Did I punish my class too harshly?

Question

I don't know about other schools, but ours has a problem with vermin (roaches, snakes, mice, spiders, etc). So naturally I am very strict about being neat with food in the classroom.

At our school the kids eat breakfast in the classroom. Today I found a juice carton in the coat closet cubby, opening. HALF the juice had spilled all in the cubby.

I was angry because not only will this attract more bugs to our room, but whoever did it should have either told me or cleaned it up, not just left it there.

I don't know who did it, so I told the whole class they have no recess.

I also told them I know who did it (i really don't) and if that person doesn't confess, they're going to get into even more trouble.

sorry for asking twice. my computer got stuck, so i pressed the back button and resubmitted it.

Answer 1

You think that scaring the crap out of your students is going to come out positive for you? By telling them that you know who did it and the longer they go without telling you who did it the more trouble they are going to get into isn't going to make them tell you anything at all. It's going to make them stay quiet. And I also disagree with everyone who has said that it wasn't harsh to punish the whole class for what probably one person did.

Yes the person who spilled the juice should've told you but they might have been scared to...not everyone is as outspoken as somebody else. I for one always hated it when I tried my hardest in class and then some moron had to mess it up and then I lost the recess that I was working for. And usually the moron didn't give a crap anyway. I just don't think that the whole class should've been punished for one persons mistake.

I think maybe you should've been a little nicer about it and said "Look, I know you all have the same feelings about the bugs as I do and you don't want them to share our room with us so please do your part to make sure that what you bring to eat gets cleaned up after you're finished so we can keep this under control."

You're students would appreciate your treating them like adults. By punishing everyone it could have a bad impact, I almost wanted to stop being good because it seemed like I was constantly being punished for things that I had no part in. I got to thinking that if I was going to be punished anyway then I might as well deserve it...although I never had the guts to misbehave because it just wasn't who I was as a person. I know teaching can be frustrating; but trying to learn can be frustrating too.

Answer 2

I think the recess loss is very appropriate along with an explanation. But rather than lying to the kids and then threatening without specificity, perhaps you may consider for next time (and there will probably be a next time) that they collectively have to investigate how to naturally eliminate pests from an environment. Ex. Learning what attracts a pest and how to make your room more appealing. Then have them either write papers about a particular pest and present them (they may be too young, you didn't give the grade), or help you go around the class and eliminate things that attract insects.

But don't forget, the pests are not a classroom problem, but rather an institutional problem (nursing homes struggle with this). So just eliminating attractants from your room doesn't guarantee success.

Answer 3

I don't think so as being a teacher myself, I can very well understand the frustrations a teacher has to undergo. But from next time on maybe you can have one to one talk with the class,and I know they like it when they are treated like adults as I am sure you do too. Explain to them the reason and also give them some incentive to keep the class clean.
You are a nice, conscientious teacher, the fact that you have raised this question shows that you have somewhere doubt in your mind that may be you were little harsh... I feel what is done is done and move on...take it as experience and improve on it ...and move on...
all the best -:)

Answer 4

I think you were harsh and unfair.

Punishing the entire class for the mistake of one child is not fair to the children who did not leave the juice carton. Furthermore, you made yourself seem even more unjust by claiming, falsely, that you did know who left the juice carton. What sense does it make to punish everyone if you do know who caused the problem?

If want the children to tell you the truth, I think you owe it to them to tell the truth too. You have put yourself in a spot where they can tell that you have not told them the truth, and that means they may not trust you in the future.

If cleanliness is important, then enlist your students help in keeping the room. Cleanliness is an important thing, and they may learn better by incentive than by punishment.

Answer 5

I don't think it a 'harsh' punishment. I just question whether it was needed. Let me discuss a few points. 1st, you have breakfast in the class room on a regular basis. Occasional messes by someone is to be expected, and this is likely to have been an accident with the responsible child not wanting to come forward about it, likely because they value your opinion of them too highly to want you to see them in a bad light (children often love and admire their teachers), or they would have admitted to it. You reaffirmed their course of action by going on the attack (you reacted in a very negative way, at least from their perspective). You will now have to rebuild your relationship with the class. Yes, you were right to call attention to it and remind them that this not appropriate behavior, please be more careful, etc, but to punish at all for this was pure reaction. (You did admit you were angry). 2nd, when you make declarations suggesting that 'I know who did it!' when you don't, clearly don't, can back fire and you loose authority and credibility. This is a bullying tactic that no one likes, kids or adults. If there is a 'next time' for this sort of thing, it will be much more difficult now for a child to come forward and accept responsibility, because now they will automatically come under suspect of being the perp of the last occurrence. Do you see my point? Try to distance the act from your emotional reactions and attempt to resolve without playing a blame game, and focus on the results of keeping a clean room and the importance of it. If you do find the responsible person, try to talk with them without depreciating them, help them understand why you need them to be more responsible, and reaffirm your commitment to value them if they are willing to work with you. Punishment should be reserved more for hurting of others, destruction of property, flagrant disobedience, that sort of thing. Be a teacher by being the teacher. Thank you, by the way, for being a teacher. I've always felt that (most of) my teachers were answering a calling more than mere employees. I have worked in State and Federal adult prisons for over twenty years now (I have another year or two to go!) and have children and grandchildren of my own. Hope this is helpful.

Answer 6

You didn't act too harshly
even if you decide that you did don't go back on your word you should always stick to your desisions so that the kids definately know that it was wrong. Once you have found the "culprit" you can tell the others that everything is okay just not to do that next time.

I also think that alot of time it can feel unfair to have a group punishment because there is nothing the innocent kids can do

Answer 7

Loss of recess is an appropriate punishment. Be sure that you discuss them why they were punished. You may also want to implement a reinforcement for cleaning up their breakfast food. Maybe a couple of minutes on a chosen activity when their mess is cleaned up or extra recess time on Fridays is the class cleans up everyday. If messes are discovered then they lose recess. You'll find that the children will start to police themselves to get the reward.

Answer 8

What grade is this? If this was K or 1st grade, you are a cruel, mean spirited teacher and your contract should not be renewed! How can you deny those babies recess over something petty?

Now if they were 5th or 6th graders or middle school students you can take recess away from them until someone confesses.

Answer 9

Isn't there a school policy on disclipline on what to do in these situations?
The reason the bugs are there is because of eating in the classroom.
I know the headstart in my town eats in their classes but I don't know what they do in this situation.

Answer 10

No I don't think you were to harsh. I think that is a good way to teach the class responsibility. So they miss a recess, such is life, it can't always be fun and games.