Many students get in trouble only once or twice a semester, if that. Only a relatively small percentage of students tend to be persistent misbehavior problems. Yet, seats and supervision for discipline settings can be hard to come by, difficult to manage, and simply not very productive...much less constructive. 

As a school administrator, the importance of clear consequences for student misbehavior---applied consistently and with 100% follow-through---seem fundamental to establishing an exceptionally healthy school climate.  Young people need to know their boundaries and, as often as necessary, must have them reinforced.

Depending upon the level of student accountability in a school---both existing and envisioned---discipline is often a numbers game almost to a fault.  While it would be productive and perhaps ideal to have an in-depth discussion leading to a personalized consequence for each child referred to the office, this is rarely a luxury administrators have.  Particularly so if administration has raised the level of student expectations beyond merely addressing the most egregious infractions as matters the office is willing to tackle.  An assertive discipline initiative by administration can benefit teachers and overall instruction greatly, but it can also produce a volume of "cases" large enough to threaten its effectiveness.

Furthermore, absent the opportunity to discuss violations in depth with each student, administrators are missing what could be pivotal teachable moments in those young people's lives.  Beyond that, the young person is denied the opportunity to express themselves regarding the matter and possibly introspect in a manner that will forever embed a lesson otherwise lost.  In turn, the administrator is missing an opportunity to better understand this "discipline case" as an individual person who might be better reached and influenced given the context gained through a more personalized approach.

This background and thought process led to what I will further introduce in my next post on this blog.