When a student commits a major infraction at school in Granbury these days, they are sent to the Behavioral Transition Center.  I have to say that the members of the faculty at that campus really are prompting behavioral transitions for the kids entrusted to their care.  The program is well-structured, and the teachers are exceptional.  When I was a hooligan in high school, the administration was not interested in transitioning behavior.  Such sophisticated phrases were not on their radar screen.

Corporal punishment, however, was still a viable option.  I received “licks” from our assistant principal, Mr. “Zippy” Zorns. His speed and finesse with a paddle earned him the “Zippy” nickname.  But I don’t recall him saying:  “John… these licks are going to lead to a transition in your behavior.”  In fact, I don’t even recall him giving me the decency of saying: “This is going to hurt me more than you!”

 In-School Suspension was another means of punishing those of us who found it easier to ask forgiveness than permission. But that experience only succeeded in transitioning me in into a more hardened “rules are made to be broken” kind of offender. They would place us at a desk in a tiny room away from the mainstream of school life until the bell rang to leave campus for lunch.  And then, of course, they opened the door, so we could be tormented by our friends on their way to Taco Villa.  That is just wrong.

I am thankful today for school administrators and teachers who are really are interested seeing students experience positive behavioral transitions in their life.  I spend a fair amount of time at Granbury High School working with the debate team.  It is striking to me how many lost puppies there are roaming those hallways.
No program will ever take the place of faculty members who truly care about kids.

Yesterday I heard a middle school principal from a neighboring community share a story about two boys who were giving him fits at school last year. They were his two top discipline problems.  He was tired of seeing them in his office.  Was it time for the equivalent of the Behavioral Transition Center in his school district?   He actually had a better idea…

He entrusted those two boys with an important job at school.  There was another student confined to a wheelchair.  My principal friend told his two top offenders that it was their job to take care of the boy in the wheelchair through the course of the day. There were just some basic things he needed assistance with in order to navigate his way through a school day.  The middle school”s “most wanted” found a new mission.  They took the task seriously.  They befriended the boy entrusted to their care.  They eagerly ate lunch with him and assisted him in every way possible.

I needed to hear that story yesterday.  I was reminded that sometimes troubled kids just don’t feel significant or needed.   They feel rejected and worthless.  They need someone to prompt a behavioral transition in their life.  Licks may be the answer.  Some kind of alternative school experience may be what the doctor ordered.
But could it be possible that entrusting such individuals with an important responsibility could prove to be life-changing?  Time will tell.  I am thankful today for administrators and teachers who still care.