O tempora, O mores …

“… state education officials said school districts that use the positive behavioral support system, which promotes rewards instead of punishments, seem to have reduced suspensions.”

In other words, we discover that if we don’t suspend students, the suspension rate goes down.

The fact is unless you have a rigidly delineated system of what infraction receives what punishment, focusing on the corrective measure says little about the situation underlying it. It’s the same as the standardized testing issue, or the bathrooom scales; if you don’t like the numbers, you either fiddle with the scales, or you work to change the behavior which the numbers are meant to reflect.

HT: Melanie