Less authoritarian approach has been effective
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/26/05
BY BRIAN LEE AND JOHN VANDIVERSTAFF WRITERS
As Christmas vacation loomed, young students were sure to have been rambunctious everywhere. Even at the strict, yet close-knit, St. Joseph's Elementary School in Keyport.
On Thursday, a second-grader with a tendency for minor mischief pushed his teacher.
"He just got really mad," said Ruth Mazzarela, the school's principal, music teacher and lunch aide. "So we had to take him aside and make him count out loud until he calmed down. Then we talked to him about why he was so mad and why it was not OK for him to do what he did."
Apparently it worked. By day's end, all had been forgiven. And forgotten.
"I really like my teacher," the student said.
But episodes like this aren't always resolved so seamlessly. Especially in less communal public schools.
Earlier this month in the Howell public schools, a second-grade teacher at Land O'Pines Elementary St. Joseph's, in Keyport, has also retooled its discipline policies. Detentions consist of a reflective, one-hour written exercise. From there, the child's parents must add their thoughts to the assignment.
When a student is on the verge of detention, usually it simply takes Sister Barbara McDermott placing the detention sheet on the student's desk, said third-graders Christopher Angolin and Chloe Dopico.
But increasingly, university education programs aren't requiring classroom management as part of required courses, said Mary Lou Vogler, a first-grade teacher of 18 years at Strathmore and in Keansburg.
Vogler said it was required when she was in college, but her two daughters, who have recently majored in education, didn't have to take it.
"If more schools aren't making it a requirement, it's because teachers now have to teach to the test, and they feel it's waste of time," said Harriot, the Monmouth professor. "It definitely isn't."
The Stafford Township district, like many others, require new teachers to take part in a training program before the beginning of the school year; it focuses on classroom practices, district spokeswoman Karina Monanian said.
Ferraino, the Long Branch superintendent, said the district also provides ongoing professional development.
"Are there enough resources (for management)? It's easy for me to say yes," he said. "But, again, it has to be how does that teacher feel. We have to work together."
reportedly taped students to their chairs with duct tape. The teacher remains on indefinite suspension.
Reported to DYFS
That incident, which was reported by the district to township police and the state's Division of Youth and Family Services, is still under investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.
Throughout the country, the handling of difficult youngsters in schools periodically attracts national attention. In 2004 in Florida, television news displayed footage of a Florida student taken away in handcuffs after the student had slapped her teacher. Police in New Mexico arrested an 8-year-old that same year.
Discipline codes and classroom management practices are at the discretion of individual districts, said New Jersey Board of Education spokeswoman Faith Sarafin. But the policies they decide to implement require due process and educational considerations, such as special education needs, said Frank Belluscio, director of public information for the New Jersey School Boards Association.
If two students fight, Belluscio said, school officials have authority to restrain the students.
"It's judgment and the factor of maintaining a safe environment," he said. "You apply the necessary degree of restraint for the safety of the individuals involved, and the group."
Warnings repeated
Generally, at the elementary level, principals say, the number of instances serious enough to draw their attention are few and far between.
"If I have to respond to a student a week, it's a high number," said Ken Smith, principal of Strathmore Elementary in Aberdeen.
Smith, who's in his second year at the school, said he's about fifth in the chain of discipline. Prior to him, teachers have warned and re-warned the student in question and his or her parent, Smith said.
Wendy Harriot, a Monmouth University education professor, said contingency plans with students' parents are ideal, particularly if a student displays early signs of emotional issues.
"A teacher should never put their hands on students," Harriot said. "There should be frequent communication with parents, and preventative action. If they're at the point of unruliness, there should be a plan put in place."
Melissa Cullen, a second-grade teacher at Strathmore, said she read about the duct-taping incident and found it "inexcusable." But, at the same time, the fifth-year teacher said she knows there's always that one student who's going to try a teacher's patience. What would she do if it ever reached that point?
Find the real story
For Cullen, the key is to never let it get there.
"That's part of our job," Cullen said. "We have to find the story behind every student. Usually, you can tell if something's wrong within the first five minutes, when you greet them at the door."
Long Branch Superintendent Joseph Ferraino said his district favors constant reinforcement of good behavior. And, like in most districts, Ferraino said it's important to give students a say in drafting classroom rules.
"So that they can take responsibility for their actions," he said.
At Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School, officials implemented a new program called Positive Behavior Support in Schools.
Last year at this time, there were 144 disciplinary referrals to the main office, Principal Allan Bossard said. This year, the number is down to 98. The program focuses on positive reinforcement and recognizing students who demonstrate good behavior.
Students who show good behavior or make important strides are recognized in a variety of ways. Their names may be read over the loudspeaker during morning announcements, and there are special notes from teachers, and even award ceremonies. Business leaders in the community have stepped forward to help provide small gifts for students, Bossard said.
"Kids understand tangibles," he said.
The initiative was instituted after a year of preparation. School officials analyzed data, probing when discipline problems were most likely to occur. Students and parents were surveyed as part of the process in an attempt to get a sense of their feelings about the school environment.
Some hard to reach
Still, some students can be harder to reach at times.
At the Stafford Township School District, officials have used a behavior analyst, who helps develop individual plans to assist students in need of extra attention. Though the analyst is now serving as a teacher, the district's supervisor of special education is filling that role now, school officials said.
St. Joseph's, in Keyport, has also retooled its discipline policies. Detentions consist of a reflective, one-hour written exercise. From there, the child's parents must add their thoughts to the assignment. The parental involvement, Mazzarela said, has resulted in a "significant reduction" in detentions in the early portion of the year.
When a student is on the verge of detention, usually it simply takes Sister Barbara McDermott placing the detention sheet on the edge of the student's desk, said third-graders Christopher Angolin and Chloe Dopico. "It really works," Dopico said.
But increasingly, university education programs aren't requiring classroom management as part of required courses, said Mary Lou Vogler, a first-grade teacher of 18 years at Strathmore and in Keansburg.
Vogler said it was required when she was in college, but her two
daughters, who have recently majored in education, didn't have to take it. Nor have many of the younger teachers at the school.
"If more schools aren't making it a requirement, it's because teachers now have to teach to the test, and they feel it's waste of time," said Harriot, the Monmouth professor. "It definitely isn't. When there's a community of good feelings, students are going to learn."
The Stafford Township district, like many others, require new teachers to take part in a training program before the beginning of the school year; it focuses on classroom management and practices, district spokeswoman Karina Monanian said.
Ferraino, the Long Branch superintendent, said the district also provides ongoing professional development.
"Are there enough resources (for management)? It's easy for me to say yes," he said. "But, again, it has to be how does that teacher feel. We have to work together.
