Equity Discipline

Ok, I admit. It has been way too long. I was embarrassed when I saw the date of my last post: 07/17. I can not believe it has been a year. I could blame it on my frustration over the current state of politics, but I know that is just an excuse. I am sitting down to write to help clarify my thinking on a number of topics I have faced while interviewing for a Principal or Assistant Principal position. So, this post will have a slightly different feel to it. I am writing this more for myself than for a particular audience. I am trying to stop and reflect on the different answers I have given over the years (yes, years!) I have been trying to land that new administrative job.

During one scroll through my Twitter feed, I came across someone mentioning a video by Principal Kafele (@PrincipalKafele) on You Tube where he discusses "points to consider for the aspiring Assistant Principal". Since I am still searching for my first admin job, I figured I would check it out. If you are in the same boat as me, I would take the time to see both videos: Part 1 and Part II.
So that I do not spend this whole past reviewing the videos, I am going to focus on the part of the video where he discusses knowing your Discipline Plan. As a classroom teacher for over 20 years, I know what I do in my classroom, but I wanted to spend some time reflecting on how that might be implemented building wide.

Most of the interviews I have been on there was a question about having a discipline philosophy. I have had the opportunity of being my school's disciplinarian for a couple of years, so I have some experience to help myself answer that question. What was eye opening for me was the constant perception of equity vs. equality in the discipline that I handed out. There were several colleagues that were very vocal about why I did not give a particular student a certain discipline based on the handbook. I found this role contained more grey areas than I realized. What I ended up doing was basing the consequences of the discipline on a case by case basis. There were so many things to consider: is this student being written up for something he/she can not control (IEP)? What is the back story of the incident? Would this student benefit from getting involved in Peer Mediation? Should this student by directed to a Counselor to speak with? Obviously, I want the student to stop that negative behavior, but ideally I want them to stop not out of fear of the punishment, but because they understand it is the right way to act. Now, how do you put all of that into a nice answer to an interview question?

I understand that student discipline is closely linked to school climate and culture, but I am saving that for another post. It will not be a year from now. Principal Kafele challenged anyone who watched the videos that if they are not seriously thinking about their answers, that they are not hungry enough. That was all the motivation I needed. I am not sure which of the other 19 "nuggets" he suggested I will tackle next. Thank you for allowing me some space to work through my thoughts.