The Trouble with ‘Trouble'

By CJ Lee, Director of Student Life

Recently an eighth-grade student I was supporting used a familiar phrase as she reflected on a conflict with a fellow student: “I want him to get in trouble.” Trouble is what we have been taught to think about when we think about discipline in school - not accountability, not responsibility, not resolution, but trouble.  “Trouble” is rooted in a system of punitive justice that people have been trained to believe produces some sense of accountability and deterrence. But “trouble” does nothing to resolve or prevent behavioral challenges and interpersonal conflicts - rather it reinforces adversarial situations by assigning blame and guilt without imagining a future beyond them. “Getting in trouble” does not help children take responsibility for their impact or restore a sense of safety or belonging to others. 

Reframing trouble is not just for kids; it's also for parents. Often the parent of a student who does harm to someone else wants a restorative process. However, when I'm speaking to a parent of a kid who was harmed, they fall back on the ideas about discipline that we all grew up with, and think, “How are they paying for this? How are they in trouble for what they did?” My challenge as a Director of Student Life is to get parents and students to understand that trouble does not support resolution or personal growth. We need to reframe disciplinary practices to support our comprehensive goals for our students: accountability for one's actions, responsibility to the community, restoration of feelings of respect and belonging, and transformation of circumstances for all students in the community. 

Discipline is not a dirty word - it is an opportunity to support students in their understanding of themselves and others, an opportunity to strengthen community, and an opportunity to add to students’ toolbox. In life, conflict is inevitable; a school’s disciplinary practices help students take responsibility for their impact and be confident advocates for themselves and others in the future.