Schools Teach New Discipline Plummer Aims For Zero Tolerance Of Violence

Carla Moore cringed last week when the Lakeside Middle School principal called her home.

Her mind flashed back to last spring when her sixth-grader threw soda pop on another boy after being “egged on” by his friends.

This time Principal Grover Garvin had something good to say. Her son Casey, now a seventh-grader, had done every homework assignment for the week and deserved some recognition.

Silence flooded the phone line as Moore stood speechless.

“My son asked me if I was scared he’s been bad,” Moore said Wednesday morning while sitting in the principal’s office.

She was there to preach the benefits of a new discipline plan the Plummer/Worley Joint School District is buying.

It’s called Protect and Respect and works from the premise that zero violence is tolerated in schools, not even a mean glance or a little name-calling. Gossip is also out.

Three weeks into the school year, Moore already sees a difference.

So does middle school secretary Laurie Niebuhr, who has worked at Lakeside for 10 years. She’s seen the frequent turnover of principals - five in the last five years - and ineffective discipline techniques that have mushroomed problems and left students unaccountable.

“It’s because Mr. Garvin is acting on all the issues right away and not waiting for points to build,” Niebuhr said, referring to a former disciplinary system that would give students a set amount of points for each infraction. After tallying enough negatives, the student would then receive punishment - usually too late to make a lasting impression.

Respect and Protect is ending that practice, encouraging administrators, teachers, parents and community members to act immediately when a child acts up. The approach should eventually change the community’s perception of violence and its tolerance level, even if it’s a dirty word or naughty hand gesture.

The school board unanimously approved the program earlier this month, okaying $5,000 for the district to hire a Respect and Protect trainer who will offer workshops Friday and Saturday.

Superintendent Wayne Trottier knows the program works. His own children lived by it while attending schools in North Dakota. He brought the idea with him this summer when he took the superintendent position. His teachers are already using bits and pieces of the disciplinary approach, although they haven’t received formal training. He is sure it’s working and can’t imagine the full effect. Two other Idaho districts in Rigby and Blackfoot also use the technique.

“We haven’t had a physical altercation,” Trottier said standing on the steps to his office, gesturing toward the high school. “I’m not here on pins and needles thinking it will happen any day.”

Respect and Protect is sold by Hazelden, a national prevention company that got its start by opening treatment and addiction centers for movie stars and other famous people. The company expanded its focus in 1996 to include violence prevention, said Edie Julik, Hazelden’s on-site prevention coordinator.

“It’s not a quick fix,” Julik said from her Center City, Minn., office. “It’s a paradigm shift, a change in the way people look at things from the very beginning. It’s not just a change for kids but a change in the way adults look at things.”

Respect and Protect has a strict definition of violence - any mean word, look, sign or act that hurts a person’s body, feelings and things.

“Violence does not start with someone shooting a gun,” Julik said. “It may start with a dirty look.”

That’s what the students in Kate Harrison’s 6th grade class were learning Wednesday. Gathered in the gym, the children practiced skits they were to perform for parents that night during the school’s open house.

A group of boys staged a football game. A tackle took one player down. He rolled on the floor in obvious pain.

“Oh, get up before I beat you up,” a gruff player yelled at the injured teammate. “If you don’t get up you’ll pay.”

A player on the sideline butted in. “Hey you guys, that wasn’t very nice. I think what you just said is violence.” Violence isn’t just hitting.”

Any violent act is immediately reported. The principal or teacher will then call the parents, getting them involved from the start so incidents don’t fester and grow, Garvin said, emphasizing community involvement is critical.

He added that the staff will learn more techniques on how to deal with violence or potential violence after this week’s training session.

Wednesday’s skit is a typical Respect and Protect lesson. One Adam SiJohn, who played the quarterback in the skit, said he already knew.

Just that day he stopped a quarrel on the school bus.

“This kid was picking on this other kid and I told him to stop,” SiJohn said, flashing his smile complete with apple-green rubber bands on his braces.

SiJohn said it’s important to stick up for his peers. He admits to having called other children names, but tries not to commit such acts of violence.

Twenty minutes later, SiJohn wandered into the principal’s office to ask if he has detention. Although he tries to behave he sometimes makes mistakes, such as when he didn’t listen to his teacher earlier in the week.

“He’s a good kid,” Principal Garvin said, assuring SiJohn he’s off the hook.

That’s why Garvin likes the Respect and Protect approach. It’s not punitive. Instead it teaches children to demand respect and in return get respect.

Respect is something today’s children have lost, said Mariane Hurley, who is the cultural specialist at the district’s tribal school. She is also Carla Moore’s mother.

“They have no respect for themselves,” she said. “The teachers don’t even have their respect.”

Wednesday was Hurley’s 58th birthday. She went to boarding schools and then graduated from Lakeside High School. Her three daughters went to the district’s schools. Now her grandchildren attend.

Respect and Protect is an answered prayer, she said.

“The language I hear is enough to make your toes curl,” Hurley said, adding her children never acted that way.

To her, Respect and Protect will help. She said it’s already changed Casey’s attitude. The proof is in the phone call from the principal last week.

“When the children see the respect they are receiving they will see it’s something they in return need to give. It’ll make a more positive atmosphere.”