I'm a teacher and this is highly dependent on the teacher and the openness of the principal to deal with minor matters. I worked at a high-poverty school where there were a lot of kids going through a lot and we would only refer serious disciplinary cases to the principal. The teachers were trained and equipped to handle stress things like crying, work refusal, disrespect, defiance and other issues that sometimes came with home life stress. An example of something we would escalate would be repeated hitting that was hard hitting, not kids unable to keep their hands to themselves.

I got married and moved and my new job happens to be in a richer neighborhood and am surprised some teachers send kids to the principal for little things, even things that happen only once. I know they have sent kids in for talking back or throwing away work into the trash can because they are frustrated. My personal feeling is that they are lazy.

Anonymous wrote:in what cases should a 1st grader be send to the principal office? What should be her consequnces for misbehaving and not hitting anyone. (Disruptive Behavior).. student will be going to the doctor for ADHD in a couple weeks, student was given a time out and had to eat lunch alone in the office..

My guess is that a child who is relentlessly acting up in class is sent to the principal.

Anonymous wrote:If a child is requiring more attention than the teacher can fairly give (there are other kids in the class who shouldn’t have to suffer because one is a hot mess) to get themselves together and function properly, that too would be a reason I could see for being sent to an administrator. It’s often a good chance to diffuse a situation and help the child think it out. I’m fine with a child being removed from others if they are hitting.

Yeah, a kid who is hitting other kids or otherwise being very disruptive needs to be removed from the class, and the teacher can't supervise him, so it makes sense to send him to the principal. Hitting in first grade is both unusual and serious behavior, so I would expect the principal to get involved if it's an ongoing problem.

Anonymous wrote:At our school, it depends on the teacher. Last year I didn’t hear a single complaint about my child but he went to the office quite a few times. This year I hear complaints often (not hitting but just doing what he is t supposed to do) yet he only went to the office once or twice. I think it’s how a teacher likes to work on these problems.

I agree. Some teachers prefer to handle it themselves and some prefer to send kids to the office. Unless you kid lives in the office, then he is fine.

As some have mentioned, sometimes the kid needs to be out of the class for a bit just as much as the teachers need them out.

Anonymous wrote:This happened to my son almost every day when he was in 1st. He had already been diagnosed with ADHD. He would sit and chat with the principal, however, so I don't think he considered it to be a punishment. They are still good friends although she's now retired and he's in 6th. I would just send my husband up there whenever he was in trouble, because there was always another boy involved. My husband was on duty, so he would go in and give both kids a lecture. The other boys stopped getting in trouble because they said when my son was sent to the office, they called the cops (they had no idea it was his stepdad ). It certainly worked wonders for the 1st grade behavior problem.

I would be really upset if a parent came in to lecture my child on behavior. I don't want my child to be scared of police as if he ever does need help, I want him to know they are there to help, not punish little kids. To me that is a privacy issue too.

This happened to my son almost every day when he was in 1st. He had already been diagnosed with ADHD. He would sit and chat with the principal, however, so I don't think he considered it to be a punishment. They are still good friends although she's now retired and he's in 6th. I would just send my husband up there whenever he was in trouble, because there was always another boy involved. My husband was on duty, so he would go in and give both kids a lecture. The other boys stopped getting in trouble because they said when my son was sent to the office, they called the cops (they had no idea it was his stepdad ). It certainly worked wonders for the 1st grade behavior problem.

At our school, it depends on the teacher. Last year I didn’t hear a single complaint about my child but he went to the office quite a few times. This year I hear complaints often (not hitting but just doing what he is t supposed to do) yet he only went to the office once or twice. I think it’s how a teacher likes to work on these problems.

Anonymous wrote:If a child is 100% refusing to comply, what do you suggest teachers do?

+1

Do you think that one child should be able to stop the entire class of 20-30 kids from learning? Sounds like it's time for you to leave planet Me Me Me and come back to Earth.

Unless the child is being beaten by the principal or otherwise physically mistreated, it sounds like a good call to remove them from the environment that they're clearly not functioning in.

The principals office today isn’t like it was when we were kids op. I don’t like sending kids, but when I do I’m always calm about it and it’s more of a “you need a break and talk it out” type of situation. And it’s always either because the student either hurt somebody or that they’ve repeatedly had disruptive behavior over a period of time and other interventions were not working. Bad behavior affects other students negatively too.

If a child is requiring more attention than the teacher can fairly give (there are other kids in the class who shouldn’t have to suffer because one is a hot mess) to get themselves together and function properly, that too would be a reason I could see for being sent to an administrator. It’s often a good chance to diffuse a situation and help the child think it out.. I’m fine with a child being removed from others if they are hitting.

Anonymous wrote:For a teacher to send your kid out to me means this is a long standing issue with no signs of improvement seen yet.

Not necessarily. My child had a one time incident and lost lunch and recess for several days. Teacher could just have gotten frustrated as they don't have a lot of support and too many kids and not sure the best way to handle it.

If a child is 100% refusing to comply, what do you suggest teachers do?

For a teacher to send your kid out to me means this is a long standing issue with no signs of improvement seen yet.

That's normal but not great idea in terms of punishment. My kid lost lunch and recess but it wasn't a punishment for him as he hates recess and would rather be in the office. Now he acts up to get out of recess. I would ask for an evaluation. Don't worry about the missing lunch in less your child cares.

in what cases should a 1st grader be send to the principal office? What should be her consequnces for misbehaving and not hitting anyone. (Disruptive Behavior).. student will be going to the doctor for ADHD in a couple weeks, student was given a time out and had to eat lunch alone in the office..