<!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 0 1 105 602 5 1 739 11.1287 &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; 0 0 0 &lt;![endif]-->Last week, the New York Times reported on a bill just passed in the House of Representatives, to protect school children from certain forms of punishment, including restraint and seclusion (as in solitary confinement). If it becomes law, this legislation will cover children at all schools receiving federal funds.

I was astonished that such legislation was not already in place. Although it obviously covers extreme cases, the bill, and the fact that it came out in the midst of the Department of Education's Respect For All Week (see this Insideschools post), got me thinking about discipline – the everyday variety that takes place among very young students, such as kindergartners.

How does a teacher keep a room full of five- and six-year-olds under control? They can be pretty active, and I can't imagine having to manage 20 or more of them at one time. Remember Kindergarten Cop? I'm fairly sure more than one teacher has fantasized about going military on a wild class, but most of us expect a less heavy-handed approach from our teaching professionals.<!--more-->

The DOE produces an updated Student Discipline Code each year, a 30-plus page booklet that gets distributed to public school parents in September. I'll confess that my copy lay untouched beneath a heap of similarly important but non-urgent documents–until last week, when I decided to examine it more closely. It outlines the expected disciplinary responses to various infractions, broken down by age groups and separated into five levels of severity for the transgressions.

For the elementary grades, offenses might range from basic disruptive behavior to "possessing or using a firearm." Accordingly, punishments range from "admonishment by pedagogical school staff" to extended suspension. From what I've witnessed, admonishment is a form of discipline very commonly used in kindergarten; these kids need constant reminding and redirecting, they often test boundaries, and their impulse control is still being developed. In my daughter's class, there is a"three strikes" system, in which they might temporarily lose their choice time privileges for repeated misbehavior.

I would venture to say that most parents expect their children not to receive corporal punishment at school. I remember being spanked once in kindergarten (for protesting my snack time napkin-distribution job), and this was never an issue, other than kids teasing me about it later on. Nowadays, a teacher could be sent to the rubber room for that.

But what about excessive or explosive yelling, which technically falls under the rubric of admonishment? A friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, describes her kindergartner's teacher last year, a "yeller" who would on occasion fly off the handle and go red in the face, berating a child for minor offenses (she witnessed it firsthand and was shocked). At other times, this teacher was delightful and handled the children beautifully–but on bad days, a tinderbox.

Obviously, teachers must sometimes raise their voices above the din just to be heard and must work hard to command respect in the classroom. Their patience is tested every day. But, though even dramatic displays of temper are a far cry from restraint and isolation, are they appropriate, especially for the youngest students?

Please share your thoughts about classroom discipline and any stories of "heavy handed" teachers. Also share your comments about what can and should be done about it.