Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.   

Let’s face the facts, the public school system in this country is getting worse–not better. We spend more money per child than any other country, and yet the academic achievement scores are lower now than they ever have been. Obviously, we are doing something wrong, which must be identified and corrected if we are going to turn things around. Another indicator of public-school failure is the large number of parents who are choosing private schools or homeschooling. Also at issue is high teacher turnover, indicating significant dissatisfaction with teaching as a satisfying career. Let’s examine some causes.

In any endeavor when things are getting worse, it is essential to look back and identify changes that were done in the past since not all changes are improvements. Let’s start with student discipline. Clearly, successful classroom instruction depends on the student’s paying attention, completing classroom assignments, not being disruptive to other students, and respecting the teacher. Discipline can only be effective when unacceptable behavior is immediately identified and teachers have the tools to correct the misbehavior. Human behavior is controlled by two things:  reward and punishment. It is just a fact of human nature. In this regard, fortunately, we also learn by observing what happens to others and do not have to experience the consequences directly ourselves.

The first thing that needs correction is doing away with the Obama administration mandate that the rate of disciplinary sanctions for students has to be the same for all races/ethnic groups regardless of differences in their behavior. Funding was threatened to be cut if this was not implemented. The data consistently shows that black students generally misbehave at a higher rate than Hispanics or whites. In one school district report, black students represented 15% of the student body but were 35% of the suspended students.

The Left believes in “soft” responses to crime (just like they have in cities and states they control) and this carries over to school discipline. Again, the Obama administration instituted a program called “Restorative Justice,” which was to be used when dealing with misbehaving students. Instead of administering punishments (like detention and suspension), the schools were required to have discussion meetings with the perpetrators and victims, where the personal and family issues of the perpetrators are discussed as well as how the victim could have acted differently. For example, in one case a student accidentally bumped into another student who reacted by punching him in the face. The victim and perpetrator had to attend a series of counseling sessions. In another example, a middle school student was not disciplined for groping girls because he was a special education student. Fortunately, the Trump administration has issued directives to curtail the restorative justice practice; however, many school systems continue this ridiculous practice. As a result of the Left’s policies, the FBI reports that crime in schools has tripled from 100,810 incidents if 2020 to almost 330,000 in 2024.

We need to go back to classrooms where all students face the teacher (which is not the case now), and give the teachers the authority they need to discipline students–including extra work, detention, and suspension. Also, we need to return to a strict grading process that actually reports the performance of each student instead of the inflated system now where most students get A’s or B’s. Failed students should be required to repeat the grade.

Some states have taken action to return to stricter discipline. More needs to be done. Students cannot learn and teachers cannot teach in a chaotic environment. It should also be remembered that children who do not learn to respect authority and learn self-control are much more likely to grow up and engage in criminal behavior. We are doing them a lifetime disservice by not disciplining them in school.