by Ernest Smartt

Created on: May 16, 2009   Last Updated: March 17, 2010

Schools across the nation are struggling with the lack of control they have over the behavior of students. Pointing fingers at the teachers, parents, Administration, and even the government, will not resolve this problem. Some even point a finger at the culture as the cause for this struggle. Culture is changing, and as a result standards are also changing. Because of school locations, personalities, and ethnic ratios, standards may vary. The question here is not what should the behavioral standards be, Although that is a very good question, but rather how to maintain the standards that are currently in place.

Unless there is a firm determination to actually maintain the standard, how to do it is not even an issue. Too many schools are not willing to give enough time for serious enforcement of the standards to take effect. Very often a few teachers or administrators give up, and fail to enforce the rules, simply because they don't believe they are working. However, they do this far too soon, and never give the standards a chance.

Serious thought and brainstorming must take place in order to set the standards. Setting the standards is not all there is to it. Teachers and administrators must all have input on the consequences for negative behavior, and rewards for good behavior. If a school just throws some rules together because they seem to be good rules, the school stands to fail in this department. Once the standards and consequences are thoughtfully developed, and a period of time is set to allow for ample evaluation and adjustments, there must be a buy-in by everyone (100%) in order for this process to be successful.

Teachers often complain that it takes too much time to deal with discipline as determined by the standards. When this happens, it is almost a guarantee that the process will not work. When it is perceived that administration is not consistent in the consequences for negative behavior, teachers get discouraged and feel their time is wasted because nothing is happening to the students when they get written up. The fact is that if the teachers and administration don't work together, consistently, failure comes almost immediately.

Some administrators or teachers are too friendly, or don't want to appear mean to the students. Certainly respect, and friendliness are necessary in the relationships between the students and the staff. Students often use the kindness of a teacher to get by with things. Consequences for dress code violations, being late

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