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Take a look at how the Tin Man first appears in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), frozen and stiff from rust. Now, just imagine the Tin Man representing a student who is a behavioral program where he or she is to remain quiet unless they are given a harsh reprimanding.
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As I continue overseeing my first trainings of 2024 here in Irvine, CA, there was something that came up in conversation that I was a part of during the breakfast hours.
The topic in question is a disciplinary method called Alternative Placement Programming, where students are placed in a location away from the general school population and essentially, they are to be silent and not do anything except for schoolwork. Think of it as like you are struggling to hold in your emotions and you can’t let them out.
Alternative Placement Programs are typically used for student who commit infractions within the school environment such as being disruptive, forgetting to do an important homework assignment or committing an infraction that warrants such actions.
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As much as I view discipline as a necessity at times, I can’t help but feel that there is a fine line balance that needs to be drawn. I get the fact that schools need to send a message to troublemaking students, but what if those troublemaking students have behavioral issues? A troubled home life? You can’t just lock up someone on account of their difference. In a way, schools are doing more harm than good on the minds of some students that just don’t understand the actions they are causing.
When I was a student, I saw peers that came from broken homes and were the ones who ended up in the most trouble with the teachers and administrators that I had. At first, I saw these as a distraction during the school day, but now looking back, there is more that could have been done or other ways to approach the situation than just simply detention.
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I feel that there does need to be some form of behavioral training for teachers that reduces the risk of mental health on a student that is put into an Alternative Placement Program on account of something that happens on the outside.
Yes, actions have consequences, but there does need to be a deeper dive into the student’s mind for his or her behaviors (ex. Why did Chris Hagensen terrorize and torment Carrie White? Because she felt entitled? What made her entitled? Does her home life make her do these things?). Now, I have seen bits and pieces of all three versions of “Carrie” and the conclusion I had was that Chris Hagensen is someone who felt entitled and that she had no chance at redemption.
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But you can’t throw a student into an APP without thinking of the consequences teachers might have imposed on the student. Remember, there is evidence that is needed to be backed up. Could it be that the student is going through a rough patch and has nowhere else to turn to? An Alternative Placement Program isn’t going to be the answer to the problem.
If the student has done something that warrants an APP, then it should be used, but it needs to be done properly and it is something that I feel needs to be adhered to more.
Take the scene in the 1968 horror film, “Witchfinder General” in which Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) torments and terrorizes people in 1640’s England on account of being witches. Remember that in the 1640’s, it was a pretty messed up time period. But look at how the characters accused of being witches are treated: the evidence that they have is lacking and the only reason why one of the accused dies in the moat scene is because she likely had a heart attack, not because she was a witch.
As you watch the clip below, think to yourself that the accused “witches” are probably misunderstood students accused of something that they didn’t do and end up in something similar to an Alternative Placement Program.
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We can work with the students to help them conquer their behaviors and get them to succeed, but schools should not just jump to conclusions without evidence to back up the actions of the student.
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Catch you all later!!
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