Welcome To The Classroom

The other day, our school had a field day consisting of morning activities and a movie in the afternoon. Students were sent home with permission slips so they could watch the movie. For students to participate in watching the movie, they needed to bring back their permission slips signed by their parents. A handful of students did not “remember” to bring back their permission slips. Because of this, they had to sit in a designated classroom for the entirety of the movie. They needed to either work on school assignments or sit and do nothing. This was the expectation, as these students chose not to fulfill the requirements of bringing back their permission slips. 

The next day, I was approached by a teacher who adamantly decided to tell me that her students weren’t in trouble. They just forgot their permission slips. I asked if they forgot their permission slips or if their parents told them they couldn’t watch the movie. She replied that they had forgotten them. I then told her that it was their responsibility to follow through. They didn’t take responsibility for what they needed to do, leading to the consequences of being in the room working or doing nothing. She then continued telling me that they weren’t in trouble and should have been allowed to play games.

I reflected on this interesting conversation and wondered what students learn when they fail to follow through with their responsibilities but are rewarded anyway. In education, consistency is critical. Without it, students learn to manipulate situations, aren’t held to any true standard, and learn little to nothing of consequences for poor choices. Whether or not those students were “in trouble” was not the point. What mattered was that they needed to follow through with their responsibilities. Because of their choices, they got to sit and do nothing during the movie.

What do we want our students to learn? In the real world, there are consequences for everything we do – good and bad. I pay a fine if I decide to speed and get pulled over. If I don’t do laundry, I don’t have any clean clothes. If I don’t mow my yard, it becomes difficult to manage and takes more time to get under control. I increase my health risks if I don’t eat right and exercise. Everything in life comes with consequences. Shouldn’t that be something that we are teaching students in school?

“It was only a permission slip!” Yes, it was, but the lesson learned is what matters. I am not rewarded for going only 5 miles over the speed limit. I don’t get a reward from the bank because I was only three days late paying my mortgage. I don’t get a reward from my boss for being late only five times. My choices have consequences, plain and simple. We set our students up for failure when we allow lessons to be ignored on rewards that should never happen. Our job as educators is to be consistent, hold students accountable, and give consequences when they don’t follow through.

Suppose we are not setting expectations, being intentional and consistent with the expectations, and not holding students accountable. In that case, we are not providing a solid foundation for students to learn. We have a generation that hasn’t been given consequences for their choices which has created apathetic, lazy, and undisciplined students. There is a reason behaviors have increased. There is a reason students don’t care to try. Students need to take responsibility for their learning. One small allowance gives way to a multitude of problems.

If students refuse to do their work or make excuses for not completing it, why do we allow them a free pass? What consequences are they given? What are they learning from not taking responsibility for their choices, learning, and growth? Suppose education aims to teach life skills to give students a foundation for success. What good are we doing if we are not providing consequences for poor choices and lack of responsibility? You might say, “Low grades are natural consequences.” Let’s be honest, grades don’t mean anything these days. Students can still graduate with poor grades. They can still get into college with poor grades. They can get a GED and still attend college, trade school, or the military. Grades are not a consequence.

When we make excuses or allowances for students’ lack of responsibility, students will learn nothing. There must be a level of expectation that is set and consistently held to. Education has become a disservice to students because we cater to students’ feelings and emotions. In reality, there are expectations in life that do not care about our feelings and emotions. We are still held to a standard that we must meet regardless of how we feel about it. We have taken differentiation to a level that has hindered students’ learning. Instead of teaching a disciplined mindset, we cater to students’ “inabilities.” (Trigger Warning) There are no IEPs in the real world. 

Here’s the bottom line, students will never learn responsibility, discipline, perseverance, and all the other needed skills to get through life if we constantly cater to their poor decisions. Consequences are how we learn. Without them, our students become lazy, apathetic, and undisciplined. We must be consistent with our expectations and set the standard we expect students to meet. And when they choose not to meet said expectations and standards, consequences must be consistently followed.