Detention in yr 7 - harsh?

[SingingGoldfinch]

Hi - my dd has just started in yr 7. New school, new rules, new friends - all the usual stuff to get her head round. The school has a policy that it doesn't enforce any sanctions in first 2 weeks but then they come into full force. In principle I don't have a problem with that approach - until that is my daughter very genuinely forgot to do a piece of maths homework and landed herself an after school detention. No warning, no lunchtime detention just straight into a full on after school detention. She was beside herself and really anxious about it all weekend - she's always been so conscientious and has never been in any trouble at all at school. She's done the detention now and I've told her we just put it behind us and move on, but my question is do you think this was a little harsh? Others have forgotten homework in other lessons and been let off.

Erm the black marks and phone calls home. No sanction to students. Oh and the emails home.

Yes actually I have had 4 transition to secondary school. One is autistic. As I mentioned somewhere in the thread, one forgot his homework and this resulted in detention. Now he's more careful about ensuring the night before he is ready for the following day.

Yes, and we fully accepted the consequences pengggwn. There's a rule and it was applied - we don't have a problem with it. As I've said before, it just felt a little harsh that's all so I decided to test it out on here and it seems I'm not alone. However - that doesn't change anything. I still accept the rules and understand why they need to be applied. I'm not moaning or being dramatic about it - just interested in others views.

As for helping dd to organise herself - of course we are! We're doing loads to help her make sure she's sorted and on top of things and in the main she's doing really well. As I said, this was an entirely innocent mistake which she's going to learn from.

Steppemum you sound like a wonderful teacher and very much in tune with the yr 7 psyche!

My DD was the Class Representive in Primary and has followed that through to High School. Every teacher has told me she has been a delight to teach. She is an optimistic, incredibly enthusiastic, kind and humorous child. She is a member of the orchestra, part of the school theatre production etc etc. She is always keen to do well in class. She was thrilled to be starting High School. She is NOT my problem, she is a delight as steppemum pointed out. I do not want this bright light t extinguished by draconian
and quite frankly lazy, throw away punishments. I have no problem with detentions where appropriate but not for very minor misdemeanors that cause more harm than good.

Please treat them with some respect and surely they will show you the same courtesy.

I am still seething that dd ended up with three behaviour points in her first two weeks of year 7, for forgetting to get me to sign something twice (other teachers were not even asking for it) and something else trivial. However, she has got none since. I would be quietly fuming in your shoes, but I would stay alongside both school and daughter by emphasising that they enforce the rules strictly to keep high standards and that she will not be the first or the last to get a harsh detention decision. In future years you will be able to joke about her wayward youth.

I am still seething that dd ended up with three behaviour points in her first two weeks of year 7, for forgetting to get me to sign something twice (other teachers were not even asking for it) and something else trivial
Sounds like sometbing like a planner/diary that needs signing, which is part of being a form tutor at most schools.

The 'most teachers' don't ask for it is probably 'a handful of cool teachers who are desperate for validation from teenagers that theu are fun' have chosen to ignore basic school policy because it doesn't suit them (which creates issues around school because then all we hear is 'Mr X lets his class... Mrs Y doesn't tell us...)

Pengggwn

Sounds about right. One lesson a fortnight one of classes is significantly more off task/silly. Out of interest I looked where they were the lesson before and suddenly it all made sense. I'm the unreasonable one for expecting them to enter sensibly, write thr date/title (which is always in the same place!) Without getting questions like 'what's the date? Is that the title? Oh do we have to write it?'

Apparently Mr so and so has said that all the things we are meant to do for consistency don't help learning so they can come in how thry like, sit where they like, have a chat with each other and sir for a bit, don't have to write loads etc.

I was too professional to point out that Sir's results were very low last year and that being too much of a mate was probably a contributinf factor.

Jasminedes don't worry about the behaviour points. If it's the same as dd's school there won't be any consequences unless she gets lots. Even extremely well behaved kids in dd's school have had the odd couple because they aren't perfect and I'm sure no one thinks any less of them for it. Dd's form tutor keeps them in at break if they don't get things signed when they've been asked to. Dd has been kept in for that reason. If they need things signed by a certain time then the kids need to learn that they have to do this as things run more efficiently then and the teacher doesn't waste time asking again and again.

School is like a fixed price menu. You can’t à la carte it by choosing the rules you like and rejecting those you don’t.

You just have to agree with the majority of the ethos.