# school punishment



## Justin Rocket (Jan 21, 2014)

One of my early scenes has the protagonist at school accept blame for something he didn't do because he want's the guy who did it to be a friend.

At first, I thought the act would be vandalism.  Then, I learned that vandals are likely to be prosecuted.  I don't want the act to be something that serious.  I want him to have to face detention for a couple of weeks, not go to jail.

I never went to public school.  So, I need some help here.  What is an act which will lead to major amounts of in-school punishment, but not jail?


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## Jeko (Jan 21, 2014)

Depends on the age of the pupil; how old is he?


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## Olly Buckle (Jan 21, 2014)

And where are you? 'Public school' means different things in England and America.


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## Gavrushka (Jan 21, 2014)

I don't see any problem with vandalism. - How a headmaster deals with such a thing is down to him, and possibly the school board. In addition, it gives you the chance to have the headmaster point out to the protagonist that he _could_ be sent to jail for such an act. - That way, you have both a serious situation and realism.


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## Justin Rocket (Jan 21, 2014)

I'm in the USA and the protag is 15 years old.


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## Kevin (Jan 21, 2014)

Detention...Tardies, nuisance horseplay, flooding the bathroom, dumping the trash cans, sneaking off or hiding out during class (p.e., library...) Anything that causes permanent damage and they call the police. 

What's a 'headmaster'? Public school is school that is funded by the public, open to the public. As long as you have all your shots and are in the district, you may enroll free of charge.


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## Olly Buckle (Jan 21, 2014)

Headmaster is what I believe you call Principal, what you cll a public school we call a state school, a public school in England is like Eton or Harrow, a fee paying school open to the public (In theory anyway). Guess we Brits had best leave you to this one.


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## Kevin (Jan 21, 2014)

Thank you,  Olly. "Headmaster"...like Dumbledore... Public school would be a very confusing term on average (over here) Like saying a private jet were an airliner.

(and how is it that pops's son, J.R.,  is U.S. , while pops is 'Aussie'?)


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## Olly Buckle (Jan 22, 2014)

There were no state schools when 'public schools' started, there were a few church schools which taught basics and grammar schools which taught Latin because it was the language of law and international comerce, but Henry VI founded King's College in Cambridge in the 1440's and Eton as a feeder school for it. Unlike the other schools, which were local, this took boys from all over the country as boarders, so it was open to the public, not simply the local population, hence 'public schools'. We had to wait anothe four hundred plus years for state schools and education for the general public.


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## Blique (Jan 23, 2014)

I went to school in the US, so I can try helping. It often depends on how strict the person he gets caught by is. If you read the news, you can see that kids can get suspended for any tiny thing if the teacher/principal is that kind of person. In my own school, one of two boys playing tag got suspended for "sexual harassment" of the other despite both of them denying it.

Cheating is a possibility. If you want it to be more serious, then maybe leaking the cheat material to others in the class.

Vandalizing is still an option if the effects can be erased. For example, drawing/writing inappropriate things all over the entrance grounds in chalk. It depends on the extent of vandalism and how lenient the school is.

Maybe bullying too...Though, I've never seen any teachers actually do anything substantial when they encountered bullying. Maybe if it's widespread enough. My school called an assembly once regarding a website that slandered all of the students. If they actually caught the person behind it, there may have been punishment.


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## Morkonan (Jan 23, 2014)

Justin Rocket said:


> I'm in the USA and the protag is 15 years old.



When I was in High School, there were several traditions that included some "light vandalism" of the school. (Public School) At times, students would go overboard, stealing signage from popular stores, mascots, loosing possums or raccoons into the school, stacking Port-O-Lets... etc.

The Principal would intervene whenever the "Law" would get involved. During one particularly bad episode, he successfully convinced store owners and the Board to let him punish the offenders. He ordered them to the school on a Saturday to spend all day cleaning, painting and, in general, fixing the place up. Parents dropped their kids off that morning and picked them up in the late afternoon.

He even bought everyone beer...

That's no lie - Once the parents had left, he organized everyone into their groups and provided a few beers, here and there. He was no push-over and was a tough principal. But, he knew when that toughness was necessary and when it wasn't.

Today, I think that light acts of vandalism, like painting something on the outside of the school, trashing a bathroom or pulling a major prank during a school Pep Rally might warrant in-school punishment, but no outside involvement by law enforcement. In "my day", Principals had much more leeway where those things are concerned. In today's litigious societies with 24/7 news and mobile phone cameras, Principals have to erre on the side of saving their jobs...


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## pointystar (Jan 26, 2014)

Olly Buckle said:


> There were no state schools when 'public schools' started, there were a few church schools which taught basics and grammar schools which taught Latin because it was the language of law and international comerce, but Henry VI founded King's College in Cambridge in the 1440's and Eton as a feeder school for it. Unlike the other schools, which were local, this took boys from all over the country as boarders, so it was open to the public, not simply the local population, hence 'public schools'. We had to wait anothe four hundred plus years for state schools and education for the general public.



Ermm, excuse me, but the French and English were far from establishing the first universities and schools. The Chinese were the first in history to even acknowledge the importance of scholars. Hence the scholar-gentry class and civil service examinations, the first ever standardized state-wide exam. Confucian schools and universities aimed for their students to pass these tests.


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## Gavrushka (Jan 27, 2014)

I think Olly's answer was specific to schools in England, and was meant to explain the different meanings of 'public school' in the UK and the US. That being said, it would be great to see a paragraph or two from you on the history of Chinese schools, I am sure.


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