Should child be refused GCSE revision session because of detention?

[youarenotkiddingme]

DC year 11 gets a detention for not handing in a piece of homework - fair enough.

Revision session for core subject is announced for same day.

DC asked teacher if he could re arrange detention as thinks revision session would be useful.

DC told no because detention is punishment and they have to learn actions have consequences - again the consequence is fair enough.

This is only 2nd detention has has had in 5 years so isn't a serial offender iyswim?

AIBU to think that considering the change in curriculum and grading and the fact the GCSE's affect their immediate future the teacher should have agreed another day or even said he could attend the session as part of his detention for being mature enough to A) realise the session was important and B) have the maturity to try and rearrange not just get out of it?

This is only part of a whole issue that seems to have stemmed from a change of HT.

The issue is probably that the detention is for one subject and the revision session is for a different subject.

In the school I work at, my department has detentions and revision sessions on the same day, so that if there are any Y11s in detention, we make them attend the revision session instead. However this only works within the department.

you do realise that this revision session is being run out by the teacher unpaid so there is no 'right' to attend so to speak whereas the detention is set via school policy

Yes I do cricket - but I'm surprised more that the school would refuse a pupil a chance to get a few extra points as it benefits them as well. Regardless of what department you work in.

The whole school has changed recently to being extremely autocratic (locally we joke it's becoming like a scene from the Demon Headmaster!)

Now it's seems showing who's boss is becoming more important than actually educating the children.

That sounds unreasonable. It's not like your dc was asking for the detention to be cancelled, just moved: surely the school think revision is important?

Is this the only revision session that has ever and will ever be put on by the other department?

If the other department has been organising weekly revision and your DS has never shown up, his interest this week would seem more down to the detention than anything else.

Of course Yabu. The revision sessions are put on by staff for no extra pay, rewards or benefits.

A detention always takes precedence. It's a good life lesson that actions have consequences. He will have to do the revision in his own time.

As for moving a detention, are you asking staff to give up yet more time to accommodate your sons wishes.

This whole post is why education is a mess, an attitude of its not my fault it's the school.

Just supervise your ds for an hour of revision yourself at home to compensate. Revision sessions are only needed because students CBA to revise for themselves too often. If he needs clarification on a particular issue I'm sure his teachers will be happy to help in revision time in lesson or at a prearranged time out of lessons.

YANBU. He isn't trying to get out of the detention entirely (and so escape the 'consequence' for the missing homework), he's prioritising the more important revision session, which does seem mature of him.

If there's any evidence for 'education being a mess' it's a focus on obedience over common-sense, and punishment over learning. Yes, he should do the detention, but his GCSE exams (and revising for them) are much more important than any consequence for not doing homework.

Now it's seems showing who's boss is becoming more important than actually educating the children. Sadly, that's the case in an increasing number of schools.

Please can I point out it's not my child - that's why I put DC.

It's my friends. We met for coffee today and she asked my advice and if it was worth complaining?

You only need to check my extensive posting history in secondary ed to know I'm really not the person to be asking this!

Although my own DS has settled well into his new school and now has an EHCP for 20 hrs support.

Fwiw my friend knows I've posted here to ask and gave permission.

The detention system run in this school is done on a rota. They do a subject and something else weekly. All pupils with a subject detention attend the one session regardless of what subject/department it was.

It is not worth complaining to the school over. It would be a pain in the arse to rearrange the detention and the revision session is unlikely to be the one and only revision session on offer by that department. It's also unlikely that information would be given in that session that will never be repeated ever again.

What about the life lesson of forgiveness, kindness and understanding. Children should also be taught to try and negotiate to change things and not blindly go along with strict rules.

Just wanted to add my husband talked his way into getting lots of extensions for homework;he had the gift of the gab, it's sad to think his kindness and charm might not have worked with the draconian rules nowadays. They might have just knocked his spirit.

What about the life lesson of forgiveness, kindness and understanding.

It's a detention for missed homework, let's not get overexcited. What about the life lesson of meeting deadlines and being organised?

They are teenagers though, they have plenty of time to meet deadlines for the rest of their lives, they are just learning this thing, and coming down on them hard all the time is just mean.

Being present at one revision session isn't in itself going to make a crucial difference. The pupil needs to accept that he'll have to revise under his own steam this time. He's been given a detention and needs to serve it. It's not unfair, it's the consequence of his actions.

My revision sessions are always super popular with kids who have an unrelated detention.

The usual scenario is that if I am daft enough to send an email to a colleague requesting that student be permitted to attend my revision session instead, they don't turn up, hoping I won't care enough to take it further.

Then they get terribly butt hurt when I email colleague to inform & detention is recorded as missed, leading to a Saturday detention instead.

I'm in full agreement that dc should take the consequences, do the detention, & sort out their revision needs separately.

It's a missed homework though, is it really necessary to put a child in detention, when mostly they work hard and mostly hand in stuff on time. Children do need to be taught about kindness too. I worry that this follow the rules by the letter, all the time, is just teaching kids to be anxious and that they won't be listened to. I know detention doesn't matter to a lot of kids, but to one child who is perhaps sensitive and good most of the time; it might be a big deal.

I'm sure what the actual revision session was but I know it was based around something lots of pupils lost marks on in the new exam and mocks they did. So I'd assume it's something that actually will make a difference rather than what ours were in the day - further discussion of Of mice and men!

The homework genuinely was a mistake. When they do school sports events that take a day (so playing matches/tournaments for school etc) the pupils are responsible for catching up with missed work and finding out about homework.

The homework was to finish the sheet they'd be doing in class. The person he got it from had already finished it and so hadn't written that down. The homework was due fridays lesson and friends DC had planned on doing the work over the weekend.
The lesson he missed was Wednesday, he got the sheet on the Thursday from friend and next lesson was Friday. Teachers argument was he should have thought to have done it by the next lesson - Friday. Except this isn't actually something they are specifically told they should do - but in this instance it should have been done because technically completing it was homework.

Was an honest misunderstanding but DC was accepting of detention and willing to sit it.

Friend wants to complain because she doesn't think it was fair in the first place let alone being told he couldn't attend a revision session they'd all been told they were 'expected' to attend because of it.

Crowy that sounds fair enough - you sound firm but fair. But I'm sure you'd rather not spend extra time chasing up students and teachers via email?

Well,quite! Which is why now I just say 'nope, I don't think I want to be your Get Out Of Jail Free card for maths detention'.

If it were a crucial session that the student desperately needed to attend (unlikely,we do that stuff in timetabled lessons) I'd be the one emailing begging to move their detention.

I think the teachers my kids find the most inspiring are the enthusiastic ones , who sometimes let them get away with things.

My own ds seems to like the teachers other kids don't! Think because of his autism he likes the ones who stick to the rules - end of!

So with that and with problems I had with ds old school (not the one I'm talking about) I'm really not in a position to give advice!

I will show my friend this thread. I'm hoping she'll translate it as I do that it's a strict decision and maybe not one all teachers/schools would take but it's not totally unreasonable enough to make a complaint about - especially as she now can't actually ask for anything to be done (e.g. Attend the revision session) as it's all been and gone now

Being consistent & fair is obviously the enemy of inspirational & enthusiastic, right?

I find my enthusiasm & ability to be inspiring are sapped when I spend unnecessary time on chasing up detention chancers.

What you see as fair though, isn't necessarily what someone else would see as fair. I do get that you have a very difficult job, but being overly draconian is just going to alienate some of the more liberal children.