Parent angered by school’s ‘gum detention’ punishment

Friday, May 27, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.

A Las Vegas father is furious that his eighth grade son was ordered by a teacher to pull weeds and pick up trash under a blazing sun Wednesday as punishment for chewing gum in class.

"I'm all for discipline, but let the punishment fit the crime," said Russ Lewis, whose 14-year-old son attends Sig Rogich Middle School. "He's not the school's gardener, the maintenance man or the custodian."

Rogich Principal Lynda Pearson confirmed Thursday that a group of teachers at the school had approached her earlier in the year and suggested the idea of having campus cleanups be the punishment for students who chew gum. But the students are supposed to also be given the option of serving the hourlong detention period indoors, Pearson said.

The intent of the "gum detention" sessions, which occur about once a month, is to encourage students to take pride in their school, Pearson said.

"When you've cleaned up your own room, you're more likely to keep it neat than when your mom or dad does it for you," Pearson said.

While temperatures topped 100 degrees Wednesday, Pearson said she believed the students were working in a shaded area of the school's courtyard.

At a required conference with the school's dean Thursday, Lewis said he was told his son had refused to work and had been "rude and defiant," according to the teacher's remarks on the discipline referral form.

"He's a handful, I'm the first to admit that, and if they (the school) tells me he was acting out I believe it," Lewis said. "But the punishment they came up with was dead wrong."

Lewis said he does not believe his son was told he had a choice of detention assignments. If that was the case, Lewis said, the teacher should have sent his son inside when he wouldn't take part in the outdoor work.

Pearson said she wished that Lewis had contacted her when he wasn't able to resolve his concerns with the dean.

"I plan to talk to the teacher and the parent," Pearson said. "If it turns out there's a problem with how detention is being conducted, we'll correct it."

Carla Steinforth, superintendent of the Clark County School District's northwest region, which includes Rogich, said she was unaware of the situation involving Lewis' son and planned to discuss the matter with the campus administrators.

The problem of gum-chewing students and the associated mess is nothing new, Steinforth said. Nor is requiring students who intentionally deface school property to help clean up, she said.

But it's also important that the discipline be a "logical consequence," such as a student who spray-paints graffiti having to help remove it, Steinforth said.

As for detention sessions working outdoors, administrators are expected to use their judgement on warmer days, Steinforth said.

"Some students are more susceptible to heat than others, and we should be sensitive to that," Steinforth said.