So, it wasn't my intention to talk about discipline for a third week in a row. Then I read aletter to the school board of Louisiana's Lafayette Parish written by teacher Abby Breaux, and so much of what she said resonated with me and with other teachers I know that I wanted to mention it in this blog. Ms. Breaux is a 25-year veteran teacher who is leaving the system due to manifold frustrations, including emphasis on standardized testing, de-emphasis on creative teaching, newfangled education "plans" that are pushed on teachers and then done away with in short amounts of time (one of my fellow teachers sometimes calls these plans "magic beans"), and of course, the consistent loosening of disciplinary standards system-wide.

Ms. Breaux calls attention to a problem of students who are not held accountable for their behavior. Rather than blaming teachers for their decision to act out, disrupt class, and make poor choices, Ms. Breaux states that consequences for violating rules must be made known to students and enforced consistently, from grades K-12. She points out that the same students who--in their younger years--constantly got away with "little infractions" are now the ones featured in the news under "local arrests." Furthermore, when administrators do not back teachers up on disciplinary issues with students, it sends a clear message: Students do not have to respect teachers, and are not held responsible for your own actions.

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