It’s politically correct verbiage, but the program is working for the Cheektowaga Central Middle School, located outside Buffalo, New York.  It’s a get-tough program initiated to instill responsibility and accountability in the young students. And the program covers not only disciplinary measures for academics, but social behaviors as well.

Students must demonstrate improvement weekly, noted in their progress reports, or risk being barred from all extracurricular activities, including athletics, dances, plays, academic clubs, and after-hour games, crafts, and ice cream treats. Disciplinary measures are taken when a student’s grade in any class falls below 65, or if a student shows a lack of effort.

Besides keeping up one’s academics, students are expected to stay to the right of a dotted yellow line down the middle of hallways.  This keeps traffic moving and physical conflicts at a minimum.  They are assigned seats in the cafeteria, and wait for teachers to call them up to get their food.  They must not ever litter – there will be consequences.

Principal Brian Bridges noted the lack of respect and increase in bad attitudes from students because of the permissive society they are brought up in. He said that bringing more structure and discipline into the school creates a safer environment and teaches students to be members of a community.

Anyone over 35 who’s reading this would likely be grinning from ear to ear by now.  At last, a school environment that fosters good habits, respect, self-control, and hard work – virtues that this country was built on.

One seventh-grader who is routinely excluded from activities for failing math and science said, “I’d like to go to a normal school. It’s not doing anything for me except taking everything away.”  He’s really getting the message, he just hasn’t reached the point where he’s willing to do something about it and change his work ethic; eventually he will. But another eighth grader who sees her friends barred from activities said, “I think they get lazy and don’t do the work.”

But the bleeding hearts are coming out of the woodwork. School psychologist Laura Rogers, from Harvard, said, “A child who only has detention to look forward to at the end of the day is less likely to come to school.”  But who said anything about detention?  The new approach is about keeping one’s privileges.

Deborah Meier, a scholar from NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education said that “law and order” approaches are counterproductive. She said Cheektowaga, “Sounds like prison. It’s such a sad, sad commentary because, in my opinion, the improvements that it can make in behavior are marginal, and it does not begin to touch upon what engages the students in school.”

Some teachers have complained that enforcing the policy takes too much time away from academic instruction, and is a burden to them.  But there are also those teachers who say that out-of-control kids can use up far more classroom time with constant disruptions.

Over two dozen parents were upset because their children were unable to participate in the first dance of the school year – the policy was new then, and the kids were really testing it; a total of 75 were barred. But some parents thanked the school and its teachers for the new policy, realizing its value. And let’s face it, most parents are happy with any help they can get in the parenting department.

Principal Bridges, a former social worker, has also added things like pep rallies, and he rewards those who succeed under the new rules with raffle prizes. With these incentives and his commitment to consistent discipline, guidance, and behavior modification – the right kind – he should truly have a positive impact on the students’ behavior, work ethic, and emotional growth.
 

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments