The Secret Lives of Students: When School Rules Conflict with Home Rules

Breakthrough Miami

The student authors who reported and wrote about conflicting home and school rules.

Editor’s note: We’re launching a new series for the next month, asking  students to tell us what life is like in Florida schools.

The students are part of Breakthrough Miami, which runs programs in the summer and during the school year for students in elementary, middle and high schools.

We asked students to tell us what was on their minds. The answer? Rules, cliques, school lunches and other aspects of school life. They’ll also tell us what they think of online classes and whether teachers are teaching to the test.

This post was reported and written by elementary students Joshua Partridge (10), Saed Cameron (11), Emma Blanco (10), Joshua Johnson (11), Ashanti Kinchen (10) and Teley Laporte (11) – Students participating in the summer school program, Breakthrough Miami. 

It’s a common problem that students everywhere face: Your parent or guardian tells you to defend yourself if confronted at school, while your principal tells you that hitting back equals suspension.

As a student, whose advice do you follow? What do you do?

Lashae Johnson-Antenor, a fourth grade student at Holmes Elementary at the time of her incident, shared her experiences with this issue.

“Even though the rules at my school were to keep all hands and feet to myself, I chose to listen to my parents and defended myself,” she said.

For her, it was not a tough decision.

Her mother Ebony Johnson says, “In all cases you can’t prevent a fight.”

The mother wasn’t upset with her daughters actions, but was upset with the results.

Breakthrough Miami

Rising middle school student Stephanie Byrd was interviewed by her peers at Breakthrough Miami.

Mrs. Melissa, an elementary school teacher and parent, also commented on the issue.

As a parent, she tells her child to “use words instead of hitting” and to “tell an adult.”

In the classroom, she says that any fighting is “not tolerated,” and when a problem comes up, she makes sure that parents are informed on the school’s fighting policy.

Stephanie Byrd, a rising middle school student at Downtown Miami Charter School, suggests a solution.

“All you have to do is adapt to your environment,” Bryd said.

“Follow the school rules at school, and follow your parents’ rules at home.”

The student authors attend The Cushman School campus during the Breakthrough Miami summer program.