Schools Can't Be Consequence-Free Zones
In this video, Dr. Justin Baeder argues that eliminating consequences doesn't eliminate harm — it just shifts the consequences to victims and bystanders.
Key Takeaways
- Someone always bears the consequence - When there are no consequences for misbehavior, the rest of the school community absorbs the impact
- Consequence-free isn't harm-free - Removing discipline doesn't create a safe environment; it creates an environment where harm goes unaddressed
- Protect the community - The purpose of consequences is to ensure that one student's choices don't destroy the learning environment for everyone else
Transcript
Schools can't be consequence-free zones.
And I keep seeing these posts from administrators who are struggling with student behavior.
They are desperate for a solution to really disruptive behavior, unsafe behavior, kids throwing fits, tearing up classrooms, running away.
I keep seeing these posts that say, we've tried everything.
We don't know what to do.
We're at our wit's end.
And they think they've tried everything.
But what they haven't tried is consequences.
In a lot of cases, that's because these are younger students.
In a lot of cases, states have said you can't suspend students.
In a lot of cases, districts have policies about this.
I don't think there's any universe in which schools can be consequence-free zones, where we treat all behavior as if it's some sort of medical mystery to solve, right?
Like we think we're house MD trying to diagnose some sort of problem that is not a behavior on the part of the individual.
Right.
It's like it's an infection or it's some sort of mystery tumor or something.
That's not what behavior is.
Behavior is something where the student has agency.
Right.
The student is making choices about their behavior.
And obviously there are influence on those choices.
There may be some constraints on those choices.
But ultimately, we have to believe that behavior is.
is a choice.
And one of the big factors in the choices that students make about their behavior is what are the consequences?
What's going to happen?
And when we try to make school a consequence-free zone, we end up giving a lot of power to that student because we're saying to that student, you're not going to face the consequences of your behavior.
Everybody else is going to absorb those consequences.
Instead of you getting sent home, instead of your mom having to come pick you up, your dad having to come pick you up, we are going to evacuate the classroom and everybody else is going to stop what they're doing and absorb the consequences of your behavior choices.
And instead, what we need to do is what we've always done, we need to go back to this, is allow the individual student to experience the consequences of their choices and of their behavior and not try to make everybody else absorb them.
Now, that won't completely solve every problem.
Sometimes student behavior is complex for reasons that are complex, and there is a little bit of a mystery to it.
Sometimes we have a student who's inappropriately placed.
I had a kid who was just way overstimulated and needed to be in a smaller classroom one time.
There are individual things that could be going on so that there is not always a straightforward like consequence permanently changes the behavior.
But what the consequence can do, especially when we follow progressive discipline policy, is it can prevent the behavior from ruining the education of everyone else, right?
By removing a student from the classroom, we can allow that classroom to continue to function instead of being shut down by behavior that is unmitigated by consequences.
So let me know what you're seeing about this.
Let me know what you're hearing.
I don't see any way around having consequences.
Let me know.