I admit it, I am a podcast junkie.  In particular I am obsessed with “This American Life” which comes out every Monday morning.  For me, it makes Monday my favorite day of the week!  Last Monday’s episode was particularly gripping for me as it was about all the different types of discipline used in the K-12 schools.

It brought me back to the very issue I struggle with most as an instructor.  Where do you draw the line with students?  As a social worker, I suppose it’s more of a grey area than it is for most.  We all struggle with students that come in late for class, excuses as to why work is late, needing to make up exams, etc.  I am not talking about the students that this is a common practice, but the outliers that have things happening in their lives that they share with you either because they trust you or they are forced to share.

Recently I have had students bring in documents to prove why they were not in class or needed extra time for test taking.  These ranged from needing to appear in court to another that was hospitalized for anxiety to another student gave me a letter from her doctor that she had had a miscarriage.  These horrified me but because these students said they, “had to have proof as to why they were not in class.”

I wondered how it would feel to have to share something in our own lives with others that may be something so personal, so embarrassing and maybe shameful.  Are we adding a level of hurt or shame that isn’t necessary?  Am I too ‘soft’ and not holding students accountable enough?  It’s an issue that I struggle with every semester and probably will throughout my life.  I was hoping to find a concrete answer in This American Life episode, “Is This Working?” but no such luck.  In the end, none of the teachers or the students that were interviewed provided any definite answers as to the best approach of discipline in the classroom.  I suppose it’s as unique as our students and the all the baggage that we bring to the table as well.