James Caldwell
T O P I C :
'Visiting' the Principal
James Poses the Question. . . .
September 14, 2007
At what point is it OK to send a student to the principal?
Jessica Fay answers. . . .
September 21, 2007
I think that after listening to Mr. Bowles in class the other day, the best time to send a student to the office is if they do something ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE (i.e. punch someone, threaten to kill someone). A teacher should have a method of management in the classroom that has several steps to it (i.e. check, stay after school, call parents, THEN send to principal). This will show the principal that you are able to handle the students and handle problems. If you send students to the principal all the time and/or for trivial things, you look bad, I think.
Megan McGrew answers. . . .
September 23, 2007
I guess it would just depend on your level of patience and the level of the infraction. If a student is just acting up in class, the teacher should be able to handle the situation. But at some point if the situation is not improving, I would end up sending the student to the office. If the disturbance is more severe, I would send then directly to the office and not even try to deal with it myself.
Ethan Reese-White answers. . . .
September 24, 2007
This is a question that is probably a pretty typical one with interns. Unless you've done a fair bit of subbing or such, there is probably going to be a transitional period where you have to get used to exercising the authority you're given. Even if you've been a teaching assistant in a college setting, there still probably wasn't the discipline issues you face in public school settings. I had to grapple with these questions last week when I subbed all week for my mentor. Here are some of my reflections on it.
First of all, your school will probably have some policies outlining some of the things that are to be immediately referred to the principal. For example, I believe swearing is an immediate referral at my school. Other policies may include having so many red marks amassed in a student agenda before students are referred to the principal for disciplinary action.
Beyond what is outlined by the school, it's probably more of an individual choice or set of criteria. Some teachers may tolerate a certain level of misbehavior that can be dealt with in the classroom. Using Teacher Bowles' own regulatory action guide as an example, this is probably something that must be outlined by the teacher and approved by the principal. This would almost be like a rubric for student behavior and helps outline a standard criteria for certain behaviors and their corresponding responses, such as early-morning ISS, loss of social time after lunch, etc. There may also be times when the only way to quell a disruptive student is with a referral to the principal to address the issue so that the rest of the class isn't losing instructional time. I would imagine ideally you'd come up with standards and plans in cooperation with your principal so that you can try and manage the issues yourself and utilize the principal only as backup or in extreme circumstances.
My impression is beyond what is outlined by school policy, principal referrals are usually involved in unusual circumstances. For example, last week I had one student destroy another's agenda. He didn't do it maliciously but started twisting out the spiral binding on the book and, before he knew it, had the thing completely disassembled. Even though it wasn't a malicious act, it was destruction of property and caused a lot of problems for the other student since (1) student agendas are very important for all students and (2) the student that owned the agenda comes from a lower-income family. So, I explained to the student that what he did was wrong because it was destruction of someone else's property and created a lot of problems for the other student. I referred him to the principal who talked with him in more detail about considering the consequences of his actions and required him to pay to replace the agenda book.
In other cases, the principal may need to be involved when it's a student or issue that might be dicey enough that you need their backing. The principal may have more authority to act on certain things and in certain ways that teachers do not. So there may be times when it's good to get the principal involved so they've "got your back."
I think the issue of principal referrals is something that most of us will base around school policies at first, but then develop our own criteria and methods as we gain experience. One of the big issues at first can be getting over the discomfort we may actually have with wielding that level of authority. We put ourselves in the students' shoes a little too much and may overly sympathize with them. While it's all well and good to think of things from the students' perspectives, you also have to keep in mind that we're there to help them learn how to hold themselves to a higher standard of personal behavior and accountability. Sometimes that involves using a level of authority that we'd rather not have to resort to or find uncomfortable at first.
Shane Hampton answers. . . .
September 25, 2007
Sending a student to the principal's office should be a last resort. For instance, when a student is insubordinate and will not do anything you tell them after several attempts, they should go, especially if the student becomes rude or aggressive in any manner.
There are some other more extreme examples such as fighting, bullying, tobacco usage (something I witnessed today as I was leaving school), etc... where sending a student to the office is a no-brainer.
I think the best advice is to check your school's policy. Most schools should have some information about what merits a need for the principal's visit, at least for the major offenses, which might also involve the police (resource officer). Other than that, I think you should have a system set up in your class to handle the minor problems (e.g. tardiness, disruptive behavior). If your system is does not work after several attempts, send the student to the principal's office, and think whether or not you need to adjust your classroom policy.
Planet Gnosis is directed by Dr. Freddie A. Bowles,
Assistant Professor of Foreign Language Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Planet Gnosis is dedicated to the exploration of education and teaching. It is a cybersite of CornDancer.com, a developmental website for the Mind and Spirit. Submissions are invited. |
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