>> behavioral issues in the schools: teachers respond to tom's column

Dear Tom,
As an educator, I would like to respond to your article about one child disrupting a classroom. An experienced teacher can handle the disruptive child. What stands in the way of that is parental interference. Teachers used to worry about the disruptive child in their class. Now they spend countless hours conferencing with the parent of that disruptive child who makes excuses for the unacceptable behavior, refuses to allow consequences, and finds a way to blame other children or even the "school climate" for the fact that Johnny threw a rock and hit another child in the head. Until teachers and administrators are allowed to make the decisions regarding a child's behavior and possible consequences for that child, yes, one child can adversely affect the education of each and every person in that classroom. Bullying doesn't just happen on the playground. Anonymous
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Dear Tom,
As a substitute teacher I am very happy that someone is finally addressing the undisciplined student problem. I'm sure that you are aware that the education of children in higher socioeconomic areas is superior to the education of children living in lower socioeconomic areas. A lot of the problem in lower areas is lack of parent involvement and the home situations that do not teach respect for authority. The school district I work for actually pays a higher rate to substitutes teaching in difficult schools. I feel so sorry for the children trying to learn, but it becomes almost impossible. Disruptive behavior is just as bad for the regular teacher as for the substitute. I worry about what is going to happen to these children and what effect it will have on our future.

My suggestions are based on the premise that suspending disruptive kids is a reward for bad behavior.

SUGGESTIONS
Saturday school with the parents accompanying the child (and perhaps paying a fee to cover the cost of the
Saturday school administrator)
Parents required to take a parenting class
Military type alternative schools with tight discipline and vigorous exercise
On school site classrooms for disruptive students with tight discipline and vigorous exercise
After school classrooms with tight discipline and vigorous exercise
Principals trained in intervention who can then work with their staff with consistent consequences
Older student's mentoring and input concerning the value of an education

Thank You,
K.W.
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Before the 1970s there was a law that exempted school boards, school administrators, and public school teachers from law suits. At the height of the Civil Rights movement Congress rescinded this law to give minorities greater opportunity for redress of grievances in the courts. An unintended consequence of this well intended act is the lack of discipline and order today in public schools. Boards, administrators, and teachers will not take a strong stand for order lest they be sued (at great personal cost and great expense to the tax payer). Until this pre-70s law is reinstated, public schools will continue to suffer loss of public order and the resulting academic costs to our children and to the society at large.

Charles T.
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Attached is my contribution to your request for ideas on dealing with school discipline.

I hope you are having a lovely summer. I sure am!

Thank you for acknowledging a very big problem in education. Everyone is always searching for new discipline ideas. Or updating and revamping their tried and true methods in the classroom. Each year is totally different because every combination of students in a classroom is pretty random and we don't know what will work best with the particular children we have been given.

One thing I do know for certain. I love my job. Hopefully we will not give up on fairly disciplining students. I feel that it is a huge part of my job to help these children become well rounded and to develop a socially acceptable presenting self. Perhaps it is my background, but I still feel that "manners" are an essential component to a happy life.

Sincerely yours:

C.B.
6th Grade Teacher
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Dear Mr. McMahon,

As I sat at home during my first week of summer break, enjoying the local paper, I stumbled across your article titled "Undisciplined Students Drag Down Education". As an elementary school public educator, I was, to say the least, disgusted by what seemed to be your lack of investigation before writing this article. I have to ask, when was the last time you were a teacher in a classroom of 20 six, seven, or eight year olds? What experience do you have to base your writing on, besides what seemed was a peek through the classroom doorway to see a child misbehaving?

I will openly admit, a misbehaving child can take a teacher's time away from other students, and can take time out of the learning process. I work in a tough school where 85% of my children are second language learners, on free or reduced price lunch, and many go home to households with parents who are illiterate, or if they are literate, often cannot understand or speak English. While this makes it hard to get homework help at home, or have someone to read with, or even tell how your day was while practicing English, the overarching theme I see is that when those parents truly love and care for their children, no economic or language roadblock gets in the way of what kind of a student they are raising. The children who misbehave, 9 times out of 10, come from homes where families are uninvolved, show a lack of caring and involvement in their children's education and future, or have a lack of rules and structure at home. I grew up in a school very different from the one I work in now, and I can tell you the children who misbehaved in my classes, were the ones who had absentee parents or were allowed to call the shots at home and did not know how to respect authority. I work hard to manage behavior in the classroom and on the playground, but Tom, I must remind you, I am one person who has these students for a mere 7 hours a day (over an hour of that time being lunch and recess) for 9 months of the year. My students learn respect for themselves, others, and their education in my classroom; but if they go home to parents who either teach and model the exact opposite of that behavior at home, or show a lack of interest, of course students are going to act out for attention at school, or use coping mechanisms such as shouting or hitting, which they learn at home.

The moral of the story, Tom, is that the real issue with children who behave lies at home. I guarantee if you followed those children who are taking time away from learning in the classroom, to their home, no matter the neighborhood or school district, you would find a lack of structure, rules or concern at home from the parents. Please consider retracting the statements you made about how public education has lost structure (I also highly doubt every child in a classroom was respectful and well behaved in the 1970's) and urge parents to take responsibility for the children they are raising, and seek help in doing so if they need it. A teacher can do so much to impart wisdom, and social skills during a 7 hour day, but the real shaping of a child's character occurs at home.

Sincerely,

E.D.
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Hello Tom.

I would like to begin by letting you know how much I enjoy reading your columns. I always find them very interesting and educational for me as a grandparent.

My letter to you is in response to your column titled "Undisciplined students drag down education" dated today, June 18, 2008.

Like you stated in your column, the lack of control of students in the classroom as a very big problem in today's education.

Why, should one or two children be allowed to disrupt a classroom where other children are present and eager to learn? I feel that the school disciplines incorrectly, they threaten with idle words that they really don't mean because they are suppose to try and keep the child in school (Only for the daily monies accrued for each student attending class. Every day a child stays home the school district loses money and the district frowns on that).

I feel the only way to solve the discipline problem in the classroom is to first of all, send the student to the office and have the school Administrator call the parent/parents in for a conference. It is always good to find out why the student is acting the way he/she does during class. Many factors can be the cause for a disruptive child. Perhaps some other problem is going on such as inability to comprehend what the teacher is teaching and the student acts out in frustration or maybe even a possible family crisis at home, etc.

Second, after a parent conference inform the parent/parents that this behavior must end and that both school and home will work together in a positive way to help the child change. If after a short period, say you give the parent/parents two weeks to work on his/her child's behavior. And if after that time the student's disruptive behavior does not improve, a final meeting with parent/parents will be called to let them know that this behavior will no longer be tolerated while in class. The child is to be disciplined by his/her parent not the school. The school's responsibility will be to call the parent at home or at their workplace to come to school and pick up their child each time he/she acts up in class in a disruptive manner. The parent will be called and the child will go home until he/she learns how to act in the classroom. And finally, if the student keeps disrupting the class, send him/her home and sooner or later the parent/parents will get the message to find out from the student what is wrong and how they as parents can help correct the discipline problem.

I know that this seems a little harsh on the parent but we must remember that the parent/parents are responsible for their child's behavior and not the school's. If the parent/parents are called enough time perhaps they will do their VERY IMPORTANT roll as a parent, teach them respect, kindness and love and excitement for learning.
Remember, school is for learning not for babysitting a misbehaved child.

Lets all do our part as a parent, grandparent, uncle or aunt to teach our children to love to go to school and learn as well as respect one another.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to me.

Joe from Fremont, CA
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Hello,

Although I am not a parent, the headline of your column today caught my eye. I am a former substitute teacher and current independent study high school teacher. As a substitute teacher, I worked exclusively at the elementary level. As you said in your column, just one or two kids in a classroom can make life miserable for everyone else. As a sub, I expected kids to act out and try to push my buttons. On those days, I was always happy when the principal would back me up and follow through when I sent someone to the office. It does no good for the teacher to punish and then have the principal fold in the face of parent pressure.

Since the '70s there has been a pronounced lack of fortitude on the part of many parents. As a teacher, I can tell you that parents nowadays are very reluctant to be authority figures in their homes. Instead they want to be their child's best friend, in order to preserve the child's self esteem. It is the rare child who is unwilling to exploit this situation. Before the parent knows what hit them, their child is in charge and all hell is breaking loose both at home and at school.

As I see it, there needs to be an unwritten contract between the parents and the administration at the child's school. Principals and teachers need to enumerate their rules and strictly enforce them; parents need to buy into this, without that parental knee-jerk response that the school is "out to get their kid". If a child consistently misbehaves in the classroom, the parents need to be called about it every time and there need to be consequences at home for this disciplinary breach. I was always happy when the principal would back me up and follow through when I sent someone to the office. It does no good for the teacher to punish and then have the principal fold in the face of parent pressure.

Most of all teachers would be ecstatic to finally see parents who are parents and not wet noodles when it comes to their child. Parents need to be willing to become authority figures and give up the best friend designation. Parents need to become more like their own parents were when it comes to managing their home and their kids. Parents are too afraid of "damaging" their kid's little psyche. Kids are resilient and damage is not done if parents are parents and not abusers.

Parents use the excuse that they don't have time in their lives any more to enforce rules and stay on top of things. Baloney. I was a latch-key child before they even had that name for it and I never got into trouble or embarassed my parents with utterly stupid and perhaps illegal behavior and my psyche is just fine.

Parents need to reclaim the role of authoritarian. Only then will we see a change of behavior in the classroom. It is possible to be authoritarian and show you love your child. Parents should not be afraid to be parents.

M.C.
Antioch, CA
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I am one of those teachers that left the profession due to lack of support in dealing with kids. (terrible low pay in Ca was number one) I always felt that even the poorest neighborhoods could have good school if the disruptive kids were removed, dealt with effectively, anything to get them out of the way so that the majority could learn in peace..
We need reform and more resources to help schools and teachers.. Cut the military budget and add to school.. this situation gets more desperate each year.
thanks
Ted