Is detention an appropriate discipline strategy for middle school?

[Anonymous]

Our school allows them to have their phones and listen to music or sleep during detention. What’s the point??

[Anonymous]

DS’s school has moved to meetings with counselors or meetings with small groups of students. They are trying to be helpful and change student behavior through counseling. DS hates this more than anything and I tell him the punishment is that he has to keep going and talking about feelings if he doesn’t do what he is supposed to in school. It’s more effective than detention, because he wants to avoid these sessions at all costs.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid at TJ, which has an 8th “activities” period, since kids come from all over NoVA and need to bus home. When the school does detention, they do it during 8th period (ironically, usually for not being where they are supposed to be during 8th period or tardies, since the school has very few discipline problems except cheating, which is handled differently).

And the kids have to sit there quietly. That’s it. No homework. No electronics. No talking. Just sit. And the kids HATE it. Most effective consequence ever. Happened to my kid once two years ago, and you would think he had been water boarded for 45 minutes. He has never forgotten to clear an 8th period absence since.

I’m not sure the kids are reflecting on their sins. But they sure aren’t repeating them.

They aren’t shaming kids. They aren’t physically harming them. The are just boring them. It’s effective. I’m not sure I see a downside.

[Anonymous]

I just saw this earlier today:

https://www.upworthy.com/this-school-replaced-detention-with-meditation-the-results-are-stunning