Educational Issues Research Paper

Valerie Castrejon
VTFT II
2A
January 20, 2015

Valerie Castrejon
Mrs. Frierman
VTFT II
20 January 2015
Discipline Intervention: Educational Issues
Disciplinary interventions must be renovated in order for our school system to progress
with a new age and generation. We need to push away from the normality of punishment and
introduce students to a discipline intervention that involves a reinforcer. A point system should
be brought up where students who misbehave have the chance to redeem themselves by gaining
points. Research has shown that positive consequences have a greater effect on students than
punitive consequences.(Discipline strategies and interventions) This teaches discipline and
responsibility. Students receive ISS, OSS, and Detention for sometimes things that they cannot
control. Whether it is mental instability or something going on at home that causes them to react
negatively with others at school. One must evaluate a students conditions before making any
drastic decisions. There are many downfalls to disciplinary actions such as ISS and OSS. There
are also many substitutes to replace the normality we have always known.
I myself have experienced a day in ISS. I was given ISS under unfair circumstances. In
eleventh grade, I was given ISS for use of cell phone when I was not the only one on my phone,
and I feel that they just were looking for a reason to tie me into something that was blown out of
proportion. I was not given the opportunity to redeem myself and even my mother wanted to
come into the school to complain but I begged her not to. Parents, from experience, although are

ok with disciplinary actions also find injustice in the system and in order for change we must all
request it. Children have lives at home and sometimes life happens and sometimes kids cant
help the way they behave. Sometimes undesirable behavior is motivated by children striving to
feel okay in spite of experiences that have left them with emotional deficits. (Analyzing
discipline problems) Administrators need to stop and get an insight before they make a choice.
All children learn by example. How is a teacher going to say something like Think before you
Speak yet not show the student how to do that? Students often find discipline to be the feeling
of attention and a lot of students lack that at home. Not only are students already not in a safe
environment at home where their actions are misjudged and every decision they make has to be
the right one but now they go to school scared of when their next detention is because a teacher
simply does not understand. Disciplinary actions require patience and thought. Its crucial that
no discipline approach damages a childs growth in self-esteem, self-discipline and moral
autonomy.(Analyzing discipline problems) In my AP Psychology we discussed this very topic
and we all came to the consensus that our schools systems form of disciplinary actions is
punishment and not reinforcers. You can get out of a reinforcer after you have learned a lesson
but as for a punishment you are stuck in a black hole.
There is a plethora of things wrong with the disciplinary interventions our school holds. It
forces kids to be in a room with maybe just one teacher or maybe with a bunch of students but in
complete silence for seven hours where you do your work and if youre done you have to pretend
to have more work even when you dont. I felt like a prisoner in there and they had to walk us to
the bathroom in a single file line and we could not drink anything especially eat. I find this to be
child abuse, and neglect and morally wrong. Elements of a school- wide system include school
rules, teaching appropriate behavior, intervention plans, positive reinforcement for behavior, and

teaching of social skills. The last part says positive reinforcement. ISS, OSS and detention are
not positive reinforcers. In order to create a system where the punishment is considered a
positive reinforcer we must allow the students to find themselves and then be ready to move
on. In order for this to be possible we must teach students leadership, responsibility, and moral in
the classroom. There is much controversy over the effectiveness of school suspension since it
does not teach students more effective ways to handle conflict.(Alternatives to out-of-school
suspension) Ultimately, OSS is a loss of academic instructional time.(Alternatives to out-ofschool suspension) school is for learning and if you want a student to learn properly and fairly
they must be in the classroom.
In order to build a student up so he does not repeat the mistakes from the past a school
must develop a support group or free after school teaching on morals and leadership. Pro social
skills are proactive strategies taught to students to ensure that they obtain the necessary skills
required to function socially in society ex. Anger management, conflict resolution,
empathy.(Discipline strategies and interventions) No one knows where someone comes from
you do not know if they were raised with this knowledge or not and if the school is willing to
punish kids for it they must be willing to teach them what not to do in a proper environment.
Several schools have developed effective mentoring programs for at-risk
students.(Discipline strategies and interventions) Although First Colonial does have a mentoring
program it does not reach specifically to at risk students and I think it would be amazing if we
provided that for students struggling. If we gave them points for joining clubs, helping teachers
or community service around school.(Alternatives to out-of-school suspension) Why? Because
it shapes who they will be and all I know is that I did not learn anything from ISS I left angry and
felt neglected and no child should feel that way. The student can have a student teacher

conference before a parent teacher conference. The parent could even get more involved in the
classroom. Parental supervision was positively associated with fewer classroom
infractions.(Behavioral Disorders)
In the end, we must thrive for change if we want it. Create classrooms and schools where
students are given respect and are respectful back; where students learn by example from
teachers. Positive reinforcers could be like the detention First Colonial has implemented this
year. This detention allows students to redeem themselves by completing the work beforehand
and therefore not having to attend the detention. The most urgent need is a national resolve to
confront the problem of youth violence systematically, using research based approaches and to
correct the damaging myths and stereotypes that interfere with the task at hand.(Helping
Children) we need teachers to believe in students, and believe that they can change. We as a
society cannot let youth violence interfere with their education, students must learn how to
behave in a classroom and they could avoid getting in trouble all together.