Should we "punish" deliberate misconduct?

There was a time when a student who deliberately broke the rules got punished. When we decided to abandon corporal punishment, the net effect was that we abandoned "punishment" altogether.

The question; should deliberate misconduct be punished? is a philosophical question. The answer to that question is the philosophical foundation for a policy which provides consequences for deliberate misconduct.

If you would like to know what APS" discipline philosophy is, you are out of luck; there isn't one.

The open and honest discussion of discipline philosophy is the third rail of education in the APS. The leadership will not allow the discussion, because it open the Pandora's Box of punishment.

The leadership is loathe to it, and the rank and file cannot succeed without it.

This is why the APS Research, Development, and Accountability Department has never surveyed teachers over the issues of student discipline and punishment. They don't want to document the fact that teachers are not getting the administrative support necessary to keep students under control.

If students in the APS were getting the character education they are owed, there would be far less disruption; far less need for punishment. But again, the leadership of the APS will not talk about character education either; because they don't want to be held honestly accountable for their own (lack of) character.

Character Counts! in the APS?