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Monday, June 14, 2010

Flushing all Discipline down the Toilet

Now, some officials and parents are getting all upset because some students at Bronx's In-Tech Academy have apparently been tasked to latrine-cleaning as a punishment for misbehavior. See here, here and here.

[I have, with unusual and atypical self-restraint, resisted the temptation to insinuate some excretory pun into the title of this posting, but I cannot prevent you, dear reader, from thinking of any and grinning.].

I really, really, do not see what the problem is. The students misbehaved, so they were compelled to clean toilets as a punishment. So what?!?!?

The kids involved have misbehaved in school. This, while in no way commendable, is, within limits, normal.

The misbehaving kids were given some practical negative feedback (known in my day as "punishment" or "discipline") for their misbehavior. This, once upon a time, was normal, but all of the liberal sob sisters hung up on the rights of the poor misguided and deprived children have made it increasingly difficult for school teachers or administrators to mete out any meaningful punishment without being subjected to punishment themselves.

What is happening is that the perpetuators are being cast as victims. And the school administrators who tried to discipline them (who are the good guys/gals in this scenario) are now being vilified as wrongdoers.

And so, whatever disciplinary regime the school administrators have tried, against all odds, to maintain in their school, is now being flushed down the toilet!

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