Ethics and Legality in Classroom Management

Faculty members believe that caustic punishment will have more of an impact (Kohn 320). They hope that a policy known as Zero Tolerance will help find a solution to enforce friendly behavior and eliminate violent behavior from the school system. Problems arise within the policy as it focuses on students that commit violence rather than trying to exterminate the issue or teach that this is improper behavior. Schools jump quickly to remove the troubled child from their campus for many reasons. The main reason for reaction is not due to safety concerns, but to the fact that school officials are more worried about having an Exemplary campus. In response, the student is not learning a moral lesson for their actions (Kohn 321). Kohn established his credibility by writing an educational and informative article about school safety. He used evidence and real life situations to connect with the readers. He connected with the reader’s emotions by stating instances where children have been affected or severely injured. He described the instances and provided examples as support. Through this essay, Kohn clearly established his concerns and problems that need to be addressed to make the public school system safer for everyone that enters.

School data suggests that the decision to suspend or excel a student depends on several factors including prior history of the student, particulars of the situation, and the teacher’s ability to manager classroom behavior (Skiba, 2003). However observations of classroom behavior show that the majority of students removed from urban classrooms were not primarily due to dangerous or major infractions of disciplinary policies and usually they weren’t even the worst offenders.

Studies have also found a correlation between exclusionary discipline and (1) increased school avoidance, (2) decreased academic engagement, (3) an increased rate of dropouts, (4) increased behavioral problems, and (5) increased involvement with the juvenile justice system. School administrators have the right to want to develop a safe climate for their students and teachers and remove threats from their schools. However, serious threats from students are rare. Nearly 60 percent of the suspensions and expulsions administered in HPS in 2009-2010 were administered for school policy violations—a category that includes things like insubordination, profanity, sleeping in class, and truancy—not serious safety concerns like violence against others or weapons.

With the use of technology comes great responsibility which leads to another key in effective schools which is a whole school behavior policy. Students need to know that if they misbehave there will be consequences. In the article, “Reforming School Discipline” Derek W. Black speaks of the importance of creating a fair behavior policy where suspension is not a key element. In my school there will be a set of universal rules that will be used throughout the whole school. Teachers will not be able to create

According to Reclaiming Michigan's Throwaway Kids (2009), students enter school each day and are often greeted by metal detectors, armed security guards, police dogs, school and local police on campus. Each year, more than 3 million students receive an out of school suspension because of their actions while on school property. Opponents claim these security measures limit a student’s opportunity to a quality education, reduces opportunities, and criminalizes students who lose their educational opportunities (Reclaiming Michigan's Throwaway Kids, 2009).

According to news reports, three teachers and an assistant principal in this district participated in activities that ranged from physically hurting students, cursing in front of students, and abusing paid leave time. Each of the employees involved was suspended for 30 days. Overall, the actions that the administrator and teachers partook in negatively impacted students and showed little regard for upholding the professionalism of education.

Schools have become correctional facilities where instructors closely monitor and attend to behaviors. No longer are they a safe place where troubled students can find peace and acceptance. Instead, students are at the mercy of the rules and the people who govern them. Some scholarly institutions have established zero-tolerance policies to correct what they deem intolerable student behaviors. Teachers have the authority to suspend students for consequential incidences such violence or bullying but also for the simple act of having a butter knife at lunch or talking back. Zero-tolerance policies often lead to severe consequences that do not take into consideration the circumstances in a situation and provide absolutely no benefit to the offending

Even though punitive approaches to discipline issues have proven to be ineffective, and even counterproductive, many educators and school districts still maintain a zero tolerance policy. It is crucial for the school administration and the educators to ensure that for both general education students and those who suffer disabilities, better discipline strategies and practices be instituted. These methods ensure the safety, dignity, and integrity of the student, the school community, and the learning environment. Moreover, they also address the causes of the misconduct, which improves long term outcomes and positive behavioral skills.

Every year, thousands of students are subjected to harsh punishment in public schools. Despite of heating them they are also suspended and arrested for small reasons. Let’s just talk about two days ago I was just going through my facebook feed and i saw that one teacher broke a 9 year old's jaw for disrupting a class. This kind of hardship is not only harmful to student but it also has a tremendous affect on their future. In “The Unintended Consequences of Taking a Hard Line on Discipline,” by Clyde Haberman talks about two different systems of punishment and their effects on students lives.

The public schools of the United States, despite their proud past, are currently experiencing many difficulties. They seem to be under constant scrutiny and pressure to produce higher academic achievement and at the same time are being criticized by large segments of society. It is no secret that the environment which students experience in the public schools has changed greatly over the past twenty to thirty years, but there are many possible reasons for this; most of these explanations do not place the blame squarely on the schools themselves. Public schools are responsible for one thing, however, and that is the manner in which they react to the changes that take place. Prompted by increased discipline problems within school halls,

In the 1980s, there was a policy shift toward laws that were tougher on crime. The public perceived that violent and serious juvenile crime was rising and that the system in place was not effective. Mostly, this was due to a misunderstanding regarding the increase of juvenile crime. Regardless of that, many states passed laws that mandated tougher punishments.4 This shift in public and political perception created a phenomenon that has continued to develop since the early nineties– zero-tolerance policies. The adoption of these policies in school discipline practices has considerably increased the number of children and adolescents suspended, expelled, and arrested for minor offenses in school.5 In recent years, we have seen public schools

The chances that a misbehavior will occur in the class are likely. Now that the misbehavior has happened what are you as the teacher going to do about it? I like the way that Barbara Colororoso would approach this misbehavior by helping the students learn self-control by following a list of four steps. The steps would include showing the students what they have done wrong, giving students ownership of the problems involved, when necessary guiding them to strategies that might solve the problems, and making sure students’ dignity remains intact. I think that all of these pieces are important because as the teacher you are helping the student learn to deal with that behavior and not just pushing it under the rug until it happens again. As

Disruptive behavior in schools has been a source of concern for school systems for several years. Indeed, the single most common request for assistance from teachers is related to behavior and classroom management. Classrooms with frequent disruptive behaviors have less academic engaged time, and the students in disruptive classrooms tend to have lower grades and do poorer on standardized tests. Furthermore, attempts to control disruptive behaviors cost considerable teacher time at the expense of academic instruction. School discipline issues such as disruptive behavior and violence also have an increased effect on teacher stress and burnout (Smith & Smith, 2006). There is a significant body of research attesting to the fact that classroom organization and behavior management competencies significantly influence the persistence of new teachers in their teaching careers (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). New teachers typically express concerns about effective means to handle disruptive behavior (Browers & Tomic, 2000). Teachers who have significant problems with behavior management and classroom discipline often report high levels of stress and symptoms of burnout and are frequently ineffective (Berliner, 1986; Browers & Tomic, 2000; Espin & Yell, 1994). The ability of teachers to organize classrooms and manage the behavior of their students is critical to achieving both positive educational outcomes for students and teacher

The education system in the modern, American public high school represents a pillar of upward mobility. Education has long stood as a symbol and mechanism for those of less fortunate backgrounds to put in the time and effort in order to better their social status and living conditions. And while the discussion on the education system is always seamless when concerning the opportunity provided to those students who make good grades and behave well in the classroom, the discussion becomes more disconcerting when the topic centers on the discipline of students who break the rules of society or the education system. Much like the prison system, the public school justice system has long rested on zero tolerance policies (Zehr,

After reviewing case #1, and examining several sources regarding ethics, I do not agree with the approach the teacher has proposed. It is obvious the teacher is upset with the principal and has substantial evidence to support her argument. Nevertheless, the educator is committing a fundamental flaw in jumping to conclusions before removing herself from the situation and making several rational considerations before pursuing action. First, the teacher would be served best by initially confronting the principal. According to the text, the best approach to address ethical violations is to discuss the problem with the violator (Mackenzie,2010). In this case, a discussion with the principal and not the chair of the board would be the correct course