“Students Recall Special Schools
Run Like Jails” is an article written by Timothy Williams of the New York
Times. It details accounts of physical
violence among several of the students from a network of “tough love” boarding
schools based on a World Wide model established in Utah. This “tough love”
includes accounts of staff members roughing up students, taunting them, and
cutting their long hair. When students
become suicidal the punishment is even worse.
Several parents state that they sent their children to these schools for
therapeutic help, however none of the students are receiving mental health
counseling.
Nearly two dozen of the programs
have been closed after multiple claims of child abuse that the school
denies. The author of this article
concludes that these programs actually thrive because the laws are far less
ridged for private boarding schools.
Generally within public schools physical punishment, isolation, and
other severe discipline methods are not allowed; however there are no federal
laws pertaining to schools that are set up like the ones mentioned in this
article. These schools are generally not
inspected, and they are not required to be licensed or accredited.
“Everyday activities like speaking, using the
bathroom, walking freely between rooms, taking showers and talking to parents
are limited by the staff…When I stopped eating, they put me in a room for a few
days,” he said, referring to a small isolation room used to punish students. He
said his pants and jacket were taken away, leaving him with only his T-shirt
and underwear in a room so cold he shivered.
After violating a rule prohibiting passing
gas without permission, staff members had hogtied him with duct tape and rope
and left him in that position for 8 to 12 hours.”
We
recently read on pages 312 and 313 the value of focusing on solving problems,
rather than punishment. According to our
text the punishment that is occurring within these schools is ineffective and
causes students to be more aggressive, learn less, and value learning
less. One of the most important things
that I remember reading was that by punishing we allow students to project
blame and anger, rather than to accept responsibility for their behavior.
Most of these students have been sent to this
school to obtain help, and instead it appears to me that the opposite is
happening. “Violating rules often leads
to being placed in isolation, or being “restrained” — held on the floor for as
long as an hour by staff members, who students say twist their limbs in painful
positions until they stop resisting. Other punishments at World Wide programs
have included pepper spraying, handcuffing, being forced into dog cages and
being made to sit or stand in uncomfortable positions for hours, according to
former students and claims in lawsuits.”
On page 23 in our textbook it details the
harm the peer harassment can do to students.
This includes illness, school avoidance, poor academic performance,
increased fear and anxiety, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and suicidal
ideation. It saddens me to read that
this is the link between harassment from peers, because I firmly believe that
the physical and mental harassment listed above that has been acted out by the
adults would inflect even worse things.
The adults are supposed to be within the schools to help the kids not
make things worse!
References
Jones, V., &
Jones, L. (2013). Comprehensive Classroom Management (10 ed.). New
Jersey: Pearson.
Williams, T.
(2013, July 23). Students Recall Special Schools Run Like Jails. - NYTimes.com.
The New York Times. Retrieved August 5, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/us/students-recall-a-school-run-like-a-prison.html?pagewanted=4&_r=1&ref=education&pagewanted=all&
