A Reader Writes... Suspensions - Part 1

In response to the 11/21/2013 post, “A Conversation with a Superintendent – Suspensions,” a LYS Principal writes:

SC,

Amazing insight! I totally agree. I saw the light 4-years ago and stopped handing out Out of School suspensions as a consequence!

SC Response

So much of running a school is a game. Everyday there are winners and losers.  As a Principal, my goal was to maximize as many win/win’s as possible and catch a couple of win/lose’s that were in my favor.

It always seems to me that if I suspended the student, that the student won and I lost.  He got to sleep late, laze around, carouse, and generally do things that I did not approve of.  On the other hand, if I made that student come to school, he lost and I won.  He had to get up early, go to class, follow my rules and generally do things that he did not want to do. So when push came to shove and I had to impose my will, it was MY will that the student be in school, MY school. And in this case, the student short-term loss always had the very real chance of becoming a student long-term win.

Think. Work. Achieve.

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