Parent decries Jackson schools' 'box' discipline

They call it "the box." It's more of a big rectangle, formed by thin lines painted on the black top of the playground at North Elementary School in Jackson.

To teachers and administrators, it's an active timeout, an appropriate way to discipline misbehaving students and change behaviors.

To parent Brad Noel, "the box" is a form of public humiliation of children, a cruel and unusual punishment.

"There are better ways to do this than to parade these children around in front of each other and say, 'Look here. You're in trouble and this is what you get,'" Noel said in an interview.

Tuesday evening, he brought his complaints to the Jackson School Board, asserting the form of discipline was a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which in part prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Noel said his son, a kindergartner, was made to walk the lines of "the box" after he got up to go to the bathroom during nap time. While he admits his child is not a perfectly behaved student, he claims the punishment is often based on trivial offenses and meted out differently among teachers.

Teachers and administrators counter that the discipline is acceptable and has proved effective.

"The whole idea is that they're going to have better self-discipline from our consequences, but we're not harming their person or trying to humiliate them," said Rita Fisher, assistant superintendent of the Jackson School District.

Fisher said students with behavioral problems used to be made to stand against the school wall, but that did little to expend excess energy. In the box, students remain active by walking its perimeter. Duration varies depending on the infraction and the age of the offending student.

But administrators and teachers say the timeout works and cuts down on recidivism.

Noel said he has no problem with the timeout method. "My problem is when it's done in front of peers," he said.

Noel finds especially humiliating the practice of making a misbehaving student tap their finger to their head, in a sign that they are thinking about their actions.

Fisher disagrees that the form of discipline is "cruel and unusual." She said research shows simple practices build memory and reinforce positive behavior.

"The point is to be proactive, to correct behaviors before they become more serious," she said.

"You have to have some form of discipline for elementary students, and having them outside walking on a playground would seem to make sense," she said.

As for the constitutional question, the box probably doesn't infringe on the rights in the Eighth Amendment, an education official said.

"Cruel and unusual punishment is not something you can sue the school district for, because all of the cases deal with people in government custody," said Susan Goldammer, a senior director of the Missouri School Boards' Association. "I feel very strongly this is not a constitutional issue."

Defining discipline

In the Jackson School District, punishments vary from school to school and classroom to classroom. Not all schools employ the box method.

Cape Girardeau administrators say they do not have a similar form of discipline, but students are subject to isolation, including lunch detention and in-school suspensions in junior high and high school classes, for infractions.

Discipline is mainly a matter of local control, guided by state education policy. Missouri law requires school boards to establish rules for student conduct and that school district teachers, administrators and staff hold every student accountable for disorderly conduct in school. Corporal punishment is allowed in Missouri's public schools, but districts must include a statement on its use in its written discipline policy.

The Sikeston School District is among several Missouri school districts that includes corporal punishment in their disciplinary tool chest. Superintendent Stephen Borgsmiller said students will receive a paddling from time to time, almost always at the request of the parent.

"If the parent does not want their child considered for corporal punishment, they just sign off on the sheet," Borgsmiller said. "A lot of parents feel it's an effective deterrent."

The discipline is only administered by the principal in front of a witness, Borgsmiller said.

Goldammer, of the school board association, said many Missouri public schools have moved away from corporal punishment.

The Jackson School District retains a corporal punishment provision, but Fisher said it is district policy not to physically discipline children.

Borgsmiller said every district has its version of "the box," and that isolating students is as much about maintaining order as it is about consequences. But Noel said discipline shouldn't come at the cost of a child's fragile self-esteem.

"I would hope society has matured enough to learn better techniques to get a student to behave," he said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

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