Cleveland’s vice principals have been hard at work restructuring detention. Though it is still in its planning process and will not be implemented until next year, an upgrade is in full motion.

Currently, detention takes up a lot of the students’ and teachers’ time. This improved detention would revise this method by having the students’ write a reflection on their action. This also creates a better form of discipline by treating detention as less of a punishment and more an educational experience.

Detention has always had a bit of a questionable format. The idea that sitting in a room and keeping silent somehow prevents bullying and harmful acts from happening makes little to no sense. The revised detention plans to flip this idea on its head by actually having detention make an effect on the students.

“If I did something wrong, and I go sit in a room for 20 minutes, did I learn anything? Versus I go sit and I maybe reflect about what I did and why I’m there, and do some thinking about it,” explained Kristy Mize, vice principal.

The reflection counters repetition of inappropriate actions by forcing students to ponder the things they did and acknowledge why what they did was wrong. Ms.Mize added to this with, “Looking at it as a teaching opportunity, or a learning opportunity. If in the process of something you did, maybe have harmed somebody else, it’s an opportunity to think about if there’s things (you) can do to repair some of that harm that (you’ve) done.”

Leaders of the school went back to the roots of what discipline is when redesigning detention. “If you think of discipline, and what discipline is, if you look up the definition, discipline is teaching. It’s a form of education,” said Mize.