Schools may need to pursue alternative discipline methods (WNY Leftist Moron Alert!)

Buffalo News ^ | 11-21-04 | Mark Cameron

[Houmatt]

(A Letter to The Editor that I read yesterday:)

I am very sympathetic with Buffalo school teachers' concerns for their safety. However, I am concerned about the way in which school violence is described. In describing recent incidents at Lafayette High, the teachers, school officials and BTF President Phil Rumore all appeared to suggest that the cause of the problem of school violence resided entirely with the students involved in incidents or in disciplinary measures that are inadequately punitive and exclusionary. While students who act out aggressively are often troubled youths, research suggests that the "answers" sought by school officials regarding student violence must also include an examination of school environmental factors and problems in teacher, administrator and student relationships. Research also suggests that punitive responses to student misbehaviors are associated with worsening behavior, not its deterrence.

I agree that some students would benefit from counseling, but perhaps schools need a sort of counseling as well. Schools' over-reliance on punitive and exclusionary discipline is a simplistic solution that often creates oppositional "anti-heroes" of students, making teachers, other students and schools less safe. Effective alternative approaches to traditional disciplinary practices should be tried in schools with severe student misconduct.

Mark Cameron

Assistant Professor, University

at Buffalo School of Social Work

[eleni121]

I agree that this guy resides in the clouds of the school of social work and has next to zero knowledge of what really goes on in the classroom. He is coming at the problem from the left and does not address the role of screwy teachers and administrators...and let's not forget the parents who for the most part are non existent or less than quality parental material.

BUT...

Teachers and administrators are also responsible for this out of control behavior. They award passing grades and other goodies for barely tolerable behavior. They regularly provide positive feedback for less than adequate academic performance and they expect less than mediocre work from kids who do have the ability to perform better.

The unions and the leftist educationist establishment have made a mess of public schools and no amount of punishment is going to fix that!

[John R. (Bob) Locke]

Beat their @sses!

Bring back the REAL "Board of Education"!

"Time-outs" are a joke, and getting sent to the principal's office to sit by yourself for an hour or two means NOTHING.

My kids (11, 9, 7, and 4) know that if they get in trouble at school (no such thing as a "paddling" around here), the fur is going to fly at the house. So, they almost never (once a school year each, at most) cause trouble during class, lunch, or recess.

Something about "Spare the rod and spoil the child" in there somewhere.