As a Christian school and because God disciplines us to show that He loves us and delights in us (Proverbs 3:12), it is our responsibility to discipline students and to base our discipline practices on Biblical principles. The goal at El Sobrante Christian School is to handle discipline in a progressive manner from a DISCIPLESHIP perspective. It is our ultimate desire to develop students who are wise, rooted in God’s principles, and able to stand firm in the storms of life (Proverbs 22:6).

We have based our discipline approach on a PROVERBS MODEL. Proverbs describes four kinds of behaviors: Simple, Foolish, Scorner, and Wise. When a student is behaving wisely, he or she is not a subject for discipline; but when the attitudes or actions require correction, the discipline will be based on one of the following:

A student who exhibits SIMPLE behavior follows others and is gullible. He is easily deceived and does not foresee consequences for his actions. This student takes someone else’s punishment seriously and can respond positively to the Word of God. See Proverbs 14:15, 19:25, 22:3.

The student who exhibits FOOLISH behavior does not show reverence for God, enjoys mischief, is a grief for his parents, may give false reports to hurt someone else, does not show respect for his parents or heed their counsel, is meddlesome, has a quick temper, and does not love knowledge. See Proverbs 1:7, 1:22, 10:18, 10:23, 12:15-16, 14:16, 20:3.

The student who behaves like a SCORNER actively dislikes those who discipline him, won’t listen to correction, leads others into trouble, rebels against authority, and causes quarrels, contention, and strife. See Proverbs 1:22, 13:1, 15:12, 22:10, 24:9, 28:9.

As the teachers and administrators discipline students they will be looking to see where in the PROVERBS MODEL each student falls (Simple, Foolish, Scorner), and to discipline them accordingly. This means that a student involved in the same “misdeed” as another may be given a completely different consequence based on whether he or she was acting as a simple, foolish, or scorning student. Disciplining a scorning student as if he were simple would be ineffective and treating a simple student as foolish could be devastating. It is important that both parents and students understand this principle and support the discipline that is given, rather than comparing it to the discipline of another student.

The key to success is that each student recognizes his or her own responsibility in the discipline process. Should a student CHOOSE to behave irresponsibly there will be consequences. Homeroom teachers will be tracking student progress in order to prayerfully and lovingly encourage and instruct students on how to make more Godly choices. Students should remember that if they have a problem, they need only to ask one of the many adults on campus. Asking for help before a problem becomes too big to handle will help students avoid difficulty.