What Needs to Happen When a Student Gets Sent Out of Class
In this video, Dr. Justin Baeder outlines what should happen when a student is removed from a classroom — and why sending them right back is the worst possible response.
Key Takeaways
- Never send them right back - Returning a student immediately tells the teacher their authority doesn't matter and the student there are no consequences
- There must be a meaningful process - A conversation, a consequence, and a clear plan for re-entry should precede any return
- The teacher's authority must be upheld - When administration undermines the teacher's decision to send a student out, trust collapses
Transcript
When a student gets sent out of the classroom, what needs to happen?
I think too often the student gets sent right back to class because there are some things that are nice to think about, there are some things that we want to have happened, but the time to make sure that those things happen is not when the student has been sent out of the classroom.
I think this is a mistake a lot of administrators make.
They think, okay, if the teacher had a good relationship with the student, if they have built a strong class culture, if they have put good routines and procedures in place, if they have demonstrated strong classroom management skills, then that should minimize the number of situations that result in a student getting sent out of the classroom.
That's great.
I agree with that.
That is great.
And we certainly should minimize the number of students we send out of the classroom.
But if that happens, if a student does get sent out of the classroom, That is the teacher saying, I've done what I can in this particular situation, I've done what I can in this particular moment, and I need support.
And what is not an example of support is sending the student right back to class with a note about how you need to build a relationship or how you need to do X, Y, Z, call the parents three more times or whatever.
If a student gets sent out of the classroom, that is the point at which as a leader, we're obligated to provide support and not send that student right back to class.
And personally, I think the amount of time that student needs to be out of class is if it's secondary, the whole period.
I do not want to see that kid again today.
I do not want to see that kid again this period.
So they're going to sit in the office until the end of the period, even if there's no other real consequence, you know, even if it's just talking to.
Ideally, there's something else that's done, though.
If it's elementary, that teacher needs to get through the lesson.
They need to not have that lesson further disrupted.
And yes, maybe the student needs to come back after recess or after specials or whatever, but But please, we have got to give teachers a break when they send a student out of the classroom and not just send the student right back.
Let me know what you think.