ON SCHOOL DISCIPLINE, WE CAN DO BETTER

from Steve Peha's 

Dan Willingham has a great review of a new report on improving school discipline. Listen to this: “The report starts with two grim facts. First, present practices are ineffective. Policies tend to focus on student removal—suspensions, expulsions and arrests—as a way to keep schools orderly and safe. But while they are removed, the offenders fall behind in their schoolwork, and removal puts them at greater risk for dropping out or getting in trouble with the law. Second, present policies are poorly implemented. Students are often suspended for minor infractions such as cell phone use, and kids from some groups—those with disabilities, kids of color, and LGBT youth—are disproportionately disciplined.” Read the whole story here.

NOTE: I wrote an article a year or so ago for The Principal Center in a series I called “Principles for Principals”. The piece is called “The Principle of Discipline.” It takes on issues like zero tolerance policies and suggests more effective “one step” approaches to discipline as opposed to the more common “systems of escalating consequences”. The Principle of Discipline is this: “To discipline is to disciple; discipline is teaching, not punishment.” Sadly, even with all the research we have, and all the common sense we’re exposed to, we have yet to embrace the idea of teaching kids to be more disciplined in their choices of words and actions. Yes, “student removal” is more convenient than student instruction, but who chooses to work in education out of convenience? Download the PDF here.