Should student infractions appear on a student's transcript?

Infractions as part of the students transcript: an interesting notion. As a teacher, I have long thought this should happen. Every time a student did something stupid in my class I pictured this same kid doing something stupid in college.

What would the college think if they really knew what this kid was like? Would they really offer him/her scholarship money if they knew their true nature? Then a funny thing happened: The kid grew up.

I have taught freshman though seniors. By my last count, thousands of students. Most of my students are far different people when they left high school then when they started. But still, is it fair to all those students who followed the rules for four years to be put in the same position as those who did not?

Most schools have in place a system that covers minor infractions to the more serious transgressions of the rules. For minor offenses, detention or some sort of after school punishment is typically handed out. For more serious offenses, suspension or outright expulsion. In most cases, none of this information is given to colleges when considering a student for admission. At best, colleges can check the student's Facebook page to see if anything is mentioned, but other than that, there is no real way to secure this information.

Perhaps there is a middle of the road. I do believe colleges should know if a student has been suspended for a serious offense. If this student has an issue that would cause him or her to pose a danger to other students then that information should be available. Many cases of violent behavior by a student can be traced back to issues in high school. To ignore this is short-sighted.

For minor offenses, those that have to do with school rules or other minor offenses, then not posting them I believe is the correct choice. High school for many students is the time when they begin to challenge authority and think for themselves. It is not uncommon for some rebellion to take place. On some level, it is a good thing to question authority. While order needs to be maintained in a school, blind obedience to rules is not exactly healthy either. Is it really all that important if a child chewed gum in class or was late to school a few too many times? Handing out a punishment is enough. We don't need to create yet another issue for a student to worry about when applying to college. Besides, if the kid was really that big a pain, are they really going to get great letters of recommendation?

Posting minor infractions on a transcript is a bad idea. Providing colleges with information that might prevent a serious incident from occurring is not. If a student can't seem to stay out of trouble, is college really the right place for him or her?

What do you think?
CRios, Teacher-Blogger, MoreThanGrades.com