Re: "The facts on school discipline" Aug. 24 Star

I appreciate these letters and I hope people are reading them. So far, we have been lucky in our interaction with the school, and I hope to see that continue — and that is the point of view that I am commenting from. There have been issues here and there but they have ultimately been handled appropriately.

I think that an explanation of the specific ways in which the district’s hands are tied with respect to discipline would help the community understand why the school handles certain behaviors in the way they do rather than how people may think they should.

It is really easy to armchair quarterback when it comes to how the school operates, but the bottom line is that it is a partnership, and partnerships require effective and frequent communication.

Teachers need to call home when things are not going well academically or behaviorally at the beginning of problems and not just when things get really bad — and not just threaten it. Parents and guardians need to welcome that communication rather than reacting to it by screaming at the teacher. We need to not only advocate for our children but also try to see the school’s point of view when problems arise. None of our kids are perfect; they are learning how to navigate this thing called life and they WILL make mistakes. Assuming they are in the right all the time does no one any favors — no more than assuming that kids who get in trouble are innately bad.

As parents and guardians — our attitudes about the school show up in our kids and ultimately in the classroom. If we show them that we don’t respect the teachers or administration, neither will they — and the opposite is true as well. We can disagree and be our children’s advocates but still be respectful — and that respect goes two ways.

When I was growing up my parents firmly told me that if I got in trouble at school, my punishment would be 10 times worse at home — and I’m not talking abuse but discipline. They were dead serious, and I never tested it to find out what they meant by that, lol. They made it known to the school that if there was ever a problem, to not hesitate to call. I think that speaks volumes to whose responsibility it is to discipline our children, and I think that is a concept that has been lost, at least in part.

This is a community, and any problems and successes we see in the school are a reflection of the community. The fact that the district felt they needed to publish this letter says there is a problem — let’s do better … together.

My two cents, let’s have a great year!

Amanda Burton