Detentions don't work. This does.

I created this "behavior consequence form" a few years ago when I realized that a detention doesn't help a child learn after they demonstrate inappropriate behavior. This file has no preview. What you will get when you download this file is a form that the student will fill out and some notes to the teacher about using the form.

Ever since I started using this form, my students have changed their behaviors. This form guides the students to reflect on what happened and gives them the appropriate language to have a conversation with their parents. Since you talk to them beforehand, you "coach" them through the process. The parents hear the about the inappropriate behavior from their child rather than from you, which is so important for students at the grade level I teach (middle school). Then, you talk to the parent after.

A short story about one of my most successful uses of this form: A student filled out this form due to inappropriate behavior while a substitute was in the room. The form guided him through explaining what happened to his parents and helped him have a mature conversation about it with his mother. When it was my turn to talk to his mom, she had no questions for me. She thanked me for the call, and she said she could tell her son had learned a lesson. She was impressed with his maturity and attributed it to him growing up. I never told her that my form had helped him through this process, but I knew at that point that this was far better than a detention.