There was a time when a teacher’s best disciplinary tool was merely the threat to keep a student after school, or to banish a kid to the principal’s office. But today disciplinary tone is set the moment a student steps into school, often through a metal detector, sometimes under the careful watch of an armed guard.
More and more students are subject to strict “zero-tolerance” policies, where even the hint of violence is met with a swift, severe reprisal, such as expulsion or arrest. Juvenile court is starting to replace the authority once held by school officials. Critics say such policies are counterproductive..that kids need closer contact with teachers, smaller classes, smaller schools, and not handcuffs.
Guests:
Richard Arum, author of “Judging School Discipline: The Crisis of Moral Authority”
David Gordon, Superintendent of The Elk Grove Unified School District in Sacramento County, California.