Bring Back Detention — Little Consequences Make a Big Difference

Little consequences make a big difference for kids.

We have to have small consequences if we wanna be able to intervene and address behaviors before they become big behaviors.

And we talk a lot about suspension and expulsion and things like that, but it's the little consequences that make the biggest difference because they get used the most, right?

Most behaviors are not that serious, but if you don't address little behaviors, they become big behaviors.

And we actually know this from the research.

There is research on suspension that says When you take away the ability to suspend students for lower level behaviors, it doesn't fix their behavior.

What happens is their behavior worsens because there were no consequences for it.

And then students actually end up spending more time suspended because they got to the point where their behavior was worse.

We know this from the research that students lose more time out of the classroom, out of the school due to suspension for more serious issues when we don't have consequences for lower level behaviors.

And this is the essence of progressive discipline, right?

Deal with it early, nip it in the bud.

We have known this for generations and it's only in the last five or 10 years that we've stopped practicing this to the point that now people ask me all the time, what are some consequences we can use for behavior?

Like, why is that even a question?

Well, one reason it's a question is that some of the consequences are now illegal.

Like taking away recess is illegal in a lot of states.

Suspending primary students is illegal in a lot of states.

And I'm not saying we should be doing those things all the time, but we do need to have little consequences because kids respond to little consequences.

They don't need to be huge.

They don't need to be dire.

This doesn't need to go on your permanent record or ruin your life or anything.

But like kids need to know that there is a boundary for behavior, that there are expectations that matter and they need to meet those expectations.

And when those boundaries aren't in place, behavior just gets worse and worse.

We know this.

We're seeing this happen every day.

And I think we've just got to call for better, lower-level consequences.

And one that seems to have disappeared entirely is detention.

Like, who even has detention anymore?

Where did it go?

I think we got rid of detention because, like, hey, nobody likes detention.

The adults don't like it.

The kids don't like it.

Nobody is thrilled about detention.

But it works.

And we've tried to replace it with things like rewards.

that do not do the same job.

Those are just not valid substitutes that we're trying to put in place.

Restorative practices do not substitute for detention.

So if I could make one blanket recommendation, it would be detention.

There are some logistical challenges there and you have to figure out Is it after school?

Is it on Saturday?

Is it lunch?

Is it recess?

How do you make sure kids get recess if they're required by law to get it?

There are some things to figure out, but every school can have lower level consequences put in place at a very low cost, maybe not free, but pretty easily.

And it will make a huge difference in your classroom management.

And crucially, it will increase the amount of time students are spending learning.

that's often what we lose sight of.

Like we're sending kids back to class when they get in trouble because we don't want them to miss out on learning, but that means there's no consequence.

No, give them a consequence like detention and get them back on track as soon as possible.

Let me know what you think.