What would school become if teachers stopped forcing students to learn by requiring attendance? A student who acted up or was sleeping during class would simply be asked to leave come back when they felt like they wanted to attend. There wouldn’t be any malice in the teacher’s tone. Just the simple idea that, oh…maybe you don’t want to be here right now. Would the students left in class want to be there and be fully engaged?
I was lucky enough to work in a school (9-12) where I could experiment with this. Basically, I told the students at the beginning of the year that if they didn’t feel like they could be fully present for the class, they didn’t have to (and shouldn’t) come. They did, however, have to check in with me at the beginning of class and schedule a time to talk to the councilor or me about why they weren’t in class. The surprising thing is that in two years I only had five students use this option. Discipline was never a problem in my class. I’d like to think that students decided to come to my class because they really liked it and found the content relevant and engaging. But I wonder if it had more to do with the fact that no one was forcing them to be there. It was truly their choice. Other than missing the content for that day, there really weren’t any negative consequences. I didn’t call their parents, give them a detention or dock them participation points. On top of benefiting the individual student and the class atmosphere, optional participation presented a great opportunity to me. I avoided having to berate disinterested students in the middle of class, and instead had an opportunity to genuinely connect with them. In one case, a student felt lost in the material we were covering and decided not to come to class. A non-threatening and private conversation allowed him to express this verbally and not through disruptive actions.
If we go with this theory, then maybe the key to discipline isn’t a list of rules: it’s an open door and relevant content. I realize that in many eyes this concept might seem totally unreasonable and flawed. What do you think?
Yes, I have learned that students CRAVE for the structure, attention, and regularity of school. My students whine about the end of summer, but only for show. They have been bored out of their minds. Especially if you create a nurturing, caring, and safe environment you students will WANT to be in class and love you (no matter what they say in front of their peers).
LET’S GET RID OF THE OLD WAY OF MAKING SCHOOL A PRISON! There is no need when the students WANT to be there.