My 14-year-old son is about to finish the eighth grade. His
school issues each student a Chromebook for classroom use. Today, I received an
email saying that my son had been caught watching videos other than those used
for school work for which violates the school’s acceptable use policy. (To clarify, he was not watching anything
inappropriate…he was simply watching a video about something other than
schoolwork.). His Chromebook use has been suspended for the remainder of the
school year, which is five weeks. What
punishment(s) should my husband and I dole out at home? Thanks!
Based on your summary of the incident, I believe a simple
solution is the best solution. Assuming this is his first offense at school of
this sort, I would let the school's consequence be the deterrent. When he is
home I would tell him of your knowledge of the offense, and tell him that you
want to remain uninvolved as it relates to his behavior and academics at school
(teenage boys LOVE freedom and uninvolved parents!) But you WILL become
involved if you receive any further negative emails from the school. A math equation for him to ponder:
2emails=involved
parents=fewer teenage freedoms.
If you do feel your son is in need of a consequence at home
to create a permanent memory, may I suggest a well-written, handwritten note of
apology to the teacher? Notes of apology
are beneficial in more ways than one. Feel free to contact me at any time.
Mike Smart
Certified Leadership Parenting Coach
smartmike59@gmail.com
937-925-6136
