LYS Nation,
First, if you
truly believe in keeping children in the classroom, do it. There is
nothing stopping you.
Second, I
virtually eliminated ISS on two high school campuses and now in my
district. The result of this work
has been two-fold: it works for kids; most teachers hate it. Now let's
explore a couple of ideas.
As you
indicated children spend a whole lot of time in ISS for dress code and other
trivial violations. I would ask you these questions.
What are you
trying to accomplish with your dress code?
Is your
academic program so strong you have time and resources to devote to dress code
enforcement and other trivial issues?
Can a child
still learn with an earring?
This is where
Cain and I differ: I think dress code is largely a waste of time, for more than
one reason.
Cain will say
dress code is important to teach children an expectation of middle class
life. That may certainly be true.
However, there is something between high school and most paths to the
middle class life style, and it is called college. I have taught at
universities, and I can tell you student dress is an absolute free for all.
So for me, I see little value in the idea of holding the line in public
schools on an issue that has dubious (zero?) academic benefits and is an
absolute non-issue at every university I have ever seen.
Also, dress
code and other trivial concerns are not really discipline issues, they are
nuisances. Some teachers like to call them discipline issues for a variety
of reasons. Some teachers can't
separate the issues of discipline from the fact they have
no guarantee or right NOT to be annoyed by children. Children
CAN and WILL be annoying. Other teachers know they can get administration
concentrating on the petty things children do, and then leadership has no time
to concentrate on meaningful adult issues, like improving teachers and
instruction. And there is an unfortunate group of teachers who use the
perception of discipline as a weapon against administration.
The old model
was that if the child annoyed the teacher, the teacher got a three-day break
from the child via ISS. I had mentor principals who advised me to do just
that. And principals, don’t try to fool yourself into believing that
staffing ISS with a certified teacher makes a difference. There is simply
no way a single teacher (particularly at the secondary level) can effectively
teach a child all subject areas. Are you committed to staffing your ISS
with a full team of instructional core teachers? I will bet your
superintendent isn't ready for you to do that.
Keep in mind
the idea of student discipline being out of control is universal and largely a
myth. Do the following Google search, "teacher student discipline
perceptions." You will find
teachers all over the world identify nuisances as discipline problems.
Even in the stereotypical "well disciplined" Asiatic
countries you will find articles concerning teachers' perceptions of student
discipline problems. I find that simply fascinating.
SC Response
First let me clarify
my position on dress code. If you
have one, it should be:
1. Designed to further
something the organization values.
2. Universal
3. Modeled by the
adults in the organization
4. Enforced
If you will not, there
is no cannot in this case, meet all four requirements, then don’t have a dress
code. So in summary, model and enforce what you believe in or don’t be a
hypocrite.
Second, if used
correctly, dress code builds esprit de corps and provides children a model of
purposeful dress. The dress codes
on my campuses were designed to give my students a model of (and a closet full
of) appropriate job interview attire.
We dressed for success and for the job we wanted, not the job we
had. That is a life skill, not an
academic skill.
I like your point
about the three-day break. I
briefly worked for a Superintendent who told me to back off my no-expulsion,
no-suspension, and no-ISS polices because my staff needed respite. No mention that no one could match my
campus for safety and performance.
I was faced with a classic, “If you and your boss have a problem... it is
your problem” dilemma. So I
ignored his “Couldn’t be more wrong” suggestion and polished my resume. If you are not willing to face the
consequence of your convictions, then you don’t have any.
I have to second
your observation about the universal belief that student behavior is always
getting worse. I recently spent a number of days assessing a large
district. One of the primary
complaints from teachers was that discipline was out of control, which was
creating a detrimental effect on instruction. Here is what I observed after 24 hours of in-class
observation on seventeen campuses. Only four instances of disruptive student
behavior. But the kicker was this;
in all four cases the teacher was the antecedent. In each case, poor or lazy adult practice set up a student
to fail. And in each case, the teacher wanted something done to the
student. So maybe ISS is student
respite from adults. Something for
me to consider.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
- Call Jo at (832)
477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies
available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
- Call Jo at (832)
477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School
Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on
Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook
- Now
at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite
(Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool)
- Upcoming Presentations: NASSP National Conference; The 21st Century High
School Conference
- Follow
Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation and
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