School discipline: Why we should have logical consequences, not punishment

 Some of my worst years of my life as a child was at a middle school here in Reading, Pennsylvania. March to the drum. The teachers prided themselves in being harsh and controlling, thus celebrated entitlement in the face of exempt minor children under Christian law. Think peanut butter and jelly as a means of punishment, alongside enforced "gratitude" that "at least we fed you with something". How an adult can be so vengeful towards a CHILD boggles my mind. Let's focus on solutions to the infestation of professional/parental entitlement among American teachers. I think now of whipping certain teachers 40 minus 1 lashes in the courtroom after the judge hands down his sentence.

My recommendation on school discipline is currently unlawful in Pennsylvania under secular law. The idea is biblically based, and involves many warnings leading to expulsion, leading to homebound instruction. In return, teachers would be taught how to reconcile with their students in terms of behavior, by having a working relationship with children instead of seeing students as a crowd of heckers.

Some students, however, are so disruptive that they need to be gently but firmly removed from the school situation, presumably temporary. They may need to be medicated, or have their medication adjusted, in which a complete break from school would be best, as such a student actually needs a more relaxed schedule...Removal from the school would be to help the rest of the student body calm down, and the excluded student to calm down as well, meaning a win-win.

Expulsions should not be done left and right, and should come with many warnings that specifically inform the student of what they are doing wrong, with it being matter of fact in a way a student with moderate-mild autism could understand what they did wrong, but for everyone. After the many warnings were not heeded, they are removed from campus and placed on homebound.

It says in John 7:24 KJV:

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Righteous judgment, in this case, is faux-moral, since children are not moral subjects under Christian law. It is instead a pragmatic issue, based on the disruptiveness of the student at hand. In a home setting, that kind of disruption can easily be dealt with by listening and validating big feelings. In a school, depending on the class size, that is not always possible, though school staff and administrators should show tact and respectful demeanor when informing a child that they have done something against the school code of conduct.

Also, certain "back-talk" isn't disruptive at all, and students should have a say in how they are educated. Not the whole say, but a piece of the pie, so to speak. Student councils should exist even in elementary schools, and should not simply be educational tools - they should wield real political power, as trained witnesses before the school board. A student should have the right to disagree with a teacher without being reprimanded, and reverse gaslight an abusive teacher without retaliation...The only student that would be expelled under my system would be one with severe behavioral issues, and the expulsion, in an ideal pro-child world, would be seen as a wake-up call for the parents to get psychiatric help for a child. Some children cannot be reasoned with without medication, and even those children are undeserving of punishment. Some children need a lot of logical consequences, such as being prescribed lithium carbonate and antipsychotics after being kicked out of school. Otherwise, schools should be organized to be child-friendly, with teachers warmly and kindly listening to children, with a smile, showing hospitality to children of every age, from grades PK-12. Expulsion should never be merely due to personal grudges against a student, or else it becomes a punishment. Would you reprimand another student for the same issues? If not, then you are favoring a student, and YOU need to leave.

This is how I see discipline as appropriate in schools. We need to stop punishing children. Some students are PADDLED in this country. What should they do besides punish their students? Listen and validate, but know that it is agreed that certain students need a break.