Too Little, Too Late

With 33 school days left in this school year, and 23 school days left before the start of End-of-Grade Testing, our Principal and Assistant Principal called for meetings with each grade level in the Cafeteria today. Seventh Grade went first. Our meeting began at 8:00am.

While the Principal and Assistant Principal had not given the teachers any indication of exactly what they wanted to discuss with the students, we teachers had a pretty good idea. We are not unaware that the number of discipline referrals has risen dramatically since we returned from Spring Break at the beginning of April. We’ve also noted a growing level of apathy in the part of the students when it comes to caring about the End-of-Grade Tests.

In part, I cannot blame the students for not caring very much about the End-of-Grade Tests. They know full well that they are not accountable any longer for how they score on the test. Here in our state, we are no longer supposed to use the students’ End-of-Grade Test results in making retention/promotion decisions, and the students are well aware of this fact.

Our Principal appealed to the students to do their best on the End-of-Grade tests as a way to show pride in themselves and pride in our school. She didn’t have much more she could say than that.

Both the Principal and Assistant Principal had a lot to say about discipline. I could sense the frustration in their tone and body language as each of them in turn talked about how disappointed they were with the behavior of the students. The Principal let them know that dealing with discipline is not her primary job, yet she spends up to 85% of her time handling discipline problems. She made it clear to the students how, at their age, they should be able to sit in a classroom or move from one class to the next without disrupting, being disrespectful, engaging in horseplay, bullying, or any number of things they do to keep landing themselves in trouble.

The Assistant Principal told them one of his primary jobs was discipline but it was not supposed to be his only job. He has other responsibilities besides dealing with discipline issues, contacting parents repeatedly about the same students and the same behaviors, and assigning consequences. He told the students they should be mature enough by the seventh grade be able to go to the restroom unsupervised and should be well behaved enough that their teachers shouldn’t have to lead them around in lines like they were still in early elementary school. He made sure the students understood they were not meeting his, the Principal’s or the school district’s expectations when they had to be watched over as if they were small children with no self-discipline. He warned them that the lesser consequences were going to be by-passed for these last 6-7 weeks of school because we just don’t have the time anymore to hope the message gets through. If they refuse to do what they are supposed to do, which is come to school on time and prepared, sit in class to listen and learn, and behave during transitions between classes, he would be calling their parents and telling them to come pick them up because the student was being suspended for disrupting the education of others.

To their credit the students listened stoically as the Principal and Assistant Principal read the riot act to them. Some of those who previously acted in a less than acceptable way may even try to reform their behavior. I fear most, however, who chose not to meet expectations (new PC speak for follow the rules) will continue to defy their teachers and the administration, and will wind up calling the Assistant Principal’s bluff about the suspensions.

Am I glad the school’s leadership finally called the students on the carpet about their collective behavior? Yes, I am.

Do I think it will do any good? I hope so, but I am doubtful.

Should they have done it long before now? Absolutely.

I fear that waiting until this point in the school year to lay down the law to the students the way they did is a case of too little, too late.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator