Disciplinary push-ups?
Last week, I followed the story of a teacher and principal of an Anne Arundel County charter school being investigated for asking misbehaving students to do push-ups and sit-ups. The county's Child Protective Services is investigating the complaints. The principal and teacher have been temporarily reassigned to central office desk jobs, pending results of the investigation and their absence has parents and students reeling. The teacher was in-charge of a number of afterschool programs and the school's International Baccalaureate effort, both of which have stalled. And the principal was to have been the key spokesman for the school at a Jan. 23 school board meeting where the school will learn whether it will stay on probation for past problems with finances and poor student recordkeeping. Now, parents say they don't know who will lobby on their behalf at that critical meeting.
I want to know how rare it is for such unconventional methods of discipline to be used. Have your children attended a school where the teachers/principal use physical exercise as discipline as opposed to the more traditional in-school detention or suspension? I'm just trying to see how on the fringe this school was for employing such techniques and whether these techniques warrant the kind of investigation and temporary reassignments by the Anne Arundel school district. Please write and let me know what you've seen at schools around the region.
Comments
I have a great interes in the shared responsibility of education. I have introduced a bill, HB 1122, that would deny the state's child tax credit to parents that fail to ensure two things: 1) school attendance in compliance with state law; and 2) no more than one suspension per year for disrespect insubordination and classroom disruption, the largest category of suspensions in the state and every county, except four. I am trying to identify those who might be interested in this approach. I am trying to spark a conversation about how parent/family and community involvement are key to reaching the high achievement and other education goals that have been set. I have a lot of stats on teacher shortages, truancy-crime link, and suspensions that support this approach, including a statewide poll. 301-801-6121 (c) 410-841-3101 (o)
Posted by: Gerron Levi | February 9, 2008 8:23 PM
I have a great interes in the shared responsibility of education. I have introduced a bill, HB 1122, that would deny the state's child tax credit to parents that fail to ensure two things: 1) school attendance in compliance with state law; and 2) no more than one suspension per year for disrespect insubordination and classroom disruption, the largest category of suspensions in the state and every county, except four. I am trying to identify those who might be interested in this approach. I am trying to spark a conversation about how parent/family and community involvement are key to reaching the high achievement and other education goals that have been set. I have a lot of stats on teacher shortages, truancy-crime link, and suspensions that support this approach, including a statewide poll. 301-801-6121 (c) 410-841-3101 (o)
Posted by: Gerron Levi | February 9, 2008 8:23 PM
I have a problem with AACPS, mainly CBMS, where the teachers have a real problem with cliques. Namely, parent volunteers and after school activities. The SAME kids are in the school plays every year. And they just happen to be the children of parent volunteers. The children who's parents are not able to volunteer and create a "friendly" relationship with the teachers are denied access to otherwise great programs for students because of "space." The administration is useless when trying to address these matters as they justify the teachers behavior. When I asked an administrator about this problem, they responded with, "I was also on the judging for the auditions and we discussed the childrens performances at dinner..." DINNER?? Why is the administrators having dinner with the teachers. This kind of behavior is neither acceptable nor allowed. It would be great if someone could reach me at my e-mail address to further find a solution to this matter, as I have tried to discuss this with the Principal, but he only boots it back to the administrator. laurrein@aol.com
Posted by: Laurie Reinhard | September 17, 2008 2:41 AM