Is the detention at DDs school a bit soft?

[AgentZigzag]

12 YO DD has had two detentions since starting secondary school in September, one for not handing in homework and the other for not having the right PE kit.

They get a letter sent home saying it's for the following week for an hour after school, and before she went she was saying how they're not allowed to talk or do anything for the hour and everyone had to just sit in silence.

I was pretty impressed and wondering how DD would deal with it because she's such a big talker and not good at sitting doing nothing, but was glad they were expecting high things of the DC there.

The first detention DD came back saying she'd heard wrong and the DC there were just sitting chatting, reading, messing about on phones and generally larking about, the second time the teacher felt sorry for DD because she didn't have anything to do and gave her some drawing things.

I'm not sure why they bother, apart from telling the parents and hoping they take it up with the DC at home (which not all would), how are they thinking it'll make the DC think twice the next time?

Despite it not being that bad, DD said off her own back that she feels really bad because most DC go all through school with only 2/or no detentions, so maybe there is something in it that I can't see?

What's the detention like at your DCs schools? What happened to good old lines? 'The wise old owl sat in a tree...' My arm's starting to ache just thinking about it

(We've bought her some organisers/folders for her homework and have upped asking about what homework she's got/PE kit she needs.)

sounds a bit odd. As she has had 2 in fairly short order, it would be an appropriate time to contact her form tutor and just ask what is expected of them during the detention. At the (private) school I work at, they are set a specific task to do, depending on why they are there - if its for a behaviour incident, they have to write out the school rules, if its work related, they do the work plus some other extension task. It is conducted in absolute silence and no ipods etc are allowed. It also goes on til 5.30.

Detention at ds' school (and I am sorry to say I know a lot about this ) is staying in detention until non-completed homework is completed: if you mess around or don't finish the work, you will be given further detentions. This seems to make more sense than writing lines, since you are actually doing work that needs to be done.

Where I teach, detentions are the dullest thing ever (to supervise, as well as for the students) They're in the canteen, kids have to sit in silence and aren't allowed to do anything. Have to sit up straight and aren't allowed to put their elbows on tables. They hate them, and there are never very many in them.

At DS's secondary school detention depended on which teacher took it - some insisted on silence and the full time served, some didn't mind if they chatted and let them out early. It was pot luck really.

We have Saturday detentions. Failure to turn up results in fixed term exclusion. Now that is a bugger for those who play in sports teams, oh the dilema, letting your mates down or being excluded.

Not many Saturday detentions these days.

Have had 3 teen DCs so far and its been different each time but pretty much as MyCatHasStaff says. It tends to depends on the teacher in my experience. Some make them sit there in silence doing nothing, (which I object to as its such a waste of time), some teachers tell them to do some homework, other teachers allow them to just be present so they can talk or play on phones etc and then be let out early. Also know of a certain few teachers who used to turn up, let them all into the classroom and then bugger off, just intermittently checking on them.

One time DS3 got given a second detention for smiling because he looked too happy to be there and it was not supposed to be something enjoyable.

At my DN's school they have to do things like sort out the lost property cupboard whereas a friend told me she was that her DS was watching a film during detention.

Its only detention so no that bigger deal, I think most teachers just want to keep them occupied while they get on with their own tasks.

I think that sitting doing nothing in silence or otherwise is a waste of time. Nor should it be the homework they failed to do in the first place. surely that should be in addition to the detention otherwise detention is a catch up session not a punishment.

at my old school we had to look up a series of words In the thesaurus usually related to whatever we had been dumped in detention for doing and copy out all the synonyms.

more worthwhile than lines.

It being a waste of time is the whole point...

I don't think it being a waste of time is the point, not being able to go home/leave school is the point. An extension of the time they are under school rules and school control and the delay of them being released into their leisure time appears to be the point.

Most DC aren't unhappy its a waste of time, they're unhappy they have to be at school longer.

I suppose writing lines is as pointless as the crank machine used to be in prisons, just turning a useless handle thousands of times a day.

But for doing school work in it, is it a good idea to start associating work with punishment? Although I'm sure the DC think it's that any way

We didn't have detentions at the school I went to, just merits and demarks, which were as useless as DDs detentions seem really.