Stuck in Detention.

As a student, you were (or are) labeled as "good" or "bad". Whatever title you held, we all shared the overall dread of attending school. It is the accepted state of our childhood. You may like a teacher or enjoy seeing your friends, but most days you dreaded the idea of sitting in a class for 8 hours.

It felt like detention.

A detention that lasts 35-40 hours a week, for 13+ years in a row.

As teachers, we try and make the stay in detention as enjoyable as we can. We allow group work, Some movement throughout the class period, and in English class, you even get to go on a field trip to the library. (If you can't tell, there is a hint of mockery in my tone).

So many times you hear "it is what it is" or "that is just what school is like" or "suck it up, I went through it and made it out okay".

Now, don't get me wrong, Life is not all rainbows and butterflies even when you love what you spend your time doing. But we have come to accept a many meager life.

There are two ways we can go about school being a detention.

1. We can keep them in detention and find a way to make them get through it the best they can. Teach them how to be resourceful and make the most out of their stay.

2. Alter their "trapped" stay into something that allows for greater grow and flexibility as growing youth.

Detention is a punishment. When I talk to many of my students, the classes they take feel like a punishment.

What you don't hear them say though, is that they hate school. Many kids dislike it. But for most, school is a safe haven, a place to be with their peers and friends. They are doing their best to make the most of it. But can't we alter the strucutre so that instead of skating by, they begin to thrive?

Afterall, they are there for 35-40 hours a week, for 13+ years in a row.