A prominent (and somewhat controversial) Orthodox rabbi has recently posted his thoughts about how schools should disciple students for misbehavior that takes place outside of school grounds and hours.
He writes, for example:
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I have always been a law-and-order man; schools should have rules just like life has rules because otherwise there is chaos and anarchy. But I think we have gone too far in these situations to the extent that I have changed my mind. I used to think that it was appropriate for schools to monitor their students’ behavior even off campus and react when there is degenerate behavior, and in an ideal world that would still hold true. But I no longer believe that. Schools should monitor what students do on their premises, and that’s it. And off premises? That is the responsibility of the parents. Remember them?
Forget the schools. As far as I am concerned, it’s none of the school’s business what happens off campus. It’s the parents’ business – and parents have to reclaim their role. Indeed, parents have many more disciplinary tools in their arsenal than schools do. They should use them, without fear of losing their children as “buddies.â€
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The full essay appears at [
rabbipruzansky.com]
This is not the practice at my school, and I’d be interested in hearing was other educators think about turning these responsibilities back to the parents.
Sasson
