SED 500 Discipline Journal #4

Incident #1 Dress Code
A. November 20, 2008
B. During 1B (after hall duty)
C. When I was on hall duty, a group of 4 Hispanic girls were walking around. I stopped and asked them where they were supposed to be and they said that they had just gotten to school. One of the girls was a size small and was wearing an XL out of dress code zip up jacket. I asked her to hand me the jacket since our campus enforces the "bag and tag it" policy. The "bag and tag" policy is when someone is wearing a jacket out of dress code we are supposed to take it up and put it in a trash bag where it is to be stored until the end of the year. She said that she was on her way to her locker to put it up. I told her to put it up and if I saw her with it again I would take it. I left my hall duty and headed to the office when I saw the same group of students walking towards me. It had been at least 40 minutes since I saw them last and the same girl was wearing the same jacket. Needless to say, she didn't put the jacket up in her locker and the girls still didn't make it to class. I approached the girls and they tried to walk past me. I asked the young lady to hand me the jacket since I had already warned her once. She responded that I wasn't going to get her jacket and she wasn't going to give it to me. I asked her 3 times and each time she refused. Then I told her that we could just walk into the office since she refused to give me the jacket. Then she said that she wasn't going to go to the office either. Finally after about 5 minutes, her friend convinced her to give me the jacket. Instead of handing me the jacket, the student threw her jacket at me. Instead of dealing with that issue I decided to leave it alone and walk away. I told her thank you and began walking away from the girls. When I walked into the office, Mrs. Marshall (the Principal) was in the hallway. I joked with her about confiscating a jacket that was thrown at me. We laughed because now the student will not ever be able to get her jacket back because she didn't even give me her name to write on the bag.
D. Since she gave me the jacket there were no other disciplinary actions to take. I just turned the jacket inside out so no one could see the designs and try to claim it for their own and placed it in the white trash bag. On the label I wrote my name and the date.
E. If I could do it over again there isn't anything I would have done differently. I followed the procedure and kept my cool when I had to deal with the student the second time. If anything I might have investigated where the girls were supposed to be instead of letting them walk around the school.

Incident #2 Trespassing / Insubordination
A. November 21, 2008
B. During 4A towards end of the period
C. I teach Modified BCIS for about 9 students who are enrolled in CBVI. Since they all ride the special education buses we leave about 10 minutes before the bell to beat the rush of other students. Every day there are about 5 students who are hanging out on campus. We have warned the students that if they are on campus when they are supposed to be home then they will be given a ticket for trespassing. After numerous warnings these guys still hang out on campus. I didn't know their names, but I did know one student's name. He was one of my students. I asked them to go around the school building and not walk into the breezeway. The group of students knew that I was outnumbered and didn't know their names so they proceeded to ignore my requests including my student. So the next day I asked one of the administrators what to do. He indicated that I needed to write him up for insubordination and for trespassing.
D. I received the referral in my box the next day and he was given a 4 hour Saturday School. I don't feel that this was an appropriate consequence since it is a continuous thing with him. I think he should have received one day ISS since he can't stay off campus and obviously wants to be here. I think if he is made to sit in ISS until 5 o'clock he would think twice about being on campus when he should be at home.
E. I think I handled everything well. Instead of just writing him up on a referral I checked with an administrator and we both agreed on the disciplinary action. Since that day I have no longer seen him hanging out on campus. I have recently found out the other students' names and I am ready to write them up for the same thing if I see them on campus again.

Incident #3 Tardy #4 and #5
A. November 22, 2008
B. During 3A
C. I have this one student who walks in late. She used to be on time, but lately she has started coming in late. After the 2nd tardy, students receive immediate referrals. I sent the student to the office after lunch so that she would have time to eat before going to the office. We go to lunch at 12:35 - 1:05. So I sent her at 1:10. She didn't make it back to my room until 2:10 which was just 5 minutes left of the period. I looked on the referral she received and she was dismissed from the office at 1:40. She had been walking around for over 45 minutes. When I asked her what took her so long to get to class she said that she was talking to a teacher in the hallway. When I investigated it a little further, the teacher thought that she had that lunch period and let her stand there and talk to a group of girls. I asked an administrator what to do. The student was with another teacher, but that student knew she was supposed to be in class.
D. We decided that she should be written up for skipping and she received one day of ISS.
E. I feel that the consequence was appropriate since she skipped my class. I am really glad that they didn't just give her a warning. This student has started walking in late and has started exhibiting behaviors that are not appropriate and if she "got off" then I believe she would have felt she controls the school. I wouldn't have done anything differently since I checked with an administrator and the two of us decided on the disciplinary action.

Incident #4 Dress Code (Jeans)
A. November 21, 2008
B. During 3A
C. The tardy bell had just rung when the same student from the above incident came in with her sixth tardy. After I sent her to the office I looked over and noticed two of my other students sitting in jeans. One of the girls had on a really dark pair of jeans that looked like regular pants until you got closer. The other girl had on gray jeans. They had made it all day in the jeans with no one stopping them. So I was very frustrated that it was now 3rd period on a Friday afternoon and I had to be the one to handle the situation. The girls begged for me not to send them to the office because one of the girls got out after my class and the other girl had just gotten back from MIC. I asked them why they wore jeans and the dark jean student told me that she didn't have anything else washed but her jeans and that other one just wanted to wear it because it was Friday. Then she told me that she had a pair of pants that were in dress code in her bag, but she didn't want to wear them. I told them that it wasn't fair for me to send the tardy student to the office everyday and not send them down for a flagrant dress code violation. After about 10 minutes of me taking time to write the referrals and listening to the begging me not to write them up, I sent them on their way.
D. One of the girls received a Saturday School while the other one in the gray jeans received one day of ISS.
E. I believe that the consequences were appropriate. The one who received a Saturday School hadn't been to the office very often and was getting out after my class and I think her disciplinary action was appropriate. I think they should have been consistent and had given the other girl the same disciplinary action, but since she had a prior record and had the other pair of pants in her bag I think she received an appropriate consequence. I wouldn't have done anything differently in this situation.

Incident #5 Cell Phone
A. November 21, 2008
B. During lunch
C. I was walking to the lounge to get my lunch while avoiding the large crowd of students walking towards me to go to the cafeteria. I noticed one student in the clearing of the crowd texting on his cell phone. I stopped and asked him to hand me his phone. He gave it to me without hesitation and then he gave me his name. After lunch the student came to my classroom and told me that another teacher had told him to put his phone up and turn it off because his dad was trying to call him so that is why he was on the phone in the hallway. He kept trying to convince me to give his phone back. I told him that when I saw him I had already been watching him for about 10 seconds and he wasn't turning off the phone, he was texting on it.
D. I had another teacher run the phone up to the office with his name and information on it since I had to get back to class. The disciplinary action depends on if his phone was taken up before or not. It this was his first time then he will just have to pay $15 and wait 24 hours. However, if this was his 3rd time then he will have to pay the $15 and not get his phone back until the end of the school year.
E. I feel that I handled this situation well. When I take up cell phones from students I know that if I let them off the hook I am not helping support other teachers. We all must be consistent in order for the school to run smoothly. Too often I hear that teachers give phones back to students as a warning, but I know those same students have been warned several times before that. So I like to think that when I take their cell phone up I am taking it up for all the other warnings that they might have already been given.

Incident #6 Cell Phone
A. December 1, 2008
B. During 1st period/Hall Duty
C. I was standing outside in the freezing cold for my duty when I looked up and saw a girl texting on her phone. I almost didn't notice her because she was walking with about 20 other girls. The All Stars had just finished practicing in the small gym and were on their way back to the locker room. This one student was in the middle of the crowd, but her mannerisms stood out so I noticed her. I told her that phones are not allowed on campus and that she needed to put it away. She gave me an attitude as she shoved it in her pocket. I then told her, "You know what? Never mind, just give me your phone." Surprisingly she gave it to me without any hesitation. I asked for her name so I could tag it as her phone.
D. Once I finished my 45 minutes in the 50 degrees weather, I walked her cell phone to the office. It was then that I followed procedure by putting the phone in a white envelope and filled out all the necessary information. Usually the procedure for cell phone disciplinary actions varies according to how many times her phone has been taken up by faculty. If it is her first time, which I doubt, then her phone will be kept for 24 hours and she will have to pay the $15.00 to get it back. If this was her 3rd time she won't be getting the phone back until the end of the year.
E. If I could do it over again, I would have given the phone to the All Star coordinator so that she could have handled it. Her punishment might have been worth more than what the office would do for her.

Incident #7 Insubordination / Walking Around
A. December 1, 2008
B. During hall duty / 1st period
C. I saw a group of students walking towards me. One girl in particular stood out because her shirt was hanging down past her knees and her shoes were out of dress code. I had already seen these same group of students walking around in the main hall so I approached them. I asked to see their passes. The student out of dress code is the only one of them that pulled out a pass. However, when this girl showed me her pass, it was more of a "flash." I told her that I wanted to see the pass in my hand. We have had a group of students using old passes they received so they can walk the halls so we were advised to check the time and date on all the passes. She kept trying to walk past me. I tried to step in front of her to stop her and she would go the other direction. Finally one of the girls she was with took the pass from her and told her to just show me the pass. The student was supposed to go to ISS and she was walking around the school. I told them to get to where they were supposed to be and I told them I didn't want to see them out walking around again.
D. I ended up E-mailing the teacher who signed her pass to let him know that she was up walking around the whole campus instead of going to ISS. I am not sure if anything was turned in since he hasn't e-mailed me yet.
E. I feel that I handled the situation well. I thanked the friend for being so respectful and helpful in assisting me with the student. If I had to do it over again, I think I would have personally walked her to ISS to make sure she made it and stopped walking around campus.

Incident #8 Tardy #3
A. December 1, 2008
B. During 3B / US History
C. One of my students walked in from lunch 5 minutes after the tardy bell. When he signed the sheet I noticed that he was on his 3rd tardy. According to the tardy policy, the student is to be sent to the office with a referral.
D. I wrote a referral documenting all the days he was tardy and when I contacted his parent. He showed me his referral and it indicated that he was given one day of ISS. He is rarely late to my class, but apparently it is a problem for other classes. So since it was only his 3rd tardy for me, it was one more too many.
E. I felt that I handled the situation well. Neither the student or I were engaged in a verbal battle. This particular student is one of my favorite students and he respects me enough to know that he was in the wrong and that I had to send him to the office.

Incident #9 Shaving
A. December 1, 2008
B. During 3A / US History
C. When my students walked back into the classroom from lunch I noticed one of my students hadn't shaved from the long holiday weekend. It was so obvious I don't know how I missed it at the beginning of class. I had already given him warnings when the facial hair wasn't as bad so I sent him down to the office. I wrote the referral to indicate a violation of dress code for not shaving.
D. My student never made it back to class from the office so I am sure he was either waiting for an administrator since the lunch period is a crazy one. Usually the policy states that students will receive one day of ISS for being out of dress code so I am sure that is what he received.
E. I believe that I handled this situation well. I had given him several warnings because he gets out of school after my class and I didn't ever see a point to send him down when he was going to leave within the hour. Since this facial hair was so obvious and I had given him several warnings there was nothing else I wanted to do, but write him up for a dress code violation.

Incident #10 Language
A. December 1, 2008
B. During 3B / US History
C. I was walking back into class from being out in the hallway between classes when I heard one of my female students yell out, "My n******!" Since the whole class heard it clearly and I heard it clearly there was no mistake that the comment was made. She said that it was an accident and she didn't mean to say it. She claimed it just "slipped out." Since the policy in my class states that all inappropriate language will result in an office referral including slip ups, I sent her to the office.
D. The student came back to class with a referral indicating that she received one day of Saturday school. I figured since it was a slip up she didn't get as severe a punishment as other students who use inappropriate language.
E. I feel that I handled this situation well. If I could do it over again I probably would have let her off with a warning, but then if I did I would have to do it for the rest of my class. If the whole class didn't hear it I probably would have let her off with a warning and no one would have known.

II. The Model I Implemented

Assertive Discipline Model

Summary of the Model

Assertive discipline is defined as a structured, systematic approach designed to assist educators in running an organized, teacher-in-charge classroom environment. This model focuses on the teacher's right to determine what is best for her students, and to expect compliance in regards to her established classroom rules and procedures. It is aimed at teacher's developing a positive, trusting relationship with their students and teaching them appropriate classroom behavior.

How I Implemented the Strategy

I am a firm believer in rewarding desired behavior. I usually give verbal praises to my students who do what I ask of them. I decided to try to implement the post it note recognition that was demonstrated in our last class. I cut colored index cards into 2 pieces. Then on each card I put a smiley face sticker. As my students worked on their assignments I walked around the room. If I saw a student working quietly I would place the smiley faced card on his desk. I did this for about 10 minutes. At the closing of the class period I heard my students asking each other how many smiley faces they each received. When one student got more than the others they would make a comment that the next time they would get more smiley faced cards.

What Worked and What Didn't

The only problem I found with doing this activity was that I tended to give more to my "favorite" students and not to the students who usually irritate me. I already had a mind set that my good students would do well and do as I requested so when I walked by their desks I gave them the sticker. Of course while I was walking around the room looking for students who were working quietly I came across my "bad students" who weren't doing as they were supposed to so I just walked right past their desks. The stickers worked well for the most part. When the students got the stickers their faces would light up. Even if they didn't show their happiness, I could tell in their mannerisms that they were happy to get a sticker.

Reflection of the Strategy

I really enjoyed passing out the stickers. In a way I felt like I was handing out smiles for the day. When my students were having a bad day I would give them a sticker for doing what I asked of them and then their whole outlook on the day changed. Their moods were more pleasant in the classroom and they seemed to have enjoyed the class time better. This strategy is one that I will continue to use. I will especially try harder to give them to my normally "bad students" to see if the sticker changes their outlook and their attitudes.

ETEC 597 Journal #2 - October 8th

Information literacy is being able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use information for a topic or issue through the Internet. I never thought about the possibility of information I find on the Internet being false. When I think about all the information I took off Google to compose papers in my undergraduate studies and all the information I pulled off Google to use in my classroom, I can't help but feel ignorant. I never once thought about the possibility of the information being untrue or fabricated. I was fairly new on using the Internet in college because it was then that I received my first computer ever. No one really taught me about how to research effectively. I didn't know people could post information without being censored or reviewed for authenticity. I honestly thought that the people who worked for Google had employees who sat down at desks and researched all the information to make sure it was the truth and then posted it. I was guilty of pulling up the first link that appeared in Google and using it because I thought it was the closest, true information found for my particular search. The MAPit activity really opened my eyes to the amount of false information posted daily on the Internet. The Martin Luther King activity really bothered me. If I was researching Martin Luther King I probably would have used some information on that website without even noticing all the racial remarks. It is really kind of scary to find out that kind of information is readily available for everyone. This MAPit activity has undoubtedly opened my eyes to be more careful when relying on the Internet. I have started passing on what I learned to collegues, family, and friends. I want them to be more aware of the fabricated information posted on the Internet. Many of them use Google to conduct research and most likely click on the fist thing that pulls up. Through the exercise I learned that Google lists information based on how many "hits" that site received not by the most reliable source. How many people used fabricated information without realizing it?? How many others have passed on that fabricated information to their students? If the cycle continues this new generation will undoubtedly receive false information and believe it to be true. Our students will be misled into believing what they read to be the truth and will then pass it on to others. Eventually it would result in the generation becoming less intelligent because they will believe everything they read to be true. I plan to use Altavista more as well as other search engines. This exercise also opened my eyes to other search engines. I just always used Google because I hear about it more than other search engines. I wonder if you could do a Google search on other search engines. That would be information I could use in the future.