Are super strict schools good for students or are they detrimental to students?
The following paragraphs describe a secondary school in England:
As the teacher started to count down, the students uncrossed their arms and bowed their heads, completing the exercise in a flash.
“Three. Two. One,” the teacher said. Pens across the room went down and all eyes shot back to the teacher. Under a policy called “Slant” (Sit up, Lean forward, Ask and answer questions, Nod your head and Track the speaker), the students, aged 11 and 12, were barred from looking away.
When a digital bell beeped (traditional clocks are “not precise enough,” the principal said) the students walked quickly and silently to the cafeteria in a single line. There they yelled a poem — “Ozymandias,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — in unison, then ate for 13 minutes as they discussed that day’s mandatory lunch topic: how to survive a superintelligent killer snail.
What is your impression of this school? Does it sound anything like the one you go to? Does it sound like somewhere you would like to attend?
In “‘You Can Hear a Pin Drop’: The Rise of Super Strict Schools in England,” Emma Bubola writes about the spread of schools like these across England:
In the decade since the Michaela Community School opened in northwest London, the publicly funded but independently run secondary school has emerged as a leader of a movement convinced that children from disadvantaged backgrounds need strict discipline, rote learning and controlled environments to succeed.
“How do those who come from poor backgrounds make a success of their lives? Well, they have to work harder,” said the principal, Katharine Birbalsingh, who has a cardboard cutout of Russell Crowe in “Gladiator” in her office with the quote, “Hold the Line.” In her social media profiles, she proclaims herself “Britain’s Strictest Headmistress.”
“What you need to do is pull the fence tight,” she added. “Children crave discipline.”
While some critics call Ms. Birbalsingh’s model oppressive, her school has the highest rate of academic progress in England, according to a government measure of the improvement pupils make between age 11 and 16, and its approach is becoming increasingly popular.
In a growing number of schools, days are marked by strict routines and detentions for minor infractions, like forgetting a pencil case or having an untidy uniform. Corridors are silent as students are forbidden to speak with their peers.
The article also discusses criticisms:
But some educators have expressed concern about the broader zero-tolerance approach, saying that controlling students’ behavior so minutely might produce excellent academic results, but does not foster autonomy or critical thinking. Draconian punishments for minor infractions can also come at a psychological cost, they say.
“It’s like they’ve taken 1984 and read it as a how-to manual as opposed to a satire,” said Phil Beadle, an award-winning British secondary school teacher and author. To him, free time and discussion are as important to child development as good academic results are. He worries and what he is worried about is that a “cultlike environment that required total compliance” can deprive children of their childhood.
My students, read the entire article and then tell me:
How strict is your school? Do you ever wish there were more order and discipline for students? Do you wish there were less?
Supporters of the zero-tolerance approach say that it helps children succeed. Critics say it is oppressive. What do you think? Are super strict schools good for students? Why or why not?
At the core of this movement is the idea that “children from disadvantaged backgrounds need strict discipline, rote learning and controlled environments to succeed.” What is your reaction to that?
What would your ideal learning environment look like and be like? How would students behave themselves? How would teachers and administrators interact with you? What rules and policies would be put in place? Why? One principal of a school that does not follow the zero-tolerance model said that getting high academic scores is not the only goal of education. Do you agree? What does being successful as a student mean to you? Is it earning good grades? Getting into the college or line of work that you dream of? Learning to be independent and to think critically? Something else?
Here's my personal opinion: Although schools are considered strictly learning environments, the value less strict school environments can bring to many students is much greater than just academics and book smarts. Uniformity, while it promotes less judgment and more time focusing on school and less on looks or how one presents oneself, can ultimately lead to a student's lack of uniqueness and sense of self. Katharine Birbalsingh, the self-proclaimed “Strictest Headmistress” of Michaela Community School, believes that for disadvantaged students, you must “pull the fence tight” and they “crave discipline.” While it's quite obvious that discipline must be administered to some degree, for many students, discipline is ingrained in them at home, and they already behave quite well at school. Therefore, the way many less strict schools go about disciplining their students is sufficient enough to maintain a quality learning environment and allow students to enjoy their days and still learn adequately. My school is strict on important things like class attendance and limited use of mobile devices. Alternatively, they aren’t strict on students’ sense of self and how they go throughout their day. The only scheduled events throughout the day are class changes. While strictness in schools can help some students to be more successful, ultimately, allowing students to be themselves and achieve their maximum potential is critical to developing newer generations of educated people. Emma Bubola in “You Can Hear a Pin Drop”:The Rise of Super Strict Schools in England reports that many officials believe “that children from a disadvantaged background need strict discipline, rote learning and controlled environments to succeed” is an indication that school districts are becoming too strict for students and it is affecting them in many ways. For example, Hartselle High School, Alabama is a very strict school in the case of staying on top of grades, and attendance during school hours. This causes students to stay stressed on their grades and being in school due to the enforcement that if students are not in school then they get behind on their work and it takes days to catch up. . This is just one example of a school many other schools around the world have many harsher rules on grades and attendance. One example is in England where a student said he didn’t want to go to the school, but is now thankful he went because otherwise he wouldn’t be as smart as he is now. This shows that even though kids don’t want to go to school they end up being smarter because of the enforced rules that are in place and the zero tolerance policies that are in place. Although strict schools are becoming more common throughout the world, many believe that it is having a harsh impact on students because they don’t get to have fun and experience because of the strictness in the schools.
Natatlie Proulx in, “Are super strict schools good for students?” states that “some educators are saying that controlling students’ behavior so minutely might produce excellent academic results, but does not foster autonomy or critical thinking.” This new way of teaching students may deprive them of their childhood and make them less willing to do other things. For example, “In a growing number of schools, days are marked by strict routines and detentions for minor infractions, like forgetting a pencil case or having an untidy uniform. Corridors are silent as students are forbidden to speak with their peers.” This strict way of teaching students will eventually drive them away from any social interaction as they are taught in these strict schools that it is bad. While teachers are eligible to discipline and straighten students ' behavior, it is not right for students to be fully shut off from any fun or excitement that comes with learning new things. If students were never taught to learn from one another and work as a team, will that affect their chances of becoming successful? The reason why these strict schools made the news is because they are believed to be stripping the childhood out of innocent kids' lives. Although teaching kids is not an easy task to do, it is ultimately better to let students be excited and have fun while learning. Although schools are seen as strictly a biome for learning, I believe there are more important factors to school than receiving an education. I go to a moderately strict public school in Hartselle, Alabama, where we have things like dress codes, basic hallway rules, and respect rules. Don’t get me wrong, learning is a vital part of school. However, I do not think “super strict schools”, like Michaela Community School, are best for students. School to me is less about learning information and more about learning how to socialize and co-exist with your peers and teachers. Specifically, I was a shy kid with social anxiety before I came to public school. Now I have no problem communicating with peers or my teachers. These benefits of being able to communicate and work with others will go on to benefit me in the future far more than knowing a couple more facts or having a higher standardized test score. Because of my social and teamwork skills, I am capable of being a good, reliable employee who can work well with my colleagues and work well for my future boss. If you walk the halls of my school, and ask any student if the school was strict many would say yes. Maybe, it's the two-tardy limit for a detention. Similarly, perhaps it is the strict dress code referral for not wearing black socks. After all, who would say a school is not strict if they get dress-coded for wearing pink socks? However, one must also understand the principles the school is trying to pursue, in my case it is quintessence. Attending a school with a cooperative work-study program, one has to be strict with the dress code. For instance, what if you walk into a last-minute meeting during your workday and they see your bright pink neon socks? It doesn't leave a good impression, does it, right? Although they are strict, especially in punctuality and dress code, it also prepares you for how to present yourself in the business world at such a young age.
As the teacher started to count down, the students uncrossed their arms and bowed their heads, completing the exercise in a flash.
“Three. Two. One,” the teacher said. Pens across the room went down and all eyes shot back to the teacher. Under a policy called “Slant” (Sit up, Lean forward, Ask and answer questions, Nod your head and Track the speaker), the students, aged 11 and 12, were barred from looking away.
When a digital bell beeped (traditional clocks are “not precise enough,” the principal said) the students walked quickly and silently to the cafeteria in a single line. There they yelled a poem — “Ozymandias,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — in unison, then ate for 13 minutes as they discussed that day’s mandatory lunch topic: how to survive a superintelligent killer snail.
What is your impression of this school? Does it sound anything like the one you go to? Does it sound like somewhere you would like to attend?
In “‘You Can Hear a Pin Drop’: The Rise of Super Strict Schools in England,” Emma Bubola writes about the spread of schools like these across England:
In the decade since the Michaela Community School opened in northwest London, the publicly funded but independently run secondary school has emerged as a leader of a movement convinced that children from disadvantaged backgrounds need strict discipline, rote learning and controlled environments to succeed.
“How do those who come from poor backgrounds make a success of their lives? Well, they have to work harder,” said the principal, Katharine Birbalsingh, who has a cardboard cutout of Russell Crowe in “Gladiator” in her office with the quote, “Hold the Line.” In her social media profiles, she proclaims herself “Britain’s Strictest Headmistress.”
“What you need to do is pull the fence tight,” she added. “Children crave discipline.”
While some critics call Ms. Birbalsingh’s model oppressive, her school has the highest rate of academic progress in England, according to a government measure of the improvement pupils make between age 11 and 16, and its approach is becoming increasingly popular.
In a growing number of schools, days are marked by strict routines and detentions for minor infractions, like forgetting a pencil case or having an untidy uniform. Corridors are silent as students are forbidden to speak with their peers.
The article also discusses criticisms:
But some educators have expressed concern about the broader zero-tolerance approach, saying that controlling students’ behavior so minutely might produce excellent academic results, but does not foster autonomy or critical thinking. Draconian punishments for minor infractions can also come at a psychological cost, they say.
“It’s like they’ve taken 1984 and read it as a how-to manual as opposed to a satire,” said Phil Beadle, an award-winning British secondary school teacher and author. To him, free time and discussion are as important to child development as good academic results are. He worries and what he is worried about is that a “cultlike environment that required total compliance” can deprive children of their childhood.
My students, read the entire article and then tell me:
How strict is your school? Do you ever wish there were more order and discipline for students? Do you wish there were less?
Supporters of the zero-tolerance approach say that it helps children succeed. Critics say it is oppressive. What do you think? Are super strict schools good for students? Why or why not?
At the core of this movement is the idea that “children from disadvantaged backgrounds need strict discipline, rote learning and controlled environments to succeed.” What is your reaction to that?
What would your ideal learning environment look like and be like? How would students behave themselves? How would teachers and administrators interact with you? What rules and policies would be put in place? Why? One principal of a school that does not follow the zero-tolerance model said that getting high academic scores is not the only goal of education. Do you agree? What does being successful as a student mean to you? Is it earning good grades? Getting into the college or line of work that you dream of? Learning to be independent and to think critically? Something else?
Here's my personal opinion: Although schools are considered strictly learning environments, the value less strict school environments can bring to many students is much greater than just academics and book smarts. Uniformity, while it promotes less judgment and more time focusing on school and less on looks or how one presents oneself, can ultimately lead to a student's lack of uniqueness and sense of self. Katharine Birbalsingh, the self-proclaimed “Strictest Headmistress” of Michaela Community School, believes that for disadvantaged students, you must “pull the fence tight” and they “crave discipline.” While it's quite obvious that discipline must be administered to some degree, for many students, discipline is ingrained in them at home, and they already behave quite well at school. Therefore, the way many less strict schools go about disciplining their students is sufficient enough to maintain a quality learning environment and allow students to enjoy their days and still learn adequately. My school is strict on important things like class attendance and limited use of mobile devices. Alternatively, they aren’t strict on students’ sense of self and how they go throughout their day. The only scheduled events throughout the day are class changes. While strictness in schools can help some students to be more successful, ultimately, allowing students to be themselves and achieve their maximum potential is critical to developing newer generations of educated people. Emma Bubola in “You Can Hear a Pin Drop”:The Rise of Super Strict Schools in England reports that many officials believe “that children from a disadvantaged background need strict discipline, rote learning and controlled environments to succeed” is an indication that school districts are becoming too strict for students and it is affecting them in many ways. For example, Hartselle High School, Alabama is a very strict school in the case of staying on top of grades, and attendance during school hours. This causes students to stay stressed on their grades and being in school due to the enforcement that if students are not in school then they get behind on their work and it takes days to catch up. . This is just one example of a school many other schools around the world have many harsher rules on grades and attendance. One example is in England where a student said he didn’t want to go to the school, but is now thankful he went because otherwise he wouldn’t be as smart as he is now. This shows that even though kids don’t want to go to school they end up being smarter because of the enforced rules that are in place and the zero tolerance policies that are in place. Although strict schools are becoming more common throughout the world, many believe that it is having a harsh impact on students because they don’t get to have fun and experience because of the strictness in the schools.
Natatlie Proulx in, “Are super strict schools good for students?” states that “some educators are saying that controlling students’ behavior so minutely might produce excellent academic results, but does not foster autonomy or critical thinking.” This new way of teaching students may deprive them of their childhood and make them less willing to do other things. For example, “In a growing number of schools, days are marked by strict routines and detentions for minor infractions, like forgetting a pencil case or having an untidy uniform. Corridors are silent as students are forbidden to speak with their peers.” This strict way of teaching students will eventually drive them away from any social interaction as they are taught in these strict schools that it is bad. While teachers are eligible to discipline and straighten students ' behavior, it is not right for students to be fully shut off from any fun or excitement that comes with learning new things. If students were never taught to learn from one another and work as a team, will that affect their chances of becoming successful? The reason why these strict schools made the news is because they are believed to be stripping the childhood out of innocent kids' lives. Although teaching kids is not an easy task to do, it is ultimately better to let students be excited and have fun while learning. Although schools are seen as strictly a biome for learning, I believe there are more important factors to school than receiving an education. I go to a moderately strict public school in Hartselle, Alabama, where we have things like dress codes, basic hallway rules, and respect rules. Don’t get me wrong, learning is a vital part of school. However, I do not think “super strict schools”, like Michaela Community School, are best for students. School to me is less about learning information and more about learning how to socialize and co-exist with your peers and teachers. Specifically, I was a shy kid with social anxiety before I came to public school. Now I have no problem communicating with peers or my teachers. These benefits of being able to communicate and work with others will go on to benefit me in the future far more than knowing a couple more facts or having a higher standardized test score. Because of my social and teamwork skills, I am capable of being a good, reliable employee who can work well with my colleagues and work well for my future boss. If you walk the halls of my school, and ask any student if the school was strict many would say yes. Maybe, it's the two-tardy limit for a detention. Similarly, perhaps it is the strict dress code referral for not wearing black socks. After all, who would say a school is not strict if they get dress-coded for wearing pink socks? However, one must also understand the principles the school is trying to pursue, in my case it is quintessence. Attending a school with a cooperative work-study program, one has to be strict with the dress code. For instance, what if you walk into a last-minute meeting during your workday and they see your bright pink neon socks? It doesn't leave a good impression, does it, right? Although they are strict, especially in punctuality and dress code, it also prepares you for how to present yourself in the business world at such a young age.
