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How to Reduce After-School Detentions and Make Them Meaningful

Detention has been around for as long as I can remember, and some of us—myself included—have served a detention or two when we were students. When I became principal of Wilson West Middle School, I thought deeply about detention as part of our discipline practice. Do detention policies that have been around for decades work for today’s students? If the same students keep finding themselves in detention, what good do they serve? Are detentions effective and helping students learn from their mistakes or do schools keep them simply because they are so ingrained in our tradition?

What if there was a way to stop the same students from receiving detentions or not give them any at all? You can, by replacing it with more constructive ways for students to learn from their mistakes.

Here’s what we did at Wilson West Middle School to reduce detentions and make them more meaningful:

Create a Staff Committee to Review Discipline

Like so much of our work as school leaders, we are better when we work together. We formed a committee of administrators, teachers, and counselors to review our current approaches to discipline and detention policies and looked closely at what infractions students were committing to gain an understanding of what was really happening with detention. What we saw was the same students receiving repeated detentions and not all of our teachers assigning detentions; only a few teachers gave detentions, so some students had higher detention numbers only because they had a particular teacher. And when we asked these teachers why they assigned detentions, it wasn’t because they thought them particularly effective at curbing the behavior, but rather they did it because that is what the student handbook required and there was no other way to address the behavior.

Update Outdated Detention Policies

These observations led us to review our detention policies. Our committee realized quickly how outdated some of the rules were, and we needed to make changes. For example, we dropped the no gum or food policies schoolwide and turned that responsibility over to the individual classroom teacher. Each teacher decides if they want to make that a classroom rule/policy. In real life everyone can eat and drink anywhere they want unless it is posted. Are we not getting our children ready for the next level? Teachers and staff have that morning cup of coffee or tea. Why can’t students? Do we practice what we preach?

Another big issue for which students were getting detentions involved being late to class. To address this issue, we got rid of our bell schedule. This required a major climate shift in the building, and there was immediate pushback from the staff. I created a schedule that had one-minute passing times between classes and explained to the teachers that they should be the ones starting and dismissing the classes, not the bell. Next time you are in the hallway, take a look at the number of students that stand in the hallway speaking with friends, waiting for the bell to ring before darting into class. To avoid the sporadic and inconsistent nature of late markings, there are no bells. In addition, it more closely resembles the nature of the likely next leg of their journey—college.

Creating New Detention Criteria

Just by making these two changes, we saw an overall decrease in detentions by 75 percent. The detentions that are assigned are addressed by the teacher or administrator with a call home and engagement with a parent/guardian. Getting the parents/guardians involved is the first step in making detentions more meaningful for students. After all, if the infraction is bad enough to warrant a detention, then parents need to be called.

We also track the students who are getting detentions. If a student gets four or more detentions in a quarter, we set up a conference with the parent/guardian. The staff that are invited usually consist of grade-level team members, a counselor, an administrator, and other interested parties. These meetings help to address the problem behaviors in a more direct way by discussing the underlying issues that led to the infraction in the first place.

Making Time in Detention More Meaningful

• Write a reflection as to why they got detention in the first place and what they could have done differently.
• Have a one-on-one conference with the monitor who asks the student a variety of questions for personal reflection. We developed questions for various situations to guide these conferences.
• Read an article about their offense and then report out to the counselor.
• Set goals. One of those goals should be not to get detention ever again.
• Write an apology letter to their parents for being assigned the detention. In the letter they should explain why they got the detention and thank them for picking them up after detention.

We also use lunch detentions. When serving a lunch detention, the student needs to do schoolwork as they are eating. This is also a good time to have teachers conference with students to discuss why they received the lunch detention. (Check with the building union representative prior to asking a teacher to do this during their lunch.)

Changing our detention policies have shifted our culture from a punitive one where students’ every move is monitored to a restorative one where students have more autonomy and choice. I encourage all of you to review your school’s approach to discipline and its detention policies. Making a few adjustments can definitely change the climate of your building for the better.

What is your school’s approach to detention? What strategies help make detention more meaningful and effective?

Kyle Wetherhold is the Principal at Wilson West Middle School, a state and national School to Watch. He is the 2018 Pennsylvania Principal of the Year. Follow him on Twitter @ wetkyl .

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Group Activities For Incarcerated Youth – From Isolation To Connection

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Group activities for incarcerated youth can be a great way to keep them engaged and learning while they are in custody. As an experienced Group activities organizer, I know that engaging in activities can help young people develop important skills and create meaningful connections with each other.

It’s my mission to provide fun ways for these teens to interact and learn, no matter their circumstances.

In this article, I’ll offer three ideas for effective group activities that have been successful with incarcerated youth all over the world.

These activities will promote positive social development and teach valuable life skills like communication, cooperation, problem-solving, trust-building, and teamwork. Plus, they’re flexible enough to work with different groups of kids regardless of age or gender composition.

I’m passionate about using creative activities as a tool to foster growth among young people who are struggling with tough circumstances outside their control. Read on to discover more about how you can use these enjoyable yet educational group activity ideas in your own setting!

Also Read – Group Activities For Values Learning – Ideas For All Ages .

Definition Of Incarcerated Youth

Incarcerated youth are those who have been arrested, detained in a juvenile detention center or prison, and/or convicted of criminal offenses. These young offenders may be between the ages of 8-17 years old, depending on their state’s laws.

Generally, they live in secure facilities with limited access to family members and other adults outside the institution. They also receive specialized education and social services from staff within the facility.

The term “youth incarceration” is used to refer specifically to institutionalized settings for these incarcerated minors. Youth prisons provide them with supervision, security, medical care, mental health treatment, and educational opportunities during their stay there.

It can often involve some form of court-ordered restriction such as probation or parole that juveniles must adhere to when released back into society.

Imprisoned youth face greater challenges compared to adults due to their age and developmental stage; thus requiring special activities tailored towards helping them reintegrate back into society after serving their sentence.

With this in mind, it is important that group activities be provided by professionals trained in working with this population so they can benefit from engaging in positive interactions while learning the life skills needed upon release. Moving forward then, let us explore the benefits of group activities for incarcerated youth…

Benefits Of Group Activities

Now that we understand the definition of incarcerated youth, let’s explore the benefits of group activities for them. Group activities can have a powerful social impact on young people who are facing incarceration. By engaging in collaborative activities with other individuals, they can foster positive relationships and learn how to interact more effectively with others.

These types of experiences also offer an opportunity for emotional development. Incarcerated youth may benefit from developing trust between one another as well as better problem-solving skills through working together to complete projects or tasks. In addition, participating in groups often encourages increased self-awareness and greater levels of personal responsibility by learning to accept feedback from peers and adults.

Group activities can also help improve mental health among incarcerated youth by giving them the chance to express their feelings in a safe environment. Participating in this type of activity is believed to reduce stress while providing opportunities to practice new behaviors and coping strategies. Experiencing success in these activities, it may boost self-esteem and confidence which can lead to improved behavior overall.

Engaging in organized recreational activities offers numerous benefits for incarcerated youth whether it be physical fitness, intellectual stimulation, team building, or communication skills; all essential components for leading successful lives after release from their sentences.

Types Of Recreational Activities

The types of recreational activities available to incarcerated youth are vast and varied. An example is the case study of the program at San Quentin State Prison in California which offers a variety of leisure activities for inmates, including outdoor sports such as basketball, volleyball, and soccer; music activities like band practice or karaoke; craft projects such as woodworking or painting canvases; and food-related activities like cooking classes or baking competitions.

These recreational activities can help incarcerated youth develop social skills by teaching them how to work together with their peers in a productive way. They also offer an opportunity for learning new hobbies, building self-confidence, and developing a sense of pride in achieving something positive.

Here’s a list of some activity ideas that could be included in any group session:

• Outdoor Activities – Hiking, camping trips, team sports
• Leisure Activities – Puzzles & board games, movie nights
• Music Activities – Choir practices, guitar lessons
• Craft Projects – Woodworking & crafts workshops
• Food Activities – Baking contests & cooking classes

These activities provide not only physical stimulation but mental engagement as well. By participating in these different types of recreational programs, young adults in detention centers have access to meaningful experiences they otherwise might not have had while locked away from society.

Through these activities, they learn valuable life skills that will ultimately serve them better when it’s time to reenter the community upon release from prison. Moving on to providing social and emotional support…

Social And Emotional Support

The social and emotional support of incarcerated youth is a crucial part of creating a successful environment for healing. Mental health interventions, such as psychological counseling, can help young people work through the trauma they experienced leading up to their incarceration and during it.

Additionally, programs that focus on the promotion of positive emotions and behavioral management strategies are important components in fostering an emotionally supportive group atmosphere.

Activities like role-playing scenarios or journal writing can be used in sessions with inmates to practice these skills. Group activities should also involve discussions about mental health topics, including self-care and strategies for managing stress.

Participation in art projects which allow individuals to express themselves creatively can also increase feelings of self-worth and encourage open communication between peers.

Overall, providing social and emotional support within a correctional setting helps create safe spaces for learning new coping mechanisms and building life skills necessary for success outside of prison walls.

Education And Learning Opportunities

Having a good education is like having wings to soar. It provides youth with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed for success in life. Incarcerated young people often don’t have access to quality educational programming, learning resources, or academic support – but there are many ways we as group activities specialists can help them unlock their potential.

We should provide opportunities that focus on developing the necessary skills they’ll need to succeed both inside and outside of prison walls. Here are some ideas:

• Educational Materials: Provide incarcerated youth with age-appropriate textbooks, worksheets, activities, and exercises so they can continue their studies while incarcerated.
• Study Groups: Create study groups amongst peers who share similar interests and goals; this helps build confidence, fosters relationships among participants, and encourages critical thinking.
• Academic Support: Offer tutoring services from professionals who specialize in teaching at-risk students; these services could include one-on-one sessions or group workshops focusing on specific topics such as mathematics or English literature.

By providing these types of educational programs, we’re helping empower our incarcerated youths to become successful learners who can take charge of their lives when released back into society. We must equip them with the tools that will enable them to reach their fullest potential no matter what obstacles stand in their way!

With increased access to educational materials, study groups, and academic support, we can make an impact on the next generation’s future by instilling strong values that promote self-sufficiency and resilience within our youth population.

From here we move on to Life Skills Development which further builds upon our efforts towards giving every young person a better chance at success!

Life Skills Development

Moving from education and learning opportunities to life skills development, we can provide incarcerated youth with a variety of activities that help develop their self-sufficiency. Through these activities, they will gain confidence while also developing important coping strategies, decision-making abilities, problem-solving techniques, and communication skills.

One such activity could be having the group create a ‘Life Skills Toolbox’ through which different topics related to successful personal management can be discussed in depth. This could include setting goals, time management, managing stress levels, or financial literacy. Each topic should emphasize practical solutions for real-life scenarios – enabling young people to feel empowered when facing difficulties outside of incarceration.

Other great activities include creating an action plan on how each individual can become more independent once released. This would involve goal mapping; helping them figure out what steps need to be taken toward achieving their aspirations.

It is not enough to just list down ambitions, it’s equally important to explore ways in which those dreams can be achieved within certain boundaries – whether that’s limited resources or legal restrictions. With this type of activity, youths learn how to navigate obstacles and build assertiveness as well as resilience in order to reach success both during and after incarceration.

These activities are designed so that participants have fun while gaining life lessons they may otherwise lack access to due to their circumstances – allowing them greater control over their lives regardless of any limitations imposed upon them by the criminal justice system.

As we move forward into discussing mentoring programs, these valuable skills developed here will prove even more beneficial for our juveniles going forward.

Mentoring Programs

Mentoring programs are the silver lining that can light up incarcerated youth’s lives, offering them a path to self-growth and development. These programs provide invaluable access for mentors and mentees to create meaningful connections with each other in order to foster trust and teach important life skills.

By providing unique opportunities like these, incarcerated youths receive a valuable source of support as they work on their rehabilitation journey.

Through developing strong interpersonal bonds between mentors and mentees, individuals emerge from prison better equipped to face the challenges ahead while being able to take greater ownership of their lives. Moreover, it is also an opportunity for prisoners to learn from one another and acquire new tools for problem-solving outside the walls of the correctional institution.

Read Also – 23 Group Activities Ideas For Problem-Solving .

With such initiatives in place, we have seen remarkable changes among inmates who engage in this type of program – may feel more connected with society instead of isolated and disconnected as before.

The impact goes beyond just personal transformation; by allowing formerly incarcerated people to make these kinds of contributions back into their communities, everyone benefits from increased safety, stability, and economic well-being.

Arts And Cultural Participation

For incarcerated youth, involvement in the arts and culture can be a great way to stay connected to their communities. It allows them to express themselves creatively, find novel views, and grow in their appreciation of the arts.

The activities should foster inclusivity and emphasize creativity as opposed to technique or technical skill. Arts-based initiatives could include pottery classes, music production workshops, theater performances, mural painting sessions, photography projects, and more.

Many art forms are accessible even within prison environments; however, there may be restrictions on what materials inmates have access to. Fortunately, there are many creative solutions that can help bring artistic expression into confined settings such as using paper cutouts instead of paints or creating instruments out of recycled materials like tin cans or plastic bottles.

Additionally, digital tools such as iPads allow for easy recording capabilities so prisoners can make use of technology when available. With thoughtful planning by activity coordinators and support from local organizations, these efforts can lead not only to personal growth but also build community connections and relationships between inmates and the outside world.

These activities provide an invaluable opportunity for learning about different cultures while allowing young people who are often isolated from their peers the chance to connect with each other through shared experiences.

By encouraging participation in cultural programming opportunities, we can open up channels of communication between those inside correctional facilities and others on the outside helping bridge gaps caused by incarceration as well as create meaningful dialogue around issues related to criminal justice reform.

As we move forward towards sports and exercise initiatives for incarcerated youth, it is important to remember that providing safe spaces where young people feel heard can have lasting positive impacts far beyond any given project or program’s time frame.

Sports And Exercise Initiatives

Sports and exercise initiatives can be incredibly beneficial for incarcerated youth. Physical activity has been found to help improve not just physical health, but also mental well-being and social development.

Group activities that involve sports and exercises are therefore an important part of any group initiative with the goal of providing positive experiences for young people in detention centers.

Below is a list of possible sport-based activities:

• Outdoor team games such as volleyball or soccer
• Individual fitness challenges like running or jump rope competitions
• A variety of traditional sports such as basketball or badminton
• Yoga classes as well as meditation practices

In order to keep everyone motivated, it’s important to provide incentives and rewards for participation. Prizes could include special snacks, new books or magazines, extra phone call time with family members, etc. It will also be necessary to monitor detained youth’s performance levels so they do not overexert themselves while engaging in physical activity.

The benefits of incorporating sports into group activities for incarcerated youth go beyond just physical fitness; it helps build confidence, increases self-esteem, provides a sense of purpose, creates bonds between participants, and encourages leadership skills.

With these advantages in mind, transitioning into technology-based activities may prove even more effective in fostering meaningful relationships among the detainees.

Technology-Based Activities

Technology-based activities provide an exciting opportunity for incarcerated youth to explore their interests and discover new talents. With the right guidance, these youths can use technology as a tool to develop skills that will benefit them both now and in the future.

The possibilities are virtually limitless with virtual reality, gaming consoles, online classes, video production, and robotics programs all accessible within correctional facilities.

First off is virtual reality; this technology offers a truly immersive experience where inmates can learn about different cultures or even take up a career path like carpentry or engineering.

This type of activity provides an escape from the daily routine of prison life while also helping to stimulate critical thinking skills and creativity. Additionally, it gives inmates access to information that could otherwise be difficult to gather inside prison walls.

Gaming consoles offer another form of group activity by allowing multiple participants simultaneously engage in various types of games — sports titles, puzzle games such as Tetris, fighting games, and more.

These activities help foster team building amongst inmates while providing entertainment during free time hours. Moreover, playing console games helps sharpen cognitive abilities since they often require mental agility and strategy development when overcoming obstacles throughout gameplay sessions.

Finally, there are plenty of options available when it comes to teaching inmates how computers work through hands-on learning experiences via tutorials on coding languages or web design projects using HTML & CSS programming techniques.

Inmates can also participate in online courses related to specific topics they’re interested in exploring further such as music theory or graphic design software applications like Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator.

Video production classes give individuals the chance to express themselves creatively by producing short films with equipment provided by correctional institutions – perfect for those who want to showcase artistic talent! Robotics clubs complete this list of tech-engaging activities giving members the opportunity to develop problem-solving strategies through interactive simulations involving robots programmed for certain tasks set by facilitators.

In summary: Technology-based activities have much potential for incarcerated youth – from immersing them into other worlds via virtual reality headsets all the way down to honing technical skills with robotics clubs – all designed so that each participant has something fun but meaningful to do every day

Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]

What is the average age range of incarcerated youth.

The age range is one of the most crucial factors to take into account when talking about juvenile offenders. In order to properly organize activities and programs suited to the requirements of imprisoned youth, a youth group activity expert must be aware of the typical age range of the population. We’ll talk about the usual age range of youth incarceration in this piece.

The typical age of prisoners differs from nation to nation, but research has shown that most nations follow similar patterns when it comes to locking up minors under the age of 18.

In terms of U.S specific figures, research indicates that approximately half (50%) of individuals jailed in America are below 25 years old, while two out of five (40%) are younger than 21 years old – meaning they were too young at the time they committed their crime and sentenced accordingly as minors. Additionally, statistics show that African American males comprise a disproportionate number within this demographic – making up only 8% percent of the US population but 33% percent of those under correctional control or supervision.

These numbers demonstrate just how critical it is for us as youth group activity specialists to be aware about who we’re working with so that our programming can match these demographics effectively – ensuring each participant has access to meaningful opportunities and experiences regardless of their background or circumstance.

What Safety Measures Are Taken To Ensure The Safety Of The Incarcerated Youth During Group Activities?

When it comes to group activities for incarcerated youth, safety measures are of utmost importance. The average age range of those involved is typically between 12 and 24 years old, so extra caution must be taken when organizing activities that involve this vulnerable population.

Group activities provide an opportunity for rehabilitation and development outside of the prison setting. To make sure that all participants are safe during any initiative, organizations need to thoroughly plan out each event before implementation.

This includes ensuring adequate supervision from trained professionals or volunteers, as well as providing appropriate medical help if needed. All associated costs should also be considered ahead of time, such as transportation needs or supplies required for a particular activity.

I have worked with many different institutions throughout my career who prioritize safety above all else when planning activities for their incarcerated youth populations.

They understand that without proper risk assessment and safety protocols in place, there can be serious consequences both to the individual at hand and society overall. It is essential that we create a secure environment where young people have the chance to take part in meaningful experiences while still under the care and guidance of responsible adults.

Are There Any Restrictions On The Types Of Activities Incarcerated Youth Can Participate In?

When it comes to group activities for incarcerated youth, one of the most important questions that needs to be asked is: are there any restrictions on the types of activities these youths can participate in? It’s crucial that activity specialists and facilitators consider all safety requirements as well as potential costs associated with any proposed initiatives.

The safety of incarcerated youth must always remain a top priority when planning group activities. Activity specialists need to carefully evaluate each activity before allowing incarcerated youth to take part. Guidelines should be established regarding what kinds of activities are suitable, and all participants should abide by those rules.

Furthermore, successful initiatives should include oversight from supervisors or staff members who will help ensure the safety of everyone involved.

In addition to safety concerns, it’s also necessary to look at cost-related factors when designing activities for incarcerated youth groups. Depending on the size and scope of the project, specialized equipment may need to be purchased or rented; moreover, if an outside location is chosen for an activity, transport may have to be arranged. All of this requires careful planning and budgeting so that appropriate resources are allocated for safe, enjoyable experiences for the group.

At the end of the day, providing meaningful group activities for incarcerated youth means taking into account not only their safety but also financial constraints and other relevant considerations too! By ensuring a balance between these different elements, youth groups will benefit from engaging in positive recreational opportunities while still receiving adequate supervision during their time together.

Are There Any Successful Group Activity Initiatives That Have Been Implemented In Other States?

When considering group activities for incarcerated youth, it is important to explore successful initiatives implemented in other states. As a youth group activity organizer, I am committed to ensuring safety and providing meaningful experiences for all participants.

It is essential to evaluate the various group activity initiatives used by correctional facilities across different states when coming up with ideas. It can be helpful to research what has been working well in other locations and adapt those measures to your own program design.

For example, some states have developed unique programs that provide educational opportunities such as tutoring or writing workshops while others may focus more on physical activities like yoga or sports leagues. Regardless of the type of initiative chosen, it should always include clear parameters around safety measures and expectations for the participants.

In addition to researching best practices from other states, there are also resources available online where you can look at examples of effective strategies that have proven successful with incarcerated youth.

These samples can serve as templates which you can modify based on the needs of your specific facility. By utilizing these resources, you will gain valuable insight into how to create an engaging experience with appropriate safety protocols in place for everyone involved.

Creating a fun and safe environment for incarcerated youth requires thoughtful planning and exploring successful group activity initiatives from other states is essential for designing an impactful program that meets their needs.

With careful consideration given to both existing regulations and recommended guidelines, any initiative can be tailored to ensure security and enriching outcomes for all participants alike.

Are There Any Costs Associated With Participating In Group Activities For Incarcerated Youth?

When considering group activities for incarcerated youth, one of the most important factors to consider is the costs associated with participating. Depending on the activity and its scope, there can be a wide range of cost considerations that must be taken into account:

• Material expenses such as supplies or equipment needed
• Transportation costs if trips are involved
• Costs related to hiring facilitators or volunteers
• Administrative overhead like printing costs or online tools

As a group activity organizer, it’s my job to ensure these financial concerns don’t prevent detained youths from accessing meaningful experiences through structured activities. That means making sure all stakeholders have access to accurate information about what funds are available and how those resources should best be allocated. I take great care in analyzing each individual situation so that we can maximize our impact without going over budget.

To do this effectively, I work closely with correctional facility staff members who understand their local context, whether it’s limited resources or specific regulations that need to be taken into consideration. By partnering up in this way, we can create effective strategies for covering any associated costs while providing quality activities for classrooms and other groups of detained youths.

It’s not always an easy task but when done right, everyone benefits – both financially and otherwise –from well-planned group activities tailored specifically to meet the needs of the incarcerated youth population.

The typical age of detained juveniles must be taken into account, as well as any necessary safety precautions. In order for these young people to engage in meaningful activities, it is also essential to guarantee that there are no restrictions on those activities.

Finally, it’s essential to keep costs low so more incarcerated youth can participate and benefit from group activities.

Ultimately, I believe providing effective group activities is one of the most powerful tools available when working with incarcerated youth. Through engagement with peers and supportive adults, these young individuals will gain valuable skills such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork, resilience, and empathy. As a result of participation in organized activities, hopefully, we’ll see improved behavior within correctional facilities across the country.

In conclusion, by giving incarcerated youth access to appropriate group activities we’re offering them a chance to grow emotionally and build relationships outside of their current circumstances. This type of support has invaluable potential—not just while they’re in prison but even after they’ve been released into society.

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The Effective Use of Detentions

An article by   Richard James Rogers   (Author of  The Quick Guide to Classroom Management )

Illustrated by   Pop Sutthiya Lertyongphati  

The events in this article are based on actual occurrences. The names and, in some instances, the genders of individuals have been changed to protect the individuals’ privacy.

He opened his laptop and started playing around, again. I hadn’t quite noticed until I’d gotten the rest of this Year 7 class to get their books open and start completing the questions that were on the whiteboard.

It took a good five minutes for them all to settle down.

They’d just been learning about the human body in the best way I could think of: They took apart a life-sized model of a human female (filled with plastic, life-sized organs) and completely rebuilt it.

It had gotten them quite excited; especially the boys, who thought that the mammary glands inside a female breast were completely hilarious!

The class then had to cut and stick a paper human body together – organs included. But he was taking too long.

Christopher  was a happy and talkative kid, but his work-rate was slow. On two occasions that lesson I walked over to his desk to help out and remind him to speed up, as everyone else was ahead of where he was. He should have been able to get that work done quickly. He had no Special Educational Needs and his English proficiency had increased so much in three months that he had graduated from the E.L.D. programme.

The only thing slowing him down was his chattiness.

I should have moved him sooner in the lesson – my mistake. 15  minutes before the end of the class I moved him to the front to sit next to me, where he couldn’t chat with friends and be distracted.

It wasn’t enough time.

I pondered the idea of giving him a detention. Break-time was straight after this lesson, so it would be easy for me to keep him behind for ten minutes to get that work done. 

The concept and purpose of detentions

Before we can fully understand how to use detentions effectively, we must first remind ourselves of what detentions are and, therefore, what their purpose should be. 

A detention is a period of time that is purposefully taken away from a student’s extra-curricular or non-curricular time. It may involve a teacher-supervised activity during a morning break, lunch or after school. 

Detentions are given to students for a wide-variety of reasons; some of which are more logical than others. Reasons for detentions (starting with the most logical and useful) can include:

• Failure to complete homework or classwork
• Poor attendance
• Persistent lateness/lack of punctuality
• Disruption to class activities through poor behaviour
• Receiving a certain, set number of ‘warnings’ or ‘demerits’

Christopher’s case as an example to follow

The most logical and useful way to use detentions is time-for-time:  time not spent completing homework or classwork should be compensated by time spent on detention.

In Christopher’s case I decided to give the break-time detention. Here are the reasons for my choice:

• The Science lesson ended at break-time, so it was convenient for me to keep him behind in my class (I didn’t have the problem of, say, giving him a lunchtime detention for the next day and then having to remember that he is coming and maybe chase him up if he doesn’t come along). 
• Christopher would be exchanging his breaktime for time spent completing his classwork. He must do this, as he will fall behind if he doesn’t.
• The detention serves as a reinforcement of the teacher’s authority, and a stern reminder that a poor work-ethic just won’t be tolerated. It turns out that after only two such break-time detentions, Christopher pulled up his socks and began working at a reasonable pace during lessons. 

General tips for detentions that will save you many problems

Every detention must attempt to address or solve the problem that it was given for .

Consider the following:

• Detentions eat up the teacher’s time as well as the students, so we really should only be giving out detentions when it is absolutely necessary (as in Christopher’s case above)
• For homework that’s not done on time: call the perpetrating student or students to your desk for a quick one-to-one discussion at the end of class, or during a class activity. Express your disappointment, and why meeting deadlines is important. Relate it to the world of work, for example “If I didn’t write your reports on time, what would happen to me? That’s right, I’d be in big trouble” . Allow the students an extra day or so to get the work done. No need for conflict, no need to spend your precious lunch time giving a detention.
• If students still don’t hand in the homework even after extending a deadline, then it is necessary to give a detention. CRUCIALLY, however, the purpose of the detention MUST be to complete that homework. Print the sheet again if necessary, provide the necessary resources and get the student to complete the work. This makes the detention less confrontational and reinforces the reason why it was given in the first place. 
• The same goes for classwork: give students the chance to take their books home and complete classwork if it isn’t done on-time in class. Persistent slow work-rates in class, if not caused by reasonable circumstances (such as Special Educational Needs), should be met with detentions that allow the student to catch up. In almost every case you’ll find that the students will cotton-on to the fact that they can’t get away with distraction and laziness in class, and they’ll soon improve. For those that don’t improve even after focused detentions, further action will be needed and may involve parents and senior/middle management. 
• For poor behaviour, detentions need to be planned and crafted really well. Remember: the detention should attempt to address or solve the problem that it was given for . I remember a couple of years back when two boys got involved in a bit of a scuffle in the science lab. It wasn’t anything major, but one kid said a nasty word to the other and that kid decided to punch his mate in the arm quite hard. As a Science Teacher, this is something I must absolutely nip-in-the-bud because safety in the lab is paramount, and kids just can’t scuffle or fight in there: period. I gave them both a detention for the next day at 1pm. They came, and I spent the time explaining to them why their behavior was unacceptable. They wrote letters of apology to me and each other, and left the detention understanding exactly why I had taken their time away from them. I didn’t have a problem with them again.
• Lessons that end at break times work well for giving detentions if necessary, as you can easily retain the students when the bell rings. If you do assign detentions for the next day or at a later time, then pencil those into your diary – this will serve both as a useful reminder and as a record of who’ve you’ve given detentions to and how often. 

Recurring work 

I’m a massive believer in the power of recurring work and journaling, and have written about it in detail here and here . 

Learning journals are just great for giving regular recurring feedback and for consolidating and reviewing cumulative knowledge gained throughout an academic year. But did you know that Learning Journals save you many a supervised detention too?

Many schools provide homework timetables for students and teachers to follow. With the very best of intentions, these timetables aim to distribute student and teacher workload evenly and fairly. However, they can prove difficult to follow when units include different intensities of work, and when school events get in the way.

Set Learning Journals as homework each week. The basic idea is that students buy their own notebook and fill it with colorful revision notes on a weekly basis (although they can be done online too: through Google Sites, for example). Perhaps your Year 10 class could hand-in their learning journals in every Wednesday, and collect them from you (with feedback written inside, see the articles cited above) every Friday. By setting up a register of collection that the students sign, you can easily see who hasn’t handed in their journal that week.

Then……follow the guidelines given above for dealing with late or un-submitted homework. You’ll find that after a few weeks of initiating Learning Journals you’ll get a near 100% hand-in rate, because the students are really clear about what is expected each week, because it is a recurring homework. 

Whole school  considerations

Many schools adopt a popular (but massively problematic) ‘mass-detention’ system of some sort, which works something like this:

• The student receives the requisite number of ‘warnings’ in a particular lesson which lead to a break or lunch time detention being given
• The student is sent to a room with other students from the school who’ve also received detentions
• Teachers supervise the ‘detention room’ on a rotating basis, thereby (in theory), sharing the workload across the staff body
• The students are given generic tasks to do during the detention time, which may include filling in a form, completing homework or in the very worst cases just sitting still and being quiet for twenty minutes or so.

The problem with systems like this is that they are not personal to the students receiving the detentions. They do not follow the ‘golden rule’: that detentions should address or solve the problem that they were given for .

What’s much more effective in the long-term is to trust individual teachers to administer their own detentions. Perhaps provide a quick training session based on good practice (feel free to use this article if you wish), and allow the teachers to then use their judgement to decide when and how detentions should be given.

Student detentions are only effective when they have the ‘ personal touch’ . When detentions address the original issue by allowing more time to complete homework or classwork, or allow for a one-on-one discussion about behaviour, the following magical things happen:

• The detention is given from a standpoint of care and concern, not confrontation and aggression
• Students realise the reason why the detention was given as this reason is reinforced by the activities given during the time of the detention
• Students improve. It’s that simple. Mass detention systems rarely work because they don’t pinpoint the personal reasons behind why the student is under-performing. Detentions with the ‘ personal touch’ cause students to realise their errors and most, if not all, will improve in a short space of time. 

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Author: richardjamesrogers

High School Science and Mathematics Teacher, Author and Blogger. Graduated from Bangor University with a BSc (Hons) degree in Molecular Biology and a PGCE in Secondary Science Education. Richard also holds the coveted Certificate in Mathematics from the Open University (UK). Richard is the award-winning author of The Quick Guide to Classroom Management: 45 Secrets That All High School Teachers Need to Know View All Posts

2 thoughts on “ The Effective Use of Detentions ”

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Is it acceptable and legal to make students clean the school windows as a detention task ? It happened in my child’s school and parents did not complain but I am concerned this is abuse of power

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3 Alternatives to Assigning Detention

Developing relationships with students to help them make positive choices requires planning and patience, but the work pays off.

There may be times when you have reached the end of your patience with a student’s behavior. They may disrupt learning or repeat a negative behavior too many times. What do we do as teachers in these scenarios? Sometimes the simple answer is assigning detention.

Yet detention is not an effective discipline tool for some students , and in fact it might increase the recurrence of negative behavior. Detention and other punitive measures, like suspensions and expulsions, can contribute to other issues , such as recidivism among students, despite harsher or longer punishments. These measures have the potential to increase apathy and defiance. They can jeopardize teachers’ and staff’s efforts to build relationships and trust. Finally, they can have a negative effect on a student’s academic performance.

There is evidence of racial and ethnic disparities among students assigned to detention. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent a letter to educators outlining the disparities and offering alternatives to detention and suspension. Instead of detention, the DOE recommends restorative practices and positive interventions, such as counseling.

There may be severe circumstances that require removing a student from the school environment and placing them on off-campus suspension, such as hitting, fighting, threatening, or verbal assault. But before submitting a detention referral form for minor, day-to-day offenses, consider these three alternatives.

One suggestion is to create a reflection room in place of one for detention. In it, teachers, administrators, caregivers, and the student go through a reflective process to understand the root cause of a conflict and assist the student in understanding and identifying better options. Reflective practices teach students what actions they can take in the future when confronted with difficult situations.

As a middle school assistant principal, I recently had two students referred to me for pushing each other during recess. As I spoke with each of the students individually, I realized they had very different perspectives on what had occurred. “I tripped and landed on him. Really!” versus “He deliberately ran into me!”

These two students needed to learn how to see a situation from another person’s point of view. They each wrote a narrative description of the scuffle as if they were the other person. I followed up with each student separately, and both realized that perhaps they had misinterpreted the other person’s intentions. After writing a reflection, there’s no guarantee that they will never push each other again. But maybe they’ll take a moment to consider what the other person is thinking before they react physically.

Logical Consequences

If you are familiar with the concept of the Responsive Classroom , you might have heard about logical consequences . Instead of harsh punishment, the teacher gently instructs the student on how to correct their errors.

At the end of the discussion, students become empowered because the teacher assists them in reaching epiphanies like “When I knock things down, I have to help build them back up,” “I can fix things when I mess up,” or “My teacher helps me solve problems.” If a student leaves a mess at the lunch table, the obvious next step is to clean it up. Please keep in mind that this is not a suggestion to assign illogical chores, such as “You forgot your homework, now scrape gum off the sidewalk.”

The tone of the teacher is critical when using logical consequences. It should convey problem-solving and learning rather than anger or frustration. Maintaining students’ dignity is essential for assisting them in learning from an experience.

Logical consequences do not always have to be negative. When students make thoughtful decisions that result in good outcomes, note it. Ask your school administration if they will accept “positive office referrals” in which a teacher refers a student for helpful behaviors. How cool would it be if your students routinely wondered, “Is she there for a positive referral?” whenever the principal called a student out of class.

Restorative Practices

Restorative practices, in a nutshell, teach students how to right the wrongs they have caused. They provide alternatives to using punishment and build healthier learning communities. To quote Arkansas principal Chelsea Jennings , “Kids who are frequently in trouble are often testing a system that has repeatedly failed them, but a restorative approach says ‘we are not giving up on you.’”

If a student disrespects another student or staff member in words or actions, how can that student attempt to repair the harm done? A science teacher at our school implemented this approach when a student disrupted her class. The teacher informed the student that her disruptive behavior had taken away instructional time, and as a result, the student would have to help the teacher recoup some of the lost time by assisting with the prep for the next lab before school. Even if the student thought that prepping for a lab was enjoyable or fun, that student was fulfilling the spirit of the consequence: making up for the lost time.

Peer conflict resolution assists students in working to repair the harm done to another student. Students can be taught conflict resolution with the help of a faculty member or counselor. If a student uses a slur or disrespectful language, that student should investigate why that language is harmful. By conducting research first, the offending student can craft a more sympathetic and informed apology to the victim.

An example of this is a middle school student who made a racially insensitive joke. From speaking with the student, it was clear that he did not know the joke was offensive. He was repeating what he had read on the internet. After doing some research on the origins of the joke, the student realized why it was hurtful and sincerely apologized.

There would be no growth, no new understanding, no repairing of harm, if I simply assigned him detention.

The alternatives suggested above are not quick and easy. Some people will object, fearing that restorative practices are letting students off easy or with just a slap on the wrist. These are valid concerns, but one important point to remember is that restorative practices are preventive actions based on relationships.

Building the relationships necessary to guide students toward positive choices requires creativity, planning, and a lot of patience. So why do it? It pays off when students’ behavior improves and the community becomes a more positive environment.

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Detention/Reflective/Ctizenship tasks

Subject: Citizenship

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

2 September 2014

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Thank you, this is a much more reflective exercise than anything we currently do. I will use this in my next detention supervision session.

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Detention Work Behavior Reflection Sheet - Student Behavior Essays

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Description

Even though teachers work hard to make their classrooms a positive place, after other interventions have taken place there are occasions when detention is a necessary consequence for inappropriate behavior. To keep the onus where it belongs (on the student), use these editable compositions to help students reflect on their behavior.

These compositions are like letters for the student to copy that explain their misdeed, why the behavior is inappropriate, and how to correct it in the future. Then there is a place for the student and the student's parent/guardian to sign.

Students who have already been given an opportunity to make a better choice and perhaps even a phone call home could be assigned these compositions as a "take-home" detention. There's no reason for detention to take up a teacher's time! Plus these are great for documenting your attempts to help correct a student's behavior.

There are 14 EDITABLE compositions including:

✅ Tardiness

✅ Cheating on a test

✅ Cheating by copying someone else's work

✅ Not following directions

✅ Disrespect

✅ Improper behavior with a substitute

✅ Skipping class

✅ Disrupting the class

✅ Inappropriate language (cursing)

✅ Dress Code

✅ Failure to complete classwork

✅ Failure to complete homework

✅ Sleeping in class

✅ Failure to be dependable in a group work situation

You'll get a copy of each composition in an editable PowerPoint.

Please see the preview! :)

TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brandy B. said, "I really like this resource. Unfortunately, discipline comes along with classroom management because students do not always use the best judgment. This resource allowed me to tailor it to my classroom and provides my students with a reflection on using better judgment."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Laura M. said, "I LOVE these resources! I was able to modify it to meet the needs of my students, their parents, and my classes. I added a reflection paragraph to the end for my students to examine their own behaviors and the impact those behaviors had."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Jennifer H. said, "I have duty for detention each week. These editable files gave me something for my students to do in detention that makes them reflect on their behavior."

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Detention Teachers’ Resources

The teachers’ resources for my new novel Detention   are now available here . And there are three 2-minute videos to support the teaching of Detention and give insight into the writing process, as well as a video book trailer here .

We’ve worked hard on the teaching materials to create a comprehensive resource that covers the key themes of refugee experiences and statelessness as well as class, privilege, empathy, compassion, family relationships and human rights.

The book is being picked up for stage four study (years 7 & 8) but it’s suitable for readers 10+. Here’s what teacher-librarian and blogger Megan Daley (Children’s Books Daily) said about the book. Her year 7 students are studying it in term 4 this year. My intention was to write a page-turning novel that readers will devour simply as a suspenseful novel, but one that will also prompt questions and allow more in-depth study as the layers are peeled.

Detention Teachers’ Resources Contents

I worked with my publisher Zoe Walton , Shaun Nemorin and Jasmina Bajraktarevic from STARTTS (Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors) and English teacher, writer and editor Siboney Duff to build a resource that includes:

• a Q&A with me on how the story developed
• discussion questions and activities around ethical dilemmas, opportunity and whether what’s right and what is legal are always the same thing
• creative writing exercises around point-of-view, building tension, ‘show don’t tell’ and more
• the books, videos, articles and websites that I found most useful when researching refugee experiences, children in detention and Australia’s policies on asylum seekers
• a ‘Top 5 Things You Could Do’ to help and understand more about refugees
• information on Afghan Hazara people
• tips for studying these ideas in the classroom
• and lots more

The two-minute education videos to accompany the notes in which I talk about researching the novel, how a Vision Board helped me to visualise different aspects of the story and how to create a book soundtrack are here .

Good luck with the book and I hope you find the teachers’ resources useful!

Teachers’ Resources link.

You can link to various stores to buy the book here or contact your local bookshop or supplier.

The main page for the book with other posts about Detention  is here .

And the teachers’ resources for my other books including  Two Wolves, The Fall  and  Tom Weekly  is here .

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Why I Want My Students to Get Detention

It’s their job to screw up. It’s my job to help them learn from mistakes.

Every year, I have my students write about their goals for the year during the first couple of weeks of school. And every year I have a few kids who make it their primary goal in life never to get in trouble.

“I won’t get detention all year.” “I will never miss a homework assignment.”

It’s a conversation-starter every year, because I think it’s a terrible goal, both in school and in life. I believe it’s crucial to learn from mistakes.

So here’s what I tell my students about getting in trouble:

“Some of you guys wrote that you want to make it through the whole year without getting detention. I totally get that, because detention is boring and miserable. It’s supposed to be. But I think you might want to give that goal a little more thought.

You see, if your number one goal is to avoid getting in trouble, you’re going to miss out on a lot of life experiences. I’m not talking about smoking in the bathroom—that’s an experience you can definitely afford to skip. And I’m definitely not talking about bullying or being stupid on the internet because that stuff can follow you forever.

I’m talking about laughing too loudly with your friends at the lunch table or getting so engrossed in a project that you get caught working on it in your next period class. I’m talking about feeling so strongly about what you want to say that you forget to raise your hand before you say it. Having so much fun with your friends that you slip up and forget your homework one night because you’re outside playing until it’s dark.

“If you’re focused on never getting in trouble, you’re limiting your opportunities to learn from mistakes.”

You guys are kids. Making mistakes and getting in trouble is basically your primary function during this part of your lives.

There are so many things you have to learn as a middle schooler—how to help your friend through a bad breakup. How to defend somebody who’s being picked on. How to defend yourself against rumors and gossip. And nobody, nobody gets it right the first time. You’ve got to do these things the wrong way and get in trouble and figure out better ways to cope next time, or you’ve learned nothing.

And here’s the other reason it’s important. At some point in your life, you’ll be faced with a situation where doing the right thing will get you in trouble. Maybe it’ll be at work, where your boss wants you to do something slightly unethical to make a profit. Maybe it’ll be in a relationship, where being honest with someone you love results in anger and resentment. Or maybe it’ll be here in school, when you see someone with power—student or faculty—misusing it against someone without.

“If you don’t know how to get in trouble, then you’re going to have a much harder time doing the right thing when that crisis arises.”

I never want you to get in trouble for being mean to somebody. I never want you to take the kind of risks that end in tragedy, like experimenting with drugs or gang activity. And I don’t want you to get in trouble because you just decide that homework isn’t really your thing this year.

But I do want you to get in trouble. I want you to make mistakes and drive me crazy and make my life more difficult. You’re my students; it’s not your job to make sure my day goes smoothly. It’s your job to screw up and let me help you learn.

So instead of focusing on never doing anything wrong, how about you focus on doing what’s right? Even when you’re not quite sure how, even when you go about it the wrong way, even when it gets you in trouble? A kid who never gets detention may be an excellent student. But we don’t want you to grow up to be star students. We want you to grow up to be fulfilled, engaged, compassionate, wise adults.  And making mistakes is the only way to get there.”

It’s a dangerous message to send because the kids misunderstand.

They’ll expect me not to hold them accountable when they screw up, “because I told them to.” And it’s often not a message their parents will agree with. I understand and respect that—and God knows, I appreciate it—but I also have to help these kids become good citizens the best way I know how. And one of the ways I do that is by encouraging them to make mistakes.

I’m not sure the message gets through to most of my sweet perfectionists. I still have kids who make it through the year without ever doing anything wrong. I really don’t think they’re just slick, either; they really put that much pressure on themselves to do everything absolutely perfectly. But when a kid comes to me complaining about her first detention in eight years of public school, I don’t tell her I’m disappointed or commiserate with her about how much it sucks. I congratulate her and tell her that she’s gained a new life experience because that’s what I truly believe.

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50 Constructive Alternatives to Detention or Punishment

Ideas for parents and educators.

“Are you okay, E?” I overheard a concerned classmate ask my son as he walked out of the school building yesterday at pick up time. “I’m okay.” he assured the friend. In my head, I was saying “Uh-oh!” bracing myself for the unknown challenge ahead. I ditched my errand-running plans and headed straight to the ice cream store to get provisions for our conversation hoping to channel the clarity of focus that only ice cream can bring. He relayed the story calmly. “Our class was coming back to our room from gym. Sarah (that’s what we’ll call her) was trying to push her way to the front. I was at the beginning of the line and she grabbed my arm and scraped her fingernails down it.” He extended his forearm and revealed two lines of broken skin, red and raw, from his elbow down to his wrist. After washing and treating it, I asked how he had responded and then, how the school had responded. E had said back to Sarah after the scratch “I have to tell the teacher.” And he did. “We were both sent to the principal’s office.” he said.

E continued to tell me about how Sarah lied to the principal and said he had scratched her. But the evidence gave her away. And E was excused while Sarah stayed with the principal. This is Sarah’s third offense that I have personally witnessed. While volunteering at lunch, I saw her hit a girl in the face. While volunteering in the classroom, I saw her kick a boy in the back. We – my family – are a part of a safe, caring, connected school community that does the best they can for children. But when a bullying or other misbehavior occurs, there are only a few options that are taken. I have spent time in a diverse range of schools across the U.S. and this one example of how problems are dealt with is commonplace. The frequent response is 1.) give a warning (move a clip to red or get a hash mark or a name written on the board), 2.) send offender to the principal’s office for a conversation (and/or scolding), 3.) give detention (held after school typically with nothing to do but to stare or do homework), and finally, 4.) call home.

If these interventions have taken place and the child continues to misbehave, what are we doing about it? How are we looking into the child’s life and trying to understand what emotional needs are not being met? How are we examining what social and emotional skills need practice – in Sarah’s case – impulse control and appropriate expressions of anger – so that they are ready when they feel overcome by their feelings?

I know from experience that when a child is attacked verbally or physically, they are nursing their wounds for the rest of the day. And the learning that would have occurred is just not possible. And for the instigator, she’s been scolded or given detention. She is not learning either. And classmates who witness the event and are concerned about their friend are also not learning. So – bottom line – our ability to focus and deal with these occurrences directly impacts academics.

After E had gone to bed, I began writing about what’s wrong with “it all” which I immediately crumpled and tossed in the bin. I quickly realized that was not the way I want to contribute to my son, to my school and to you. So instead, I took a constructive approach with my upset energy. I developed a list of fifty alternatives to detention or punishment that have the potential to truly help the child who is clearly crying for help when she misbehaves. It will require a little more thought on our part, a change of our reactive habits. Yelling at a child will not do the job. But if we place our curious minds on the problem, we can do so much more for those children who desperately need us. We need to regularly recognize the misbehaving child’s signal. She is sending out an “SOS!” “Help me! I’m hurting!” say her actions. But so frequently our responses do not address her needs. How can we adjust our ways of thinking and reacting so that we meet children where they are? Before sharing the list of interventions, there are some key questions we can ask when situations like this occur. These questions can apply to parents and educators alike. Next time your child or a student in your classroom harms another person or property, consider the following.

• What is the child (who has misbehaved) feeling?
• Do we understand the origins of why she is upset?
• What emotional needs are going unmet in her?
• Does she know what to do and where to go when she is upset? Does she have an outlet for her strong emotions? What social and emotional skill(s) does she need practice with? And can the whole class or the whole family benefit from practicing that same skill (like self-management)?
• Does she have an attachment to one caring adult – at school, at home? If not, how can you help cultivate one?
• What plan or intervention will not only stop the behavior but also, teach skills?
• How can the parent and teacher work together to play a supportive role?

And now, check out this list of 50 alternative interventions.

Parents and Educators can guide the child to:

1. Write down all of the things he loves or that make him feel safe.

2. Create a safe base for him to go to when he’s upset.

3. Practice deep breathing. Try out teddy bear, ocean wave, or  hot chocolate breathing.

4. Run, jump, get exercise.

5. Do a headstand.

6. Cry, talk aloud privately in a sound-proof music room.

7. Write in a journal.

8. Use a handout to guide reflection.  I’ve created one for your use.

9. Talk to a caring adult who will listen with compassion.

10. Talk to a caring peer who will listen with compassion.

11. Go to a peer mediator who can facilitate working through conflicts. (School can train students.)

12. Walk outside.

13. Brainstorm ways to heal the hurt caused.

14. Sweep or clean the environment (not as punishment but as a contribution to the classroom – repairing harm and getting out physical energy too.).

15. Paint or draw.

16. Listen to beautiful music on headphones.

17. Watch video of kids’ breathing.

18. Watch video of kids doing service.

19. Make a contribution list of all the ways you can contribute to others.

20. Brainstorm ways to directly help a classmate, parent or teacher.

21. Teach a younger child ways they can express anger without harming another. Roar? Stomp? Breathe?

22. Create characters for your emotions (such as in the movie, “Inside Out.”).

23. Retrace steps. Role play alternative choices.

24. Read a book about expressing anger. Ask, “How do you want to express anger without harming others?” (such as, “ When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry.” )

25. Run hands under warm water. Listen.

26. Create emotion room or space for being alone with feelings.

27. Dance with music and/or with a music video.

28. Play instrument.

29. Read about characters with similar feelings and similar challenges.

30. Examine gratefulness. What do you like about your family? What do you like about school, your teacher, your classmates?

31. Imagine what gift you could give the class or your family that would be uniquely from you. Draw it or write about it.

32. Think of a person who you admire. What about them do you admire? What would they do in this situation? What would be their next choice? Write.

33. Practice forgiveness. Reflect on those that have hurt you. Write names, reasons they might have hurt you and try to understand the others’ perspective.

34. Create a new choice or set of choices.

35. Make reparation with the guidance of a caring adult. How can a new choice help heal the relationship?

36. Talk about hopes and dreams and what actions will help you reach them.

37. Write a new ending to the story of what happened. Could you make a new choice that replicates the story you created?

38. Set a goal to do twice as many positive actions and name them.

39. Share with a feelings buddy (could be a friend or a stuffed animal).

40. Talk to or pet a gentle animal.

41. Practice impulse control . Look for small ways with the whole class/family to practice waiting.

42. Talk privately with a trained professional – a counselor, psychologist or social worker.

43. Create an anti-bullying poster.

44. Contribute to lunch preparation or clean up with a kind lunch lady.

45. Talk with a caring adult who uses coaching questions.

46. Employ restorative justice. “You break it, you fix it.”  If you’ve hurt another’s feelings, how are you going to make it up to that person? If you’ve destroyed property, how will you replace it, repair it or work on it?

47. Ask child/student to do teacher/parent a favor and help out. Set them up in another room to cut out shapes or do some activity that directly contributes to the class but allows child his own space away from the classroom for a time.

48. Keep a journal for each student/child in which they can write reflections and action plans anytime they are upset.

49. Meet with both parent and teacher to express concern, show support and work to understand child’s needs.

50. Plan for re-entry into the classroom or family community if child has taken time away. How will he reconnect with others? How can the adults show he is welcomed back? How can he make amends and communicate with the one he hurt?

I’ve placed these fifty ideas in a pdf document in case you’d like to print it and hang on a bulletin board or refrigerator as a reminder. Recognizing when children are really trying to make changes is critical if we are to support those improvements. “I notice you held the door today for others.” is all the encouragement that is needed. If we are truly attempting to raise and educate responsible individuals, then reflection on feelings and actions and offering choices on making amends are the vehicles that will empower children to repair harm, internally (healing their own wounds) and externally (assisting others).

For more on this topic, check out the article:

“This School Replaced Detention with Meditation. The Results Are Stunning.”  by James Gaines

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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment , Modeling Social and Emotional Skills , Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: alternatives to yelling , Bullying , constructive alternatives to punishment , dealing with bullying , dealing with child misbehaviors , Developmental discipline , Parent educators tools for discipline , Positive Discipline

20 Comments on “50 Constructive Alternatives to Detention or Punishment”

Good! Good! Good!!!!!! L,M On Oct 4, 2016, at 12:37 PM, confident parents confident kids wrote:

Thanks, thanks, thanks! 🙂

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Great article. I have shared it with my readers.

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

You know what I love most about this article? Not just that you turned your frustration into something truly positive and helpful, but also that most of these strategies would work for adults too (me included)!

Starla, Just read and loved your post this morning (comment to come!). Thanks so much! You are right – I was frustrated and it turned out, it was easy to come up with fifty positive steps. So often, we think about what we don’t want to do but don’t have an alternative. Thanks for your comment and happy NYC days! 🙂

By the way, I hadn’t thought of the strategies for adults but looked back through after you mentioned it and you are right. I’ll keep the list for my own purposes too. Good point!

This is truely a very good concept which must be utilized.

Yes, agreed! It does require some thinking and planning ahead. But I think if we consider what challenges arise for us with our children consistently, we can better plan for how we will respond in ways that teach constructive responses and social and emotional skills. Thanks for your comment! All the best!

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Good explanation i get something though better to use pictures

Thanks so much for your feedback. Will work on more pictures and visual explanations! Best!

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Suggestions for what to have students do during detention.

I am an ed. tech, but am also doing my student teaching in an ESL classroom this year. This is my first year at the middle school - I had been at the primary elementary before this. There is one student in particular in the ESL class who gives my mentor teacher and I (along with any student he doesn't like) a lot of guff. He generally doesn't want to be in school and hates putting effort into anything he doesn't like.

My mentor had to leave on Friday for a half day, leaving me to sub. 20 minutes after she had left, things were going pretty well, and the room was silent as students were working on an independent quiz. As I was writing on the board, the student I mentioned above started moaning and complaining loudly that he didn't want/know what to write as answers on the quiz. Before I can act, another girl across the room called out for him to shut up and gave him the finger. He called out, "yeah fuck you, too." I gave them both detentions. Neither seemed very surprised.

The question:

Detentions are totally teacher-controlled. They will come to my mentor's room after school tomorrow, and even though she is technically responsible for them as the official teacher, I'm going to be taking it over not only for the experience it adds to my student teaching, but also so that these students don't get the impression that they need to listen to my mentor more than to me or that I won't carry through with what I say in the classroom. There is no official protocol for detention activity that I am aware of.

So: what do I have them do? I know that a tedious task really isn't going to teach them anything or get at the cause of the issue, but at the same time, I want their time in detention to be really awful so that the idea of getting another is really unattractive.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Lunch detentions: reflection prompts for your students to complete during a 20-minute lunch.

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The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning

Strategies and resources about implicit bias.

• Teaching Resources
• Inclusive and Anti-Racist Teaching
• Inclusive Teaching

What is a implicit bias?

Automatic preference… [for non-historically underrepresented groups that] predicts discriminatory behavior even among…[those] who earnestly (and, we believe, honestly] espouse egalitarian beliefs.

What are the effects of implicit bias?

Research suggests that implicit bias shapes both instructor-student and student-student interactions in the classroom, with outcomes such as:

• Influencing students’ course performance and desire to pursue a career in the discipline (Kiefer & Sekaquaptewa, 2007).
• Influencing instructor non-verbal behaviors (e.g., eye contact) to preference white students (Dovidio, Kawakami, & Gaertner, 2002).
• Male students underestimating the academic performance of female students, even when controlling for course grade and participation in the class (Grunspan, et al., 2016). Such dynamics could potentially influence female students’ peer assessment grade or influence their sense of belonging in the discipline. A negative student-student climate is also a strong predictor of student absenteeism (Wolbring & Treischl, 2016).

How can the expression of implicit bias be mitigated in the classroom?

• Take steps to make implicit biases explicit so they can intentionally be addressed. For example, instructors can take an Implicit Association Test (IAT, see below) to help better regulate implicit biases in the classroom. Several instructors describe positive results in classroom exercises to teach students about the concept of implicit bias, which also involve taking the IAT and facilitating discussions about the experience (e.g., Adams, Devos, Rivera, Smith & Vega, 2014; Goshal, Lippard, Robas, & Muir, 2012).
• Blind grading (i.e., hiding a student’s name on a paper or test) can eliminate the cues for implicit bias (Killpack & Melón, 2016). Transparent and clearly defined grading protocols (e.g., grading papers with rubrics, which are distributed to students in advance) also can provide structures to mitigate bias (Thompson & Sekaquaptewa, 2002).
• Exposure of the diversity of contributors to/members of the field may help lessen implicit bias. One study indicated that showing students images of African-American exemplars lessened IAT-identified racial preferences in the short term (Dasgupta & Greenwald, 2001). Banaji & Greenwald (2013, p. 151) suggest that a screensaver of counterstereotypical human images may have a similar effect for instructors.
• Create structures for more equitable participation in the classroom, especially to structure pair, team and group experiences (Thompson & Sekaquaptewa, 2002). Examples include clearly defined roles for group members.

Additional Resources

• Project Implicit : The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is available at the site. The IAT is designed to measure automatic attitudes and beliefs that may not be apparent to the respondent.
• Statts, C. (2015-16, Winter). Understanding implicit bias: What educators should know. American Educator, 39(4): 29-33, 43. This accessible article summarizes educational research on implicit bias and offers strategies to mitigate its effects.
• Killpack & Melón (2016).  Toward Inclusive STEM Classrooms: What Personal Role Do Faculty Play? : This article offers a definition of implicit bias and three strategies that instructors can use to mitigate it. Although written in a STEM education journal, some strategies are broadly applicable to other disciplines (e.g., blind grading).

Adams, V.H., Devos, T., Roversa, L.M., Smith, H., & Vega, L.A. (2014). Teaching about implicit prejudices and stereotypes: A pedagogical demonstration. Teaching of Psychology, 41(3): 204-212.

Banaji, M.R. & Greenwald, A.G. (2013). Blindspot: Hidden biases of good people. New York: Delacorte Press.

Dasgupta, N., & Greenwald, A.G. (2001). On the malleability of racial attitudes: Combating automatic prejudice with images of admired and disliked individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(5): 800-814.

Dovidio, J. F., Kawakami, K., & Gaertner, S. L. (2002). Implicit and explicit prejudice and interracial interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 62–68.

Goshal, R.A., Lippard, C., Robas, V., & Muir, K. (2012). Beyond bigotry: Teaching about unconscious prejudice. Teaching Sociology, 41(2): 130-143.

Grunspan, D.Z., Eddy, S.L., Brownell, S.E., Wiggins, B.L., Crowe, A.J., Goodreau, S.M. (2016). Males underestimate academic performance of their female peers in undergraduate biology classrooms. PLOS One, 11(2): Available:  http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0148405

Kiefer, A.K., & Sekaquaptewa, D. (2007). Implicit stereotypes, gender identification, and math-related outcomes: A prospective study of female college students. Psychological Science, 18(1): 13-18

Killpack, T. L., & Melón, L. C. (2016). Toward inclusive STEM classrooms: What personal role do faculty play? CBE Life Sciences Education, 15(3). Available:  https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0020

Thompson, M., & Sekaquaptewa, D. (2002). When being different is detrimental: Solo status and the performance of women and minorities. Analysis of Social Issues and Public Policy, 2(1): 183-203.

Wolbring, T., & Treischl, E. (2016). Selection bias in students’ evaluation of teaching: Causes of student absenteeism and its consequences for course ratings and rankings. Research in Higher Education, 57: 51-71.

Lesson Plan

June 17, 2024, 6:05 a.m.

Lesson plan: History of Juneteenth and why it became a national holiday

A Juneteenth celebration in Richmond, Virginia, 1905. Library of Congress

This lesson was originally published on June 16, 2021, and was updated on June 16, 2024.

For a Google version of this lesson plan, click here . (Note: you will need to make a copy of the document to edit it).

In this lesson, students will explore and discuss the history and context around the Juneteenth holiday in the United States. Topics explored will include the history of racial injustice in the U.S., the Civil War and the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation. Additionally, students will be encouraged to explore the modern significance of Juneteenth and its long-term impact.

Estimated time

One 50-60 minute class period

Grade Level

Grades 6-12

On June 15, 2021, the Senate unanimously approved a bill approving June 19 as a federal holiday for “Juneteenth National Independence Day.” The House passed the bill one day later. Still, many Americans are still unaware of the history and significance of June 19.

On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “that all persons held as slaves” in the Confederacy “shall be free.” While this may have freed some enslaved people on paper, the reality was much more complicated.

Source: PBS NewsHour via Associated Press

For instance, the Emancipation Proclamation only freed those slaves held under the Confederacy, not in border states loyal to the Union, including Kentucky, West Virginia and Delaware, where slavery was still legal after the Emancipation Proclamation. In fact, slavery was still legal in Kentucky until Dec. 1865, when the 13th Amendment was passed, though Kentucky voted against ratifying the amendment.

Confederate states and slaveholders also resisted emancipation, and many people remained enslaved in Confederate states after the proclamation, even as many enslaved people fought for their freedom or escaped behind Union lines. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union issued an order in Galveston, Texas, alerting all enslaved persons that they were legally free.

At this point in 1865, Texas was the westernmost state in America and one of the last Confederate states to be occupied by the Union. Many slaveholders had fled Union advances in other parts of the South to Texas, along with the people they had enslaved.

While it took time for the logistics of “freeing” enslaved people to come into effect, the importance of June 19, or “Juneteenth” lived on. Considering how complicated emancipation was, many dates were considered for holding celebrations of emancipation, but over 150 years later, June 19 remains.

What originally was a holiday mainly observed by Texans has grown to be recognized all over the country. Each year on “Juneteenth,” (or more formally Juneteenth National Freedom Day), communities all around the United States gather and celebrate and reflect on the history of slavery and struggle for civil rights and equality, including the work that still remains after conditional advances such as the Emancipation Proclamation.

Warm up activity

As a class, watch the BrainPop video (8 minutes) below found here introducing Juneteenth. While watching the video, answer the following discussion questions.

Source: BrainPop

Discussion questions:

• What is “Juneteenth”? What does it celebrate?
• Why did it take so long for enslaved peoples in Texas to finally be free? What obstacles existed?
• What were some of the forms of discrimination against newly freed people mentioned in the video?
• What is the Great Migration?
• How did Juneteenth become a national, not just regional, celebration?

After watching the video, separate into groups of 3-4 to discuss the focus questions (5 minutes).

Main activities:

• Why was June 19th chosen as the date to celebrate the freedom of all Americans? What were some of the drawbacks to other dates? Can you make an argument for why you think a different date might have been better and/or worse?
• Gates describes several reasons why Juneteenth struggled to be remembered at times, and why it was able to endure. Compare and contrast what the BrainPop video included as reasons why Juneteenth struggled and endured with what Gate’s emphasizes. What do you think were the most important factors in Juneteenth’s momentum and remembrance continuing?
• “When did they start recognizing Juneteenth, if at all?”
• “What was the process of Juneteenth becoming a holiday in my state?”
• If Juneteenth isn’t recognized in your state, see if you can answer, “Why is Juneteenth not recognized?”
• This search engine for state and local government websites
• The Library of Congress

Additional activities

• Brainstorm or plan a Juneteenth celebration activity. This can be decorating a common area, bringing in a relevant local speaker or planning a refreshment break for your school. Juneteenth celebrations can be in the home, at school or in community locations. For more inspiration see these resources:
• “ How to Celebrate ” from Juneteenth.com
• See how others are celebrating Juneteenth on Twitter .
• Some activists feel ambivalent about Juneteenth becoming a national holiday, or reject the idea. To learn more about the nuances surrounding making Juneteenth a federal holiday, watch this NewsHour interview with Dr. Mark Anthony Neal recorded in 2020 amid the George Floyd protests.

• The day now known as Juneteenth was formally recognized as a national holiday in 2021, due in large part to the activism of retired teacher Opal Lee. Learn more about Lee's activism and the message of Juneteenth in this NewsHour interview with Opal Lee.

If classrooms finish and plan a celebratory activity, please share your ideas with us on social media @NewsHourEXTRA on Twitter.

This lesson was written by Cecilia Curran, NewsHour Classroom intern, while she was a rising sophomore at Amherst College. This lesson was edited by NewsHour Classroom's education producer and former history teacher Vic Pasquantonio.

Fill out this form to share your thoughts on Classroom’s resources. Sign up for NewsHour Classroom’s ready-to-go Daily News Lessons delivered to your inbox each morning.

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Universities, schools react to student use of generative AI programs including ChatGPT

Uni student Daniel hesitates when asked if he has used ChatGPT to cheat on assignments before.

His answer is "no", but the 22-year-old feels the need to explain it further.

"I don't think it's cheating," he said.

"As long as you accredit it and use it for like a foundation for your assignment I think it's fine."

Schools and universities have been scrambling to keep up since ChatGPT and other generative AI language programs were released in late 2022.

University student Lan Lang, 18, said quite a few people used generative AI for assessments such as English assignments.

"I do get Chat to like explain stuff to me if teachers don't really explain it that well," Lan Lang said.

She said she used AI detection software on her work.

"We put it through Turnitin, which just basically detects if you've used AI, or if you've copied off anyone else's work," she said.

Caught out in schools

High school teacher Ryan Miller said he wasn't seeing a lot of generative AI used in the Year 12 and Year 8 classes he taught but understood from colleagues other age groups were using it.

"What I hear, when I'm in the staff room, is that a lot of Year 9s, 10s, [and] 11s are pushing the boundaries," Mr Miller said.

He said Year 12 students tended to be more careful after being warned at the start of the year and constantly reminded of consequences.

"Basically, they're told if their work is seen to be made ... predominantly with AI, that it won't be assessed," he said.

Mr Miller said Year 8s, being a little newer to the school, hadn't used it as much.

He said teachers tended to give students a warning if they were detected using generative AI.

"And nine times out of 10 they'll probably own up to it and say, 'Yeah, look, it wasn't ... 100 per cent my own work'," he said. 

He said students would rewrite the work so it could be assessed again.

"But it's sort of a one warning per kid, per year for most teachers, I think," he said.

Fellow teacher Hugh Kinnane said generative AI was probably "pretty rife" in assignment work.

He said he most regularly saw it cropping up with students who were trying to avoid doing any work.

"And then it's a last-minute job," he said.

Drawing the line

University of Adelaide Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Jennie Shaw said while her university embraced the use of AI, it could still be used to cheat.

"So we're saying, of course, that is not allowed," Dr Shaw said.

She said generative AI was included in academic integrity modules for first-year students.

"We make it really clear to students what is OK and what is not OK," she said.

Dr Shaw said there were instances when students were encouraged to use generative AI and then critique the quality of its answer.

"What we are asking our students and our staff to do is to reference when they do use it," she said.

She said it was a requirement that as much content as possible was checked by similarity detection software.

According to Turnitin's website — which is used by the University of Adelaide as well as many other universities across Australia to detect AI-generated content— the company is committed to a false positive rate of less than 1 per cent to ensure not students are falsely accused of misconduct.

AI arms race

The software has put students at the centre of a battle for superiority between programs generating answers for their assignments and those designed to catch them out.

And according to Australian Institute for Machine Learning senior lecturer Feras Dayoub, some are getting caught in the crossfire.

He said companies that created AI chatbots were trying to be undetectable while companies that created AI detection software wanted to detect everything.

"There will be a lot of false positives," Dr Dayoub said.

He said it could be an unpleasant experience for the student if the detector was wrong.

University student Ethan, 19, said single words were sometimes highlighted in his Turnitin submissions.

"It can be a bit inaccurate," Ethan said.

Dr Shaw said she understood the detection software had its faults.

"We would find probably two thirds of anything they pick up saying there's some unacceptably high levels of similarity here is often just picking up patterns in language," she said.

"I know some universities have chosen to turn it off because it does turn up lots of false positives.

"We're choosing to use it at this point."

Changing education

The Department of Education released a nationwide framework in December last year for the use of generative AI in schools.

Dr Shaw said the technology was changing the way teachers taught and students learned.

"But we still need students to have deep knowledge," she said. 

"We need them to know how to use the tools in their profession. 

"And again, one of those in many professions will now be generative AI, and we need them to be able to call out when it's wrong."

Dr Dayoub said he would prefer a future in which there was no need for detectors because people had changed the way they taught and assessed.

He said another option would be to take a stricter approach, where students did the work themselves and there would be no help.

"In that case you need the detectors so there will be a huge market for these detectors and it will become a race," he said.

"I don't like that future."

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Southeastern College of Business honors students

Southeastern Louisiana University’s College of Business held its semi-annual awards ceremony for the Written Works of Excellence and Distinction Program honoring 17 outstanding students who excelled on papers written for class assignments during the spring 2024 semester.

Tonya Lowentritt

May 23, 2024

HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University’s College of Business held its semi-annual awards ceremony for the Written Works of Excellence and Distinction Program honoring 17 outstanding students who excelled on papers written for class assignments during the spring 2024 semester.

The WOWED Program was created in 2019 to recognize students who have created the “best of the best” written individual and group projects, works or papers each semester. Established by former Dean Antoinette Phillips, the program seeks to advance the College of Business’ learning goal in regards to continually working to improve students’ written communication skills. This program is directed by Merritt Professor of Management David C. Wyld, who also helped create it.

Professor of Marketing and College of Business Dean Tará Lopez commended the students on their commitment to their projects.

“We had an outstanding group of students nominated for the WOWED program this semester. They represent the best of our students, and this program is a wonderful way to celebrate their work,” she said.

The semester’s WOWED honorees included the following: Brett John Barrios, a marketing major from Marrero; Greyson Teylor Boudreaux, an accounting major from Hammond; Keyshawn Kevin Casnave, a business administration major from Lacombe; Presley Dronet, a supply chain management major from Mandeville; Hailee Fernandez, an accounting major from Covington; Tanner J. Hebert, a finance major from Gonzales; Gracee C. Lefort, a business administration major from Cutoff; GiGi N. Marks, a business administration major from Franklinton; and Jillian Martin, a marketing major from Covington.

Additional honorees included Morgan Martinez, an English (creative writing) major from Madisonville; Liam P. McCauley, a mathematics major from Mandeville; Cameron Meier, a double major in business administration and supply chain management from Denham Springs; Sophia Rose Nastasi, a marketing major from Mandeville; Raynard Roberts, Jr., a business administration major from New Orleans; Keyron Smith, a computer science major from Donaldsonville; Logan Whittington, a finance major from Denham Springs; and Brooke Williamson, a business administration major from Madisonville.

Praising the students for their efforts that earned them this distinction, Wyld said the 17 students perfectly exemplify the excellence students in the College of Business can achieve in producing high-quality communications.

“These students truly represent how the faculty in the College of Business are trying to provide our business students with high-quality educational opportunities that make an impact on their future careers. The students honored for their works in the WOWED awards program show how our College of Business students can deliver effective oral presentations and produce exemplary written works,” Wyld said. “Mastering communication skills is absolutely critical for career success in today’s world – and tomorrow’s, and these students exemplify the fine work that our students are doing in the College of Business across the board.”

For more information, contact Wyld at [email protected] or 985-789-2127.

SOUTHEASTERN STUDENTS WOW IN PROGRAM  – Southeastern Louisiana University’s College of Business held its semi-annual awards ceremony for the Written Works of Excellence and Distinction Program, honoring 17 outstanding students who excelled on papers written for class assignments during the spring 2024 semester. Front row, from left, are Gracee C. Lefort, Morgan Martinez, KeyRon Smith, Sophia Nastasi, Brooke Williamson, Liam P. McCauley, and Tanner J. Hebert. Back row, from left, are Presley Dronet, Logan Whittington, Cameron Meier, Greyson Boudreaux, Brett Barrios, Raynard Roberts Jr., Hailee Fernandez, Tanner Hebert, and Merritt Professor of Management David C. Wyld. Not pictured are Keyshawn Kevin Casnave and GiGi N. Marks.

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LGBTQ+ students may need to seek sex education outside school due to curricula gaps

Doing so could force them to seek inaccurate, potentially dangerous advice elsewhere

Media Information

• Embargo date: June 17, 2024 12:01 AM CT
• Release Date: June 14, 2024

Media Contacts

Kristin Samuelson

• (847) 491-4888
• Email Kristin

Journal: The Journal of Sex Research

• Addressing negligence could be ‘life-saving,’ argue study authors
• Curricula based on abstinence-only approaches or religious principles, or contained oppressive, suppressive elements marginalized LGBTQ+ youth, survey found
• ‘I wish I was taught about gay sex, sexual orientation, and all the other controversial topics that [are deemed] ‘grooming,’ one survey respondent said

CHICAGO --- Children across the U.S. who identify as LGBTQ+ say the sexual health-education curricula they receive is leaving them without essential information to make informed decisions about their sexual health, which could force them to seek potentially inaccurate or dangerous advice elsewhere.

The results of a new, national, peer-reviewed survey, show these young people — aged 13 to 17 — believe crucial topics surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity are being omitted from sexual health-education programs.

One survey respondent said, “I wish I was taught about gay sex, sexual orientation, and all the other controversial topics that [are deemed] ‘grooming.’ When kids aren’t taught good sex ed, they learn how to do it in an unhealthy way from other sources like the internet or word of mouth. If we teach children about these topics, they’ll be safer when they become teenagers.” (Read more comments below)

Experts who led the study say the addition of key items in the curricula could be “life-saving.”

The study was published June 17 in The Journal of Sex Research .

“LGBTQ+ youth expressed a strong desire to learn more about topics related to their sexual orientation and gender identity, highlighting a critical gap in existing curricula,” said study author Erica Szkody , a postdoctoral research associate at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who led the data collection for the study.

“Despite the well-known benefits of comprehensive sexual health education, the majority of school sexual health-education curricula in the U.S. is non-comprehensive and excludes LGBTQ+ students. Our analyses underscore the extent of this exclusion.”

Szkody works in the Lab for Scalable Mental Health , which is directed by Jessica Schleider, associate professor of medical social sciences and pediatrics at Feinberg.

Of more than 800 survey respondents, most participants reported a lack of LGBTQ+ content in their sexual health-education experiences. In order to be educated on sexual health, most were using extracurricular sources including online spaces, friends and personal experiences with sexual exploration. The authors found these extracurricular sources are frequently preferred by LGBTQ+ youth; but may lack accuracy and reliability.

Overall, participants described feeling marginalized by curricula that were based on abstinence-only approaches, religious principles or contained oppressive and suppressive elements, such as negative remarks about LGBTQ+ individuals or skipping required LGBTQ+ content altogether.

“The exclusion of LGBTQ+ students from the curricula may contribute to poor health outcomes in LGBTQ+ youth, with some research beginning to document these experiences and provide recommendations for curricula changes,” said lead author Steven Hobaica, clinical psychologist and research scientist at The Trevor Project, whose mission is to end suicide among LGBTQ+ young people. “Addressing this negligence is urgent and could be life-saving.”

“Given the current political climate, with legislation attempting to exclude LGBTQ+ information in schools, we encourage policymakers to continue fighting for LGBTQ+ inclusion in curricula as a means to prevent health problems for a vulnerable group,” he said.

The survey also provided LGBTQ+ young people the opportunity to openly share on their experiences and recommendations for change regarding sexual health education:

These suggestions included:

• More LGBTQ+ content in sexual health education curricula, as well as more detail on healthy and diverse relationships (e.g., non-monogamy, polyamory), consent, safety in relationships and communication skills.
• Creating safe and supportive spaces while considering legitimate fears due to a possible increase in bullying, as they had heard students make fun of the material or use discriminatory language during past implementation.
• Updating sexual health-education materials to reflect LGBTQ+ lived experiences, history and risk factors.
• Creating sexual health interventions focused on LGBTQ+ experiences and concerns. Improving access to reliable sexual health information.
• Creating more accessible sexual-health information via other avenues, such as online and through mobile applications.

Other comments from survey respondents include:

“I wish others understood that while the anatomy-related knowledge is important, we need sexual [health] education that is relevant to today’s world. This involves sexual [health] education [about] dangers and safety on the Internet, [same-sex/gender] relations, and education geared towards attraction and feelings rather than a lesson only [regarding] heterosexual procreation. I wish they took our real-life experiences and insecurities into account.”

“It is NOT HARMFUL to talk about gender identity and sexuality with high schoolers. It SAVES LIVES.”

The authors hope their findings contribute to a “critical” policy shift toward including LGBTQ+ young people in sexual health education, a community that is “often underserved.”

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Home / News / Students & Campus Life / ‘Welcome FSU’ offers summer events and activities for new and returning students

‘Welcome FSU’ offers summer events and activities for new and returning students

As Florida State University’s summer Session B classes begin, new and returning students can connect and get to know campus with “ Welcome FSU ,” a series of events and experiences that kick off Thursday, June 20, through Sunday, June 30.

Serving as the official welcome each semester, “Welcome FSU” highlights events and programs that focus on social, well-being, cultural and academic activities for all students at FSU.

“The many scheduled events and programs help students learn about ways to get involved and connected based on interests and offers resources on how to make FSU and Tallahassee their home,” said Amy Hecht, vice president for Student Affairs. “We want our students to feel a sense of community and belonging immediately, and ‘Welcome FSU’ helps introduce them to the incredible experiences our university has to offer.”

Throughout the “Welcome FSU” kick-off, students can learn more about the 650 student organizations, seven student government agencies, 54 fraternities and sororities and more than 40 intramural sports offered at FSU. “Welcome FSU” supports the Division of Student Affairs’ year-round “ Hello FSU! ” campaign that works with campus partners to highlight key campus events, programs, activities and services for undergraduate students:

• The Weekly Top 5  – A curated collection of the week’s biggest events, programs, activities and deadlines. (Debuts every Monday throughout the academic year on #HelloFSU social media and at  hello.fsu.edu .)
• How to FSU  – Connects students with how-to resources and online guides to help navigate various campus processes.
• Success Tips  – Identifies resources and provides life management tips to help students succeed in and out of the classroom.
• Spotlight Stories  – Special feature stories on programs, services and people from around campus.
• ICYMI – In Case You Missed It provides an extra reminder for key events or important actions.

To stay up to date with the  Division of Student Affairs , follow them on  Instagram ,  Facebook ,  X  and the  FSU Calendar .

For more “Welcome FSU” information and the full summer schedule, visit  welcome.fsu.edu .

Snapshot of “Welcome FSU” summer events:

Transfer Student Bowling

6-9 p.m., Thursday, June 20

Student Union, Bowling and Billiards Center (Lower Level of Union)

Join other transfer students for bowling at the Student Union.

Hang with the Libraries

11 a.m.-1 p.m., June 21

Landis Green

Join FSU Libraries for drinks and games!

Live Well at the Leach

12-5 p.m., June 22

Leach Recreation Center

Stop by the Leach Recreation Center for a facility tour to learn about all the ways to focus on your personal fitness and wellness. Work out in the cardio and strength training areas, take a swim, relax in the spa, play basketball or racquetball, jog the indoor track or just relax in the Atrium, all free for students.

Find Your Classroom Walking Tour

9 a.m.-12 p.m., Sunday, June 23

Brief, guided tours around campus to help students find the buildings where their summer classes will be held. Tours will begin at 9 a.m. and will leave every 30 minutes from the HCB Atrium with the last tour leaving at 11:30 a.m.

University Housing Floor Meetings

7-8 p.m., Sunday, June 23

Your Residence Hall Floor

Meet your RA and other members of your community at the Welcome Home floor meetings.

First Day Photos

9 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday, June 24

Take a photo with signs and share them with family and friends.

Across Campus

Current students and staff will be available across campus to answer questions, give directions and help students have a successful first day of classes. Just look for the garnet flags.

Summer Sports Fest

7-10 p.m., Tuesday, June 25

Westside Courts

Take the court for pickleball, sand volleyball, or basketball. Try out some of this summer’s Intramural Sports offerings and sign up on-site for a free summer league or tournament

Movie: “The Florida Project”

7-9:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 25–Saturday, June 29

Askew Student Life Center Cinema

Students can come to the Askew Student Life Center for one of five free showings of the movie “The Florida Project.”

Summer B Block Party

6-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 26

Student Union Green

The Summer B Block Party will feature free food, fun and music. Students will have the chance to win prizes from the carnival games and get a taste of Tallahassee at the food trucks.

1851 Porchfest

4-7 p.m., Thursday, June 27

Porchfest is a vibrant celebration of music, arts and community spirit, right on the porch of the 1851 food hall at 824 W. Jefferson Street.

First Week Unwind

10 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, June 29

Lakefront Park

Take a calming walk on the portable labyrinth, explore the spaces where you can relax or reflect, join in many of the mindfulness activities or arts and crafts offered up by campus departments or cool off with ice-cold drinks, popsicles and snacks.

Summer Involvement Fair

4-6 p.m., Sunday, June 30

Student Union Ballrooms

Meet with student organization leaders and members at a tabling fair at the Union, where you can find new ways to get involved with student organizations at FSU!