I overheard a boy saying that he is going to be suspended for four days. I asked him what happened. He told me that he broke up a fight. He could not just stand there and let another person get hurt. I told him to write a letter, show it to one of his teachers for comments on grammar and spelling, and send it to the principal. Next week I saw him. He told me that he finished his four day suspension, and was planning to write the letter and show it to a teacher.

 

Here I would think that the school may have treated him differently if the focus were primarily on education rather than discipline. Instead of a summary suspension, it would have been more educational and realistic for the school to delay the suspension and give the student the opportunity to express himself in writing. In the real world, punishments are rarely summary punishments, with people given the opportunity to defend themselves. We want to educate students for the real world.

 

SEE THE BOOK FOR MORE DETAILS.