Progressive Discipline

1952 Words4 Pages

Introduction
Detentions, Suspensions and Expulsions, when considering disciplinary actions within schools, these three outcomes typical come to mind. From countless TV shows and movies, we have learned that if you behave inappropriately in schools, these are the options for punishment. However, Ontario schools have expanded their take on punishment to try to create an approach that will support both victims and perpetrators, without impeding the educational development of either student (Ontario Ministry of Education 2012). Ontario’s Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour Policies, as outlines in Policy/Program Memorandum No. 145, as found on the Ontario Ministry of Education website, outlines this altered approach …show more content…

Prior to the Safe Schools Act in 2008, the disciplinary standards in schools followed “zero tolerance” policies, which enforced rigid punishments, standardized for all offenses and frequently lead to the discrimination of men and racialized groups (Milne & Aurini 2015). Progressive discipline on the other hand allows principles and teachers to use their discretion and consider a student’s circumstances when responding to inappropriate behavior (Milne & Aurini 2015). Progressive discipline utilizes intervention strategies to discipline students on a gradually increasing scale, proportional to each students needs (Ontario Ministry of Education 2012). Although this approach to discipline and intervention in schools appears ideal, researchers have raised questions about the effectiveness of these policies. Some researchers have criticized progressive discipline, stating that this approach still makes minorities vulnerable to discrimination due to teacher bias and others have criticized how these policies have grouped social justice issues in with bullying. This paper will evaluate the philosophy behind the policy and these two criticism to access areas for improvement and in particular how it relates to …show more content…

Although school treat bullying motivated by racism more severally, they still combine the intervention strategies for social justice issues with other bullying prevention strategies (Ontario Ministry of Education 2014). By ignoring the existence and significance of racism and how it relates to bullying and the overall climate of schools, this policy is contributing to its invisibility (Solomon et al. 2016). This then ignores the root causes of racism and fails to address them in it’s preventative measures (Solomon et al. 2016). By equating social justice issues like racism with bullying, it undermines the issue and ignores the victim’s rights against harassment (Lyn Mikel Brown 2009). Racism is not the same as bullying and points to a much deeper kind a hatred, that won’t be solved in the same way as other forms of bullying (Lyn Mikel Brown 2009). Instances of bullying based on hate, need to be treated differently through the use of open conversations and education that can bring light to these types of prejudice (Editorial: Queering schools 2014). When I was working as a Residence Assistant, the consequences for hate within residence were directly related to the issue at hand. If a student was using racial slurs or harassing a student because of their background,

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