School punishment

School punishment is a hierarchy of penalties used to punish infractions of rules in a school setting. There are wide variations in practice between schools in different cultures, countries or states, and between different types of school in the same country. Nevertheless, there are certain near-universal punishments, ranging from verbal reprimands to ultimate expulsion from the institution. In many cultures nowadays, school punishment and discipline in general are hotly debated, but individual cases usually become known about to the outside world only when parents complain that punishment is too harsh.

Verbal warnings and counseling

In nearly every educational system, a verbal reprimand ("getting told off") is probably the most common sanction for minor misbehaviour. This is typically done by the class teacher on the spot, but a more serious and formal reprimand might be given in the school office, e.g. by the Head Teacher, in which case it might be called a "dressing-down" or "getting bawled out". In the latter form it might be combined with other punishments.

Writing lines

Writing lines is a form of punishment handed out to misbehaving students by teachers, prefects, etc. at schools in many countries of the world.

Writing lines involves copying a sentence on to a piece of paper or a blackboard as many times as the punishment-giver deems necessary. The sentence to be copied may bear some relation to the reason the lines are being given in the first place, e.g. "I will not talk in class." In India, this is referred to as imposition, as also in Britain, at least in the past. In many Catholic schools in the U.S., it is called "penance." The number of lines to be written may be 100 or more.

Shortcuts

Many students use an alternative method to write their lines, thinking they are getting the task completed much quicker. Rather than writing the lines a sentence at a time, they will write them a word at a time. For example, for the line "I will not talk in class", the student would first write the word "I" down the left hand side of his paper. Once this is complete, he will then write "will" next to "I" to the bottom of the page. This is repeated until the lines are complete.

Although this feels a lot quicker, obviously the same number of words are being written either way so in theory it should take just as long. However, it is possible that if a student believes the method is quicker, he will work harder anyway and thus finish more quickly than a student completing lines the conventional way (see placebo effect). Many students actually do finish more quickly because they are able to write the words faster when writing the same one over and over.

Another trick sometimes tried, though perhaps more in school folklore and fiction than in reality, is the use of multiple writing implements (e.g. several pens taped together).

Write-outs

A write-out is when a child may have to copy out a certain text, e.g. a page/chapter of their book. This is sometimes called "writing pages".

Arithmetic Punishments

Another punishment is that the child might be required to write the Multiplication Tables from two through twelve for a certain number of times, usually at least ten and sometime as many as twenty-five or more. Or the child might be given an extremely lengthy long-division problem and suffer additional punishment if the problem is completed incorrectly.

Essays, sometimes also called "Compositions"

The child is required to write an original composition, usually between 300 and 500 words but possibly more in more egregious cases. The composition might be a letter of apology to the class for the child's disruptive behavior, or it might be a "meditation" on whatever type of misconduct the child committed, or it might be to "write a definition" (for example, of a blackboard eraser when the child has been guilty of throwing a blackboard eraser).

Memorization

The child is sometimes required to memorize fifty or a hundred lines of poetry or the day's Gospel or other Scriptural text.

In popular culture

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter is forced to write lines with his own blood.

In the opening sequence of The Simpsons, Bart Simpson is seen writing lines, which vary each episode.

Detention

Detention is one of the most common jackson has CHOCOLATE

• Talking in class
• Homework not handed in on time
• Not turning up at a previous detention
• Swearing
• Name-calling
• Lying
• Bullying
• Persistent lateness
• Classroom disruptions
• Not listening
• Sleeping during class
• Not coming to school on time
• Running in the hallways
• Cell Phones/Electronic Devices out during school

Usually school staff give students warnings and, if a student fails to listen to the warning, detention might be given. Many schools first give detention at recess or at lunch and if a student misbehaves again an after-school detention may be given.

Students have different nicknames for detention in different cultures, often jocularly alluding to its supposed similarity with imprisonment -- "in the jug", "in the clink", and so on.

Some secondary schools in southern U.S. states offer a corporal punishment option as an alternative to detention. If the student chooses to be paddled instead of having after-school detention, it avoids having to arrange transport after the school bus has gone, which can cause difficulties for parents.

On Report

Being "put on report" is a punishment often used in schools for serious misconduct, such as truancy.

Typically a student is given a report card, which he or she carries to classes at school. At each lesson the teacher in charge of the class completes and signs a box on the card confirming the student's presence at the lesson and commenting on his or her attitude. In some cases there will also be a place for a more senior teacher and the student’s parent or guardians to confirm they have read the report at the end of each day. Some schools will also have a number of different grades of report reflecting the seriousness of the punishment.

A student may be placed on report for a fixed time period, such as a week, or until their behaviour improves. Their parents may also voluntarily place them on report.

In the U.S., this kind of report card is usually referred to as a Conduct Card, to differentiate it from the report card issued with grades each term or after each marking period. In many schools, the Conduct Card is issued to any student who has received a failing grade in Conduct for the previous marking period. Usual practice in the U.S. requires a student to present the card to each teacher each day for a week. The teacher confirms the student's presence in the class and, most importantly, enters a Conduct grade for the class. If the student fails to receive a passing grade in Conduct from each teacher for a full week, the student has to carry the card again for another week.

Among other refinements, in order to emphasize failures, teachers often enter a failing grade with red ink or circle it in red, although red ink may also be used to signify a grade subject to revision. Although issuance of a Conduct Card or placing a student on report is not a physical punishment, the psychological impact on some students may be significant since some teachers have been known to award a failing grade on the final day of each week so as to renew the punishment indefinitely. Each week the student may hope to escape from carrying the card but is frustrated by a teacher's seizing on a minor lapse in behaviour to fail the student and thus continue the punishment. Ancillary effects of the punishment may include the students being excluded from participation in extracurricular activities or ineligibility for any privileges while carrying the card.

Suspension

Main article: Suspension (punishment)

Suspension or temporary exclusion is mandatory leave assigned to a student as a form of punishment that can last anywhere from one day to several weeks, during which time the student cannot attend regular lessons. The student's parents/guardians are notified of the reason for and duration of the out-of-school suspension. Sometimes students have to complete work during their suspensions for which they receive no credit. Also, upon returning to school, it is often mandatory that the student, his/her parents/guardians, and a school administrator have a meeting to discuss and evaluate the matter. In American schools there are often two types of suspenion; In-School Suspenion (ISS) and Out-of-School Suspenion (OSS). In-school suspension requires the student to report to school as normal, but sit in a special room all day, rather like a prison sentence. Out-of-school suspension suspends the student from being on school grounds.

From the school's point of view, out-of-school suspension gets the troublesome student out of the way. However, it has often been criticised because from the student's point of view it can just seem like having an extra holiday, almost the opposite of a punishment.

Corporal punishment

Main article: School corporal punishment

In past times, corporal punishment (spanking or paddling or caning or strapping the student in order to cause physical pain) was one of the most common forms of school discipline throughout much of the world. Most Western countries, and some others, have now banned it, but it remains lawful in the United States following a Supreme Court decision in 1977 which held that paddling did not violate the Constitution.

29 US states have banned corporal punishment, the others (mostly in the South) have not. It is still used to a significant (though declining) degree in some public schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Private schools in these and some other states may also use it.

Official corporal punishment remains commonplace in schools in some Asian, African and Caribbean countries. For details of individual countries see School corporal punishment.

Other kinds of physical punishment

In many countries, students committing relatively minor offences may be required to do a certain number of push-ups on the spot, or to run laps round the playing field.

In the Indian subcontinent a punishment called "murgha banana" consists of having the student assume a bending-over position, touching the toes, and hold this position for as long as the teacher requires.

In South Korea a common punishment is for students to be required to go down on all fours with posterior in the air, and hold the position for a given length of time, often culminating in a spanking as the signal to get up.

Exclusion

Main article: Expulsion (academia)

Exclusion, expulsion, withdrawing or permanent exclusion is the removal of a student permanently from the school. This is the ultimate last resort, when all other methods of discipline have failed. However, in extreme situations it may also be used for a single offence. Some education authorities have a nominated school in which all excluded students are collected; this typically has a much higher staffing level than mainstream schools. In some US public schools, expulsions and exclusions are so serious that they require an appearance before the Board of Education. In the UK, head teachers may make the decision to exclude but the student's parents have the right of appeal to the local education authority. This has proved controversial in cases where the head teacher's decision has been overturned (and his or her authority thereby undermined), and there are proposals to abolish the right of appeal.

Expulsion from a private school is a more straightforward matter, since the school can merely terminate its contract with the parents.

In past times, some private boys' schools in the UK would hold a special shaming ceremony before an assembly of the entire school to formally expel the offender, at which in some cases he would also be caned or birched before being removed from the premises. A few schools in Singapore still use this combination of formal public caning plus expulsion in serious cases.

Other Sanctions

Other, lesser sanctions may also be applied, including loss of privileges, additional homework or practical chores. For milder offences, students may be asked to move to the front of the class. They may also be asked to stand in a corner or stand facing against a wall.