, they either wait a little longer or move to the next step.

At step four, the parents are called and a conference ensues in which the student is supposed to decide to go back to class, ready to learn. If they don't, then they either go home with their parents if the parents decide to take them home or they sit in another classroom for the rest of the day.

Proponents of MYD say students learn to internalize the consequences of their actions, and perhaps many do, but discipline policies have always been mostly for those who want to push the boundaries as far as they will go.

Unfortunately, teachers no longer have the power to run their classes as they see fit.

Teachers need more control and more support from parents and administrators, not less.

Giving students control of their own destinies is always the goal, however, they must first learn citizenship, respect and hard work. In order to accomplish these ends, teachers, not students, need the authority and administrative support to lead the way.