Don't Punish the Messenger  

ESPs Often Get the Third Degree When Disciplining A Student 

By Dave Arnold

When it comes to an Education Support Professional (ESP) disciplining a student, ESPs are darned if they do and darned if they don't.

On one hand, school employees are obliged to break up student fights, confront schoolyard bullies, and chase down vandals. To ignore such behavior might cost us our jobs. We're darned if we don't discipline a student.

As we honor our pledge to help maintain peace on campus, when it comes time to discipline the student it is often the ESP who ends up getting the third degree from an administrator. We're darned as soon as we walk into the principal's office.

I have spoken with fellow ESPs in my school district about this. I have also conversed with ESPs at regional, state, and national conferences. They all agree: if an ESP is compelled to confront an unruly student, it is the ESP's integrity which gets questioned by an administrator or parent.

Punitive Damage

Even worse, because of the ESP's involvement, the student will more than likely walk away from the incident without consequence. What's going on here? Do ESPs somehow lack the necessary judgment, reputation or clout for administrators to stand with us during sensitive situations involving students?

In my small school district of Brownstown, Illinois, "student discipline" has always been a hot topic of conversation among bus drivers. Whether in a formal meeting or talking casually one on one, bus drivers feel they are the ones on trial when they escort a disruptive student into the principal's office.

When I was president of our local ESP Association a few years ago, one of our bus drivers asked me to go accompany him to the principal's office. He wanted me to witness the proceedings between him, the principal, and a student who had misbehaved on the bus.

Bus Driver on Trial

As the driver began to explain why the student needed to be disciplined, I vowed secretly to keep an open mind. I wanted to view the incident from both the driver's and administrator's perspectives. All had agreed that the student in question had broken the rules.

During the meeting, if I had been in the bus driver's shoes I would have likely felt that I was the one on trial, not the student. It appeared that the driver was guilty until he could prove himself innocent.

Our principal didn't just take the bus driver's statement and then turn her attention to the student. Instead, she questioned the bus driver repeatedly on different aspects of the incident.

At times, I thought I was watching Sergeant Joe Friday from the TV series "Dragnet." He used to say: "Just the facts, sir, just the facts." I realized the principal needed every bit of information to present the case to the student's parents.

Afterwards, I discussed the entire matter with our principal and was confident that the outcome would have been the same had a teacher been involved rather than a bus driver. I cannot ignore, however, that the bus driver was compelled to have me in the room . . . just in case.

Don't Shoot the Messenger

As their classroom duties expand, the number of para pros climbs, especially with the implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind law (NCLB). With that we are likely to see an increase in the numbers of paras walking students to the office.

A group of paras from North Carolina I spoke with recently also feared having to discipline or escort a student to their teacher or administrator. They felt from experience that they would be the ones on trial instead of the disruptive student.

Must Enforce Rules

As school employees and adult role models, school staffs cannot allow a student to ignore the rules. When that happens, disciplinary action must be taken against the offending student, not the messenger. (For 25 tips on how to discipline students, see NEA Today 's September cover story: "The D Word.")

ESPs would be remiss in their duty if they let an impetuous student slide. School administrators should not create an environment where we are darned if we do and darned if we don't.

More Dave's columns.

(Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is head custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois. He can be contacted at dparnold@csuol.com.)

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NEA or its affiliates.