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Detention
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[http://www.example.com link title]{cleanup-date|January 2006}
:''This article deals with the practice of "detention" as a punishment for students. For information on
Immigration detention, please see the article under that name.''
Image:Göttingen-Karzer.Arrest.Cell.05.JPG thumb|right|Historic detention cell
'''Detention''' is a form of
punishment that takes place in
middle school and
high school, generally during a period after the end of the school day. Occasionally, it occurs before the school day, or during the
weekend. When students who have misbehaved must remain in a designated
classroom for a certain time period as punishment for their misbehavior. Usually, the infraction is relatively minor, and includes such offenses as talking in class out of turn or repeated tardiness.
Generally, detention is carried out in a room that offers no amenities for
leisure, so that students serving detention will have no outlet to distract them from their punishment. The students are usually monitored by a
teacher, and may be required to either bring
homework, sit quietly or perform some punitive task; they may be in the form of
housekeeping, such as clapping blackboard erasers, academic in nature, by writing an essay, or
morality moral rote drilling. A Common example of the latter is repeatedly writing some admonishment on the
blackboard.
'''Detentions''' are also used at the
elementary school level, which often is a period after the end of the school day, or partial or complete loss of
recess privileges. The format is otherwise similar to
middle school middle and
high school detentions.
Some schools have detentions served on the weekend, usually in a school classroom. Usually, schools have policies which outline when a student is given such a punishment, but the format is essentially similar to a traditional detention.
Detention is usually the mildest form of punishment available to administrators, followed in severity by suspension and expulsion. Concerns have been raised about the fact that detentions are generally given without the order of a court, and are quite often given by the alleged victim. Appeals procedures are questionable, and in the
United Kingdom, cannot overturn a detention before it has been served. They are considered by many to be incompatible with the
right to freedom of movement, the right to
due process of law,
fair trial and the right to freedom from
discrimination.
Pop culture references
There are numerous
pop culture references to the practice of detention. For example, the opening credits to "'''
The Simpsons'''" shows
Bart Simpson in detention, repeatedly writing some ironic phrase along the lines of "I will not instigate
revolution", "I do not have diplomatic immunity", or "I will not waste
chalk".
"'''Detention'''" was also the name of an
animated series that had a brief run on the
The WB Television Network WB in
1999 and
2000.[http://www.tvtome.com/Detention/] The series portrayed a group of misfit middle-schoolers who were constantly in detention, and scheming to overcome the obstacles that said condition presented.
The movie "'''
The Breakfast Club'''" revolves around five disparate students bonding during a day in detention. The movie
Some Kind of Wonderful features a significant detention twist — a student intentionally misbehaves in order to be put in detention with the girl of his dreams — but later learns that she has managed to talk her way out of the punishment. However, the student ends up befriending the dangerous-looking derelicts who are regularly on detention, and they ultimately help him out in his moment of greatest need.
In
Hogwarts school in
Harry Potter books, detention is practiced as a disciplinary measure. Ironically, when in
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone book one Harry Potter and two other students are caught wandering in the castle at night, which is considered dangerous, for "detention" they are sent, also at night, to the even more dangerous
Hogwarts#The Forbidden Forest Forbidden Forest.
Other forms of detention
'''Detention''' generally refers to a
state or
government holding a person in a particular area, either for
interrogation, as
punishment for a wrong, or as a precautionary measure while investigating a potential threat posed by that person. The term can also be used in reference to the holding of
property, for the same reasons. The process of detainment may or may not have been preceded with
arrest. The prisoners in
Guantánamo Bay are for example referred to as "detainees".
Any form of
prison imprisonment can be called detention, although the term is associated with persons who are being held temporarily without
warrant or charge. For example, the alleged
Taliban supporters captured in the
2001 United States invasion of
Afghanistan have never been classified as "prisoners" by the
federal government of the United States, but have consistently been referred to as "detainees", suggesting that they are only being held temporarily while their status is investigated.
The length of detention of suspected
terrorism terrorists, with the justification of taking an action that would aid
counter-terrorism, varies according to country or situation, as well as the
laws which regulate it. Indefinite detention of an individual occurs frequently, especially in by
United States] after the
September 11, 2001 attacks. The
Terrorism Bill 2005 in the
United Kingdom wishes to lengthen the current 14-day limit for detention without a
arrest warrant or an indictment.
[www.google.co.uk]
Category:Punishments
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