Comments on: Torture is Illegal–the Case Against Social Promotion

By: Izola Brunt

Izola Brunt — Thu, 13 May 2010 01:38:52 +0000

Thanks for this neat relationship entry. It will just help mine out. Thanks again!

By: Craig Seganti

Craig Seganti — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:36:57 +0000

I am always trying to minimize the words necessary to get a point across. The bottom line is if a student is not required to do the consequence, then it is not a consequence, and if there is no consequence for not doing the consequence, it will take students about one day to figure that out and you might as well have no discipline at all. I only allow students to change detention days with a note from their parent, and that should not be common. Yes, the administrator only has to back your consequence and they should be thankful for that. However, they can make it much easier on themselves if they make announcement to your class that things will be more difficult for the student–there should be an added consequence if they have to go to administration before complying with you.

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:33:16 +0000

Craig,
I have read and love your book. I do have a question on the section dealing with students
coming in for detention. I write referrals for every student that does not report to his/her detention on the assigned day. Today, one of my administrators chastised me for the fact that I send referrals for this
reason. She told me that I should not bother sending referrals because all she does is ask the students when they will serve their detention with me with no other consequence. She also said the students should be allowed a day of their choosing to serve rather than me telling them the day to report. She stated that they probably did not show because the day I assigned was “inappropriate.” She also said if students do not report that I should just allow them to pick another day with no consequence. I really value any advice you have on this situation!
>
> Thank you for your time!

By: Craig Seganti

Craig Seganti — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:50:23 +0000

Well, punishment and detentions do work. I have 20 years evidence and hundreds of emails to prove it–as in ’saved my teaching career’ proving it. What they do, and I’m not being sarcastic, is exactly this: fix the relationship between teacher and pupil, from sibling arguing with sibling to respect for the adult ( and therefore facilitating the development of the student in the environment ).
Relationship: noun, the way in which two or more people or organizations regard and behave toward each other .
The problem is that relationship by many educators is being defined as some sort of endless dialogue, which is not relationship but endless dialogue.
I highly recommend ‘The Sibling Society’ by Robert Bly, which discusses how adults are treating the young as peers, and the damage that is doing.

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 08:11:42 +0000

Hi, Craig. I loved your book. It is so down to earth and real life as opposed to liberal goody-good stuff we have to do at our school. I am giving our Deputy Principal a selection of sections of your book to see if I can get buy in from senior administration at our school. But we have a management team that think punishments and detentions don’t work. Any discipline has to be looked at in terms of fixing the relationship between teacher and pupil. I’m thinking that I may have to tone down my expectations of being able to teach 100% of the time if I don’t get support from management. Any ideas how I go about turning the management team at our school away from the time consuming and new, hip thing called restorative justice?

By: Craig Seganti

Craig Seganti — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:40:09 +0000

As far as diverse ranges of ability, this is a result of the advent of social promotion, of which I have written about in ‘Torture is Illegal’.

By: Craig Seganti

Craig Seganti — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:37:28 +0000

If someone’s child is interfering with other students’ education, they can come in and babysit or empower you to have consequences. Teachers are educators with rights, and are not at the mercy of parents to dump them off at school as a babysitting/mental health service. Give them the choice of coming in to sit with their child to insure they behave, finding another school, or allowing the student to pay the price for breaking class rules.

By: bbrown

bbrown — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:51:06 +0000

Well, an update. I am now the 4th lesson in with the rules and OMG!!! I have had a very interesting time. I feel so mean when I issue a detention for a student who is trying so hard then slips up. I am afraid of building resentment in the kid who is actually trying to comply. Parents(some) are proving to be worse at complying than the kids! I am finding this incredibly nerve wracking especially talking to those hard parents. I still haven’t worked out how to broach that phone call re: after school detention. These parents flat out refuse to have their child stay. These parents think the detention is too harsh for the action. Fortunately, my Head of Department and Deputy Principal are supportive. My DP is suggesting to make it before school instead or another afternoon… to appease the hard parent. I am not sure how to handle as that makes it messier and harder for me to track. It is hard enough now! By the way, we have to give 24 hrs notice for after school detentions.
On doing meaningful work, how do I teach properly when so many students in the one class have such a diverse range of ability and each one of them might find something different as meaningful to them?
2 questions I have re: the rules. Students have a note for being late from another class/music lesson or teacher lets whole class out late so will be late for my class. Ideas on handling this?
I have some students who are happy to be out of my class and sitting in another class doing writeouts or whatever work is set. In short, they want to be sent out. Ideas?
I realise this is a thesis but I am working so hard at getting this right so I can teach properly and I feel like I can’t do this on my own. Every other hour I just want to forget it. It is also forcing me to be super organised in order to have good work for the students from bell to bell. Can you believe I am in my 13th year of teaching? I feel like a first year! Today was a wonderful day with this class, they worked from bell to bell and I felt great at the end!
I appreciate your time in answering my questions.

By: Craig Seganti

Craig Seganti — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:33:18 +0000

Sure-just hand them the rules to copy when they do come. Can work well if they see the rest of the class is already behaving. They won’t get the explanation, but that doesn’t matter if all is in order.

By: bbrown

bbrown — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:11:08 +0000

I am implementing the rules right now. The problem is the students stay away from school regularly and some will miss the first class of writing the rules and the demonstrations. Any ideas?