The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

Who I am: Chris Lehmann

What I do: Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA (Opening 9/06).

What I did: Technology Coordinator / English Teacher / Girls Basketball Coach / Ultimate Coach at the Beacon School, a fantastic progressive public high school in Manhattan.

Email: chris [at] practicaltheory [dot] org.

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Gary Stager about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Tue, 31.08.2010 05:14
I may have linked to the
wrong Merrow article -
http://takingnote.learnin
gmatters.tv/?p=4433

Gary Stager about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Tue, 31.08.2010 05:05
Dear Chris:

We've had this discussion
privately, so I hope you
don't mind that I involve
the [...]

Julie Strong about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Mon, 30.08.2010 13:35
I'll be curious to see
how #5 evolves. In
independent schools we
rarely lack for parent
[...]

dcollins about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Sat, 28.08.2010 07:32
Those are great things to
look forward to! At my
alternative school, I'm
looking forward to seeing
[...]

Andrew Marcinek about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Sat, 28.08.2010 06:42
I am sure it will be very
weird vibe without your
original class in the
building, but now you
have [...]

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Monday, June 2. 2008

The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

My first reaction to the Cheektogawa student discipline policy is now up at The Faculty Room. Here's the opening snippet:

Maybe it works. Maybe if we create a detailed enough system of extrinsic motivators and punishments, we can drag kids kicking and screaming to a scholasticism that is missing in many schools. Maybe we have tipped the scales so far toward overindulging the whims and desires of youth culture, that a little law and order — or a lot of it in the case of Cheektowaga Central Middle School – is what’s in order.

Maybe.

But I kept going back to one thought:

I wouldn’t want my child to go there….

Posted by Chris Lehmann in General Ed at 07:36 | Comments (10) | Trackbacks (0)

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Hi Chris,

You've hit on exactly the evaluation tool I've always used for determining whether an educational policy is a good one or not: would I want my own children subject to it. (Of course, now I have to ask if I would want my grandchildren subject to it.

Would that this were a question all policy makers ask of themselves.

All the best,

Doug

#1 Doug Johnson (Link) on 2008-06-02 08:18 (Reply)

It's interesting that the private school my kids attend has similar (although not quite as coarse) policies and rules. They're enforced consistently and it's obvious the kids benefit from it inside and outside of school. Where's the harm in teaching kids responsibility for their actions and inactions?

#2 Art Gelwicks (Link) on 2008-06-02 08:39 (Reply)

I see nothing wrong with the discipline policies outlined in that article. They are teaching the students responsibility in a consistent manner. We have some similar policies at my school; I wish we would ban students with too many detentions/referrals from sports teams or other extra curricular activities. They should be a privilege, not a right.
What that school is doing right, as well, is they are rewarding the good behavior. I might even suggest that at my school, or maybe just implement with my own classes; a monthly (or maybe to start with bi-weekly) party for kids with GPAs above a certain point and no discipline issues in my class.
BTW - I teach in a very culturally diverse school, but the economic status is mostly well above average. The students in my school think they are entitled and therefor don't have to be polite or follow rules.

#3 Karen (Link) on 2008-06-02 09:16 (Reply)

[I'd encourage folks to go to The Faculty Room to read the full post.]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with teaching responsibility, in fact, I'm a big fan. But I don't think you actually teach responsibility when everything is extrinsic and so much of student behavior is proscriptive.

We have three rules at SLA:
1) Respect yourself.
2) Respect the community.
3) Respect that this is a place of learning.

Everything else comes from that. It means we struggle with issues. It means we have to discuss. It means that we have to expect students to figure it out along with us. It's harder on some level, but it's also empowering and real, and in my opinion, it helps students learn the meta-lessons that will create more fully realized citizens.

If we create a proscriptive culture where all actions are measured against some external matrix of right and wrong, rewarded and punished, how do we ever expect to help students make decisions for themselves? Moreover, when all behavior is about accountability, not responsibility, then the kids who want rewards will follow the rules, and the kids who will not will seek to find the behaviors not yet outlawed and try to find the spaces in between, or worse, they will simply remove themselves from the equation.

Either way, I believe that, even more important than the subjects we teach are the meta-lessons about being human that we teach. I'm willing to live in a grey area if it means that we teach kids that morality is more than following a set of rules that someone else has proscribed.

#4 Chris Lehmann (Link) on 2008-06-02 20:34 (Reply)

Since I did go and read the full post before...

This article is dealing with a school and a social environment that has deteriorated past the ability to self-regulate through a series of stated guidelines. Both your school and ours are able to maintain their levels of operation through similar sets of guidelines, but in viewing the situation in the article I can completely understand how that school would need to take those steps to regain control over what had become an unmanageable situation.

Looking at examples from the article of students who receive detention for failing to carry their ID after being reminded of it the previous day is not an unusual policy in most public schools. Denial of the "pleasant" aspects of school life for students who struggle academically or behaviorally is also nothing new. In this case they have made it a core part of the students life. Think about it this way: how many of these students who learn through these hard lessons of personal responsibility are going to be come parents who pass along to their children the values of personal responsibility?

Some of the parents at CCS have a saying..."It's good to be in the bubble." There is a safe, easily maintained environment at the school, reinforced by clear guidelines and rules with defined penalties for failure to comply. To those who would think this too strict or limiting I would refer you to the number of students returning to our school after venturing into the "real world" and realizing "the bubble" is a better place for them.

This is very similar to what I saw at SLA when I visited. Your students are committed to attending the school. They have a personal investment in their futures and the future of the school, something many mandatory schools lack. It's that personal investment that makes respect mean something to them and carry the weight it should in balancing their actions and behaviors with the greater good.

For those of us "in the bubble" it can be disturbing to observe the tactics necessary to restore, or in some cases create, the bubble for other students at other schools. The question I have to end with is...if someone "burst our bubble" what would we be willing to do to restore it?

#4.1 Art Gelwicks (Link) on 2008-06-03 07:47 (Reply)

What this school appears to be doing is building intrinsic locus of control (hidden in all the rules). Behavior is not extrinsic, as most kids would like to believe at these ages (it's not my fault, something else made me do it, etc....), it is one of control that they need to be reminded of and mentored of daily by Teachers. High Teacher expectations, will yield high results. It is the role of the Parent at home to teach first and build this foundation to support success in classrooms. For many of the students not making the grade, their Parent support can almost always account (from the younger years up to school). What needs to be understood now, is for that child not making the grade, are they alone in the effort, or is the Parent(s)/extended family able to do their part?

This seems a low level issue, called behavior modification, like Pavlov. Good support and positive reinforcement at home and school most often than not, will yield cooperation and intrinsic control of student behavior. Sounds bad, but good parenting yields strong students in most cases. Bad parenting, regularly yields confused students and poor quality at school. The District appears to be 'checking' the Parents by this policy. Hopefully this policy will shape those Parents that are not doing their part, whether 'too busy' for their kids, or not educated enough as Parents.

I support this policy, as it impacts the students with High expectations... now we will need to see how many parents feel it is too over-reaching..... (My guess, any Parents having problems with this policy haven't spent enough time each night with their children working on homework).

Of course I am generalizing, but lets keep it simple and to the point as most of what I am mentioning covers most of our struggling students.

#5 Jason on 2008-06-03 01:24 (Reply)

Using such draconian tactics will certainly have the desired effect of raising the schools standards, and I am sure the school average will lift considerably. But, it will only lift through students relocating, dropping out or worse......how could middle school students feel good about themselves and enjoy school? A great reality check Chris....I wouldn't want my child to go through this!

#6 Simon Power (Link) on 2008-06-03 05:26 (Reply)

As a k-12 administrator I wish we could follow through on some these ideas. We've talked about being tougher on those who are not working on their academics.

As a counsellor and a parent, I have seen students succeed and graduate only because of extra-curricular. It is the sports that keeps them coming to school and, perhaps through osmosis, they do learn enough math and language arts to get a diploma. That is one we kept from dropping out. And that is my biggest fear - where do you draw the line at helping these kids or pushing them away from what they need?

#7 D. Collins (Link) on 2008-06-03 07:21 (Reply)

One resource to check is Developmental Design - http://www.originsonline.org/dd_index.php (middle school) and Responsive Classroom http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/about/aboutrc.html(elementary). (Educators for Social Responsibility has some materials for high school but not developed to the same degree.)

I don't know if "cracking down" initially is necessary to move toward an approach similar to Developmental Design / Responsive Classroom. I'm not advocating"ends justifies the means." Nevertheless, most school's are not highly selective, magnet schools, like SLA. Students have selected, and been selected for SLA, because of previous achievement, interest in academics, etc. As a teacher and parent, I would like a Developmental Design approach but it requires 100% staff agreement, administration listening to and respecting staff input, and parental support. I think it can be sold to most parents if the focus is on the long term benefits while recognizing the short term difficulties. That said, I've also worked at a school where some students face no consequences because of their "talent" while others get no special treatment. Whatever approach, it has to be consistent. I've taught the principal's favorites - they end up very arrogant toward staff and peers.

Like previous posts, my bottom line is what I'd like for my children. Two of my kids have ADHD - I've attended "training" for parents and it all focuses on rewards and loss of privileges. When I've questioned this approach, I've been asked "what else is there?" The approach at Cheektowaga is considered the "norm" or necessary. If approaches like Developmental Design are going to be considered for all students, including my kids with ADHD, it will take many schools taking a long term approach. I don't want my kids or students to assume they "deserve" tangible rewards nor do I want them assuming every misstep is punished. I'd like them (and me) to grow into a person who finds satisfaction in the intrinsic reward of feeling like a decent person.

#8 Donna (Link) on 2008-06-07 07:52 (Reply)

I keep thinking back to that whiny kid who is failing three subjects. "They're taking everything away!" Guess what, buddy? When you're failing in three major parts of your job, the boss is going to can you. Then he'll whine again, "Everything is being taken away." I applaud this principal. He's doing kids like that a big, big favor.

#9 Dave (Link) on 2008-06-19 15:06 (Reply)

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Monday, June 2. 2008

The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

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