photo: Teresa Chin – Youth Radio/ BY-NC-SA
Posted by Robyn Gee
I remember the first student I ever suspended. He was 13 years old.
It started off as a minimal disruption. He was stealing pencils from other students at his table. That turned into breaking pencils. Then, stealing homework.
Determined not to let him derail the entire class, I changed his seat. I went over to him, and quietly said, “Can you tell me what’s up? I know you can behave better than this.” He swore at me in two languages.
I gave him a five-minute timeout in the hallway. He came back in and kept throwing and stealing. Finally, another student got so irritated, she threw a pencil back at him. And before I knew it, he had her in a headlock.
I didn’t think twice. I just made him disappear for a week.
I wasn’t a seasoned teacher. I was a couple feet shorter than many of my students, and younger than many of their siblings. It’s hard for any teacher to see the big picture in every disciplinary action we take, and how it can impact a student’s education. But it does.
I’ve been out of the classroom for three years now, and for the past year, I’ve been following teachers, students and school districts, trying to understand the latest research on school suspension and its effects down the line.
Read and hear more at Youth Radio