Excessive Punishment: Tardiness Earns One Student Push-ups, One Teacher A Court Date
An English teacher at Delta High School in Summit County, Colorado is facing charges of child abuse after he punished a student for being late by forcing him to do push-ups and allowing the other students to punch him when he failed to complete the exercise. Police say Brian Havel, 22, demanded the student, who is 15 or 16 years of age, to do a certain amount of push-ups or sit-ups within a time limit when he entered the classroom late. Allegedly a classmate suggested hitting the late student as a further punishment, which Havel allowed. The teacher now faces charges and will appear in court next month.
Discipline is an important part of the classroom, but it's often difficult for inexperienced teachers to determine fair punishments. Here are some tips for teachers to deal with tardiness in the classroom.
1. As Little Interruption as Possible
It is crucial that you deal with interruptions immediately and with as little interruption of your class as possible. If you stop the momentum of your lesson to deal with a disruption, then you create the possibility of losing the attention and interest of the other students.
2. On Time Quizzes
This is an efficient and fair way of punishing students who show up late to class. Give your students a quiz as soon as the bell rings. Students who are tardy should receive a zero. Make the quizzes short if you choose to have them daily.
3. Detention for Tardy Students
This is the classic option and still an effective one. The fairest way of assessing this is by giving your students a chance (1-3 or something like that) before instituting this.
4. Locking The Door
This is an effective, but possibly problematic way to deal with tardiness. Locking your door or even just shutting it prevents students from sneaking into your class a few minutes after the bell (if you deal with large classes). However, as the teacher, you're liable for a students' safety even outside of the classroom is the student is supposed to attending your class.
By Spencer McCall
Categories: Spencer McCall, Warning, 2008, North America, Danger, Illegal, Arrested, teacher reputation, esl reform
pity the teacher- trying to discipline, student, judged by his peers, so democratic decision from the rest of the students - child abuse? no way - bring back corporal punishment like proper schools used to have.
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A good bare bottom thrashing is occasionaly required to instill discipline in the school corporate...otherwise forget the whole debate about discipline!
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It is just too unbelievable to be true. It may have been in the news, but there's no evidence of where the story came from. It sounds suspiciously like the kind of story a bunch of teenagers would make up when they had it in for a teacher. All students know it's illegal for a teacher to hit a student and they will tell you you will be fired right away if they even think the punishment suggested is unfair. No sane person would actually believe it is ok to let students hit another student. It is assault whether it happens at school or anywhere else.
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It's true believe it:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,343973,00.html
http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/17184211.html
http://www.startribune.com/nation/17174341.html
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firts of all the teacher didn't hit him it was a student and the teacher told him to so push ups but the teacher told the student to hit him that is why he is going to court. And you have no proof that this is a lie either it is most likely true you shouldn't say something is a lie when it could be true. things like this happen all the time, mostly when there is no body around. i wish it was a lie but it is most likely not to be.
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That was an inspiring post,
when i was in school, if you was more than 15 minutes late for a class the door was locked, and if you was found in the corridors you got detention so you had no choice but to hide or be on time of course
Thanks for bringing this up
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I do not disagree with physical exercise as a punishment for lateness, I do however, have grave reservations about, any teacher or parent for that matter, who thinks that violence is appropriate when dealing with a child, what made such an idiot ever think he was teacher material, unbelievable!!!!
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