Demerit (school discipline) explained

A demerit is a point given to a student as a penalty for bad behavior.[1] Under this once common practice, a student is given a number of merits during the beginning of the school term and a certain number of merits are deducted for every infraction committed.[2]

Schools use the demerit record within a point-based system to punish misbehavior. After a certain number of demerits are accumulated, the student is given detention, loss of privileges (e.g., being denied field trips and participation in school events), or some other punishment[3] [4] based on the seriousness and frequency of the infraction.[5]

One criticism of demerit systems is that they create bookkeeping problems and can result in students receiving severe punishments for minor infractions.[6] Another criticism is that older adolescents learn how to manipulate a demerit system.[7] There are also critics who cite that demerits wear parents down with constant parental meetings and leave students behind due to missed instructional time as a consequence of punishments such as detention and suspension.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Rosen, Louis. School Discipline: Best Practices for Administrators. 2005-02-01. Corwin Press. 978-1-4833-6139-0. en.
  2. Book: Rosen, Louis. School Discipline: Best Practices for Administrators, Second Edition. 2005. Corwin Press. 1412913489. Thousand Oaks, CA. 38.
  3. Web site: The Demise of the Demerit . 2019-10-10 . 2020-06-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200614143632/http://discover.randolphschool.net/blog/k12/2015/08/28/the-demise-of-the-demerit . dead .
  4. Web site: Riverdale School District - Demerit System . 2019-10-10 . 2019-10-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191010201135/https://www.riverdale.k12.wi.us/middle/demerit-system.cfm . dead .
  5. Book: The Palgrave International Handbook of School Discipline, Surveillance, and Social Control. Deakin. Jo. Taylor. Emmeline. Kupchik. Aaron. 2018. Palgrave Macmillan. 9783319715582. 179.
  6. Web site: School's Demerit System May be Expelled * Panel in Northampton Says Simpler Method Needed to Make Punishment Fit 'Crime.'. 12 February 1997 .
  7. Book: School Discipline: Best Practices for Administrators. Louis Rosen.
  8. Book: Choosing Charters: Better Schools or More Segregation?. Rotberg. Iris C.. Glazer. Joshua L.. 2018. Teachers College Press. 9780807759004. New York. 74.

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