I already hate school. Middle school, anyway.
Dancergirl has never had even one reprimand for behavior in school. Today she was assigned a 1-hour detention for answering a history-related question that another classmate asked in history class. The teacher was engaged in a 100-minute-long lecture (no exaggeration — they’re on a block schedule) and her deskmate asked her a question. Being the helpful sort, she answered it and was rewarded with one hour of detention after school tomorrow.
I’ve decided to just let it pass rather than contacting the teacher. It was clear on the classroom standards I signed that the teacher does assign a one-hour detention for talking students, and there is no question that she was talking, so the teacher is perfectly within her rights to assign it, and serve it she will. We’ve talked about alternative methods to handle that situation should it arise again, and hopefully she will avail herself of one of the other options rather than risk a principal’s referral.
Still, what exactly does this one hour detention accomplish? Clearly she is being made an example of — this is the first such detention assignment of the year and she just got lucky. Does she learn more as a result? Do you know many 7th graders that sit with rapt attention through a 100 minute, non-interactive teacher lecture? She’s got 8 pages of notes to prove she heard the lecture, but did she learn anything?
I guess she learned to keep her mouth shut in class, though honestly she is not a disruptive student to begin with and she meant no disrespect.
Sticks would not have survived even a week in this class. He would have been expelled by now. I suppose I should be glad we got through this middle school without encountering this teacher.
I hate middle school. Especially THIS middle school. I would homeschool her if she’d let me, but she won’t. Every time I approach the subject she stomps upstairs and hides in her room. Not conducive to a real discussion.
Grrrrr.
Update: The teacher forgot she’d assigned DG detention. She showed up dutifully, the teacher asked what she was doing there, she said she was there because she was given detention yesterday, and the teacher said she could go because she didn’t recall assigning it. Go figure. 
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