Disciplining students through positive solutions.

SUSPENSION OF STUDENTS WHO VIOLATE THE RULES IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

Circular 32 of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates that students who commit shortcomings during their studies and training will be educated or disciplined in forms such as warnings, reprimands, or temporary suspension from school for a specified period…

Recently, there have been many incidents of student conflicts leading to acts of school violence, but when deciding on specific disciplinary measures, school leaders have always had to consider the consequences carefully.

Requiring students who violate discipline rules to read books is one of the positive disciplinary solutions that some schools are implementing.

For example, in the case of three female students who beat and kicked another female student in the restroom of Nguyen Van Troi Secondary School (Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City), the school's disciplinary committee recently agreed not to suspend them from school but instead to lower their conduct grade and assign them to practice reading, writing reflections, and telling stories about the content of the books they read during the weekly assembly.

On November 11th, in an interview with Thanh Nien newspaper, Mr. Trinh Vinh Thanh, Head of the Education and Training Department of Go Vap District (Ho Chi Minh City), stated: "The Education and Training Department does not encourage schools to use suspension from school, but instead recommends positive disciplinary measures with effective educational value to help students develop self-awareness and self-education."

"These students are driven by a desire to show off to others. Even fighting and posting videos online is a way to gain attention, despite its negative nature. So why don't our schools create opportunities for them to express themselves in a positive way? That would also help them regulate their own behavior," Mr. Thanh stated.

Mr. Lam Huy Hoang, Principal of Dong Da Secondary School (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), also shared: "The form of discipline should be both educational and deterrent to students."

Regarding the view that the use of disciplinary measures such as suspending students from school is discouraged, Mr. Duong Tri Dung, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, shared: "In cases of violence and altercations between students in school, each student is hurt and needs care and support. Organizing education and coordinating the resolution of conflicts among students is the responsibility of the school, but it must be in accordance with current regulations, appropriate to each individual and specific incident, and cannot be rigid. The approach must not negatively impact the students' psychology. When students resort to violence, they are facing problems and have not yet found support from adults. Therefore, the most important thing is to educate and support them in developing awareness and skills so that when problems arise, they know how to react appropriately."

C. Shifting from Violating Behavior to Positive Action

After nearly six months of implementing an "unconventional" disciplinary measure—making students read books when they violate school rules—Bui Thi Xuan High School (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) has reaped the rewards.

According to Master Huynh Thanh Phu, Principal of Bui Thi Xuan High School, instead of picking up trash, arranging desks and chairs, writing self-criticism reports, taking punishments, or being suspended from school, students at the school will be "punished" by being sent to the library.

Students who violate the rules will read a book and write a review.

According to Mr. Phu, the students at the school responded positively and did not feel burdened by this punishment. They wrote reflections after reading each story and adjusted their behavior accordingly. Incidents of littering and a lack of awareness regarding school property have almost disappeared. Instead, students know how to protect school property and learning materials, decorate their classrooms, and transform their behavior from violations to positive actions. "Especially, through regular interactions with the students, I've noticed they are happy because they feel the love and care of their teachers. Although the punishment is for mistakes, it shows affection rather than rigid discipline," Mr. Phu explained.

Therefore, Mr. Huynh Thanh Phu disagrees with the form of suspending students from school because, according to him, without control and management, the time spent away from school could lead students to commit other violations and mistakes.

Besides implementing a disciplinary measure where students who violate the rules have to read a book and write a review, the Principal of Bui Thi Xuan School proposed a disciplinary method that would involve prohibiting students from attending class but still requiring them to come to school. For example, students who violate the rules would not be allowed to sit in class with their classmates but would instead copy notes and study independently in a separate classroom.

Forms of disciplinary action taken against students who violated regulations in the past.

- Regarding the incident where three female students assaulted a classmate in the restroom, with the video circulating on social media, the Disciplinary Council of Nguyen Van Troi Secondary School (Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City) applied the following disciplinary action: Failing to achieve the required conduct grade or receiving a poor conduct grade in the first semester. Additionally, for two weeks, during recess, these students will read books in the school library under teacher supervision.

- Regarding the incident where a male student repeatedly slapped and hit a classmate in the head and face in a classroom at Dong Da Secondary School (Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), the school's disciplinary committee has agreed on the following disciplinary measures: The male student who repeatedly slapped and hit his classmate in the head and face will be suspended from school for two weeks and will have his first semester conduct grade lowered. The student who was assaulted will have his monthly conduct grade lowered. The students who filmed the incident and those who watched will also be suspended from school for one week and have their monthly conduct grades lowered.

- Regarding the case of a 7th-grade male student at Dai Dong Secondary School (Thach That District, Hanoi ) who was assaulted by a group of students and subsequently hospitalized, the school's disciplinary committee has disciplined 8 students involved in the assault with warnings, reprimands, and the most severe punishment being a one-week suspension from school…

LIMIT RECORDING DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS IN THE ACADEMIC RECORD.

Starting from the 2023-2024 school year, Ho Chi Minh City will implement a set of criteria for happy schools with a positive and progressive perspective on education. The criteria include guidelines stating that the school report card is a record of a person's entire learning journey and will accompany them throughout their life. Therefore, teachers should acknowledge strengths, while weaknesses and shortcomings are merely a part of a student's life.

When assessing shortcomings, schools need to consider the entire follow-up process after coordinating with families and supporting students. Careful consideration should be given to the wording when writing comments in students' report cards. Schools must maintain records related to student discipline as required. The number of disciplinary actions recorded in students' report cards should be limited.

Agreeing with this policy, Master Phan The Hoai, a high school literature teacher in Binh Tan District, believes that when Ho Chi Minh City builds happy schools, establishing criteria like the above is appropriate. Master Hoai suggests applying positive disciplinary measures such as assigning students who violate rules to roles like group leaders, deputy group leaders, class leaders, or class deputy leaders to help them develop a sense of responsibility towards the group.

Speaking about forms of discipline and positive education, Mr. Duong Tri Dung shared: "Educating students means that each individual must be given attention and education according to their own abilities and circumstances. Education should help students understand their behavior, and there should be forms of discipline to deter them, but the discipline should be such that students understand their behavior and correct it, not that they are afraid."

It is important to monitor students' adherence to discipline.

Disciplinary action is only the final step; what's needed is education, reminders, guidance, and even deterrence. The form of discipline, whether severe or light, is less important than monitoring how the student behaves and whether they are consciously trying to improve. Furthermore, the role of the homeroom teacher is crucial as they are closely involved with the students and act as a bridge between the family and the school. Therefore, priority must be given to supporting homeroom teachers in fulfilling their duties. If they don't receive sufficient support from the school and parents, the education of the students will certainly not yield positive results.

Lam Vu Cong Chinh , teacher at Nguyen Du High School (District 10, Ho Chi Minh City)

Suspension from school can lead to student dissatisfaction.

Suspending students from school is not an effective disciplinary solution. Instead of reforming students, helping them understand their mistakes and change, this method of suspension can make them feel resentful, confused about why they are being disciplined, and in reality, many students have dropped out of school altogether, which is a failure of education.

Kim Hung , a parent in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City

Bich Thanh - Thuy Hang (recorded)

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