Despite the belief of many within these three articles, I stand strongly on the stance that Suspensions and Expulsions should not be lessened but instead increased for the greater good of the school’s community. For starters, in the article, “Suspensions and Expulsions: More Than Students” students pointed out that suspensions were ignoring the root of an issue and therefore not an adequate solution to the problem of how to punish students. While this argument does indeed hold some merit it brings up the question of what a well-rounded response looks like to begin with. The average school holds a plethora of mixed students, each with differing life experiences that may change their response to a punishment. Therefore, there is no single form of discipline that can properly solve all issues while still satisfying the parties involved. Some may make the argument that it would be best for a school to change its punishment to better fit the situation at hand. However, by doing so the issue of bias would arise, it is impossible that each principle is properly fit to handle a situation using intuition alone. Therefore, while many may find the solution of suspensions and expulsions to be of questionable effectiveness, it is far better to rely on such methods than to expect schools to enforce new ones that run the risk of proving worse in the long run.
The same article then goes on to state, “[A]t school, it seems that they are being asked to divorce themselves from their ‘real lives’ and then are punished for their inability to do so.” The purpose of a school is to educate its students and prepare them for the future; which inevitably involves a job. An important principle within the work field is to keep one’s private life separate from that of their professional ones. While one can make certain jokes around friends, within an office it may be seen as offensive and can even lead to a termination. Schools attempt to replicate said workplaces by giving students deadlines as well as penalizations for failure to uphold the expectations placed upon a student. It stands to reason that a student would naturally be expected to replicate this separation from their private lives to better mimic the same professionalism that will be expected of them in the future.
Another article titled, “Suspensions and Expulsions: An Imperfect Practice” seems to largely agree with the notion of keeping expulsions. Both teachers and students seemed to share the mindset that if a student is being disruptive then there is no point in them being in a learning environment to begin with. This is a sentiment that I agree with as it is quite frustrating when another student wastes my time by causing an unnecessary commotion. The students then go on to state, “[S]chools are often so attached to keeping disruptive students in the classroom that they end up allowing their rejection of school rules to, in the end, bring down the overall morale of the school.” Once again this is a sentiment that I largely share as well. If the expectation to follow the rules is not being upheld then what is the point of these rules to begin with? Are they not meaningless words that can easily be forgotten and ignored? With this runs the risk of a student endangering both themselves and others. A school is supposed to be a safe environment for the students within. Yet by neglecting to remove these potentially if not already dangerous students through suspension or expulsion said school has failed in its duties.
The article, “Suspensions and Expulsions: The Push and Pull of School Discipline” seems to be largely against the idea of expulsions. One claim made is that students who have received multiple punishments may also experience a hit to their reputation, which in turn impacts the way others may treat them. Yet, going by this logic, should a student’s misdeeds simply be ignored for fear of blemishing their character? Not to mention, if said student was afraid of holding a poor reputation then perhaps they should have reconsidered before misbehaving to begin with. If anything, this teaches them that their actions have consequences socially as well, which is simply a fact of life that they will experience in the adult world.
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My name is Amy Mejia Avila, I am sixteen years of age and currently a junior at
Rangeview High School. My time is mostly spent reading and writing, although I also enjoy embroidery. I aspire to be an English major; I come from a long line of educators
and farmers.
English 
Spanish