Dear Dish-It: I Might Get Detention

Dec 19, 2011

Dear Dish-It,

What’s detention like? I might get one and I’m scared!

Ilovemyboyfriend

Detention

Dear Ilovemyboyfriend,

Getting a detention in school often means that you’ve done something to break the rules. Your teachers and the other staff at your school want to make sure that all the students follow the rules, so when they catch you doing something you’re not supposed to, they might give you a detention as a punishment.

My First Detention

You don’t necessarily need to be a “bad” kid to get a detention. I was a straight-A student when I was in school, and even I got a detention once! My friends and I decided we wanted to stay inside during recess one day, even though everyone was supposed to go out to the playground. So we snuck back into our class after everyone else went outside. A teacher who was walking by in the hall heard us and opened the door. When he saw us inside the class, he told our homeroom teacher, who decided to give us all detention.

What Happens During Detention

I was really scared right before my first detention, too. I knew I’d broken a rule and I was afraid of what the punishment would be. Basically, my friends and I had to stay after school in one of the classrooms, with the rest of the kids who had gotten detention. There was a teacher there, and she made us do homework, study or read quietly for the hour. That was pretty much all there was to it. But since I didn’t like having to spend an extra hour in school, I learned my lesson about breaking the rules and never got detention again.

Different Schools, Different Rules

Just like the rules are probably different at your school than they were in mine, detention might be different for you than it was for me. But, most of the time, detention requires you to stay for a bit after school and do some studying. If you’re worried because you’re not sure what will happen, as a friend who’s had detention before or, better yet, ask your teacher or school counselor. Your school might even have a guidebook or an FAQ on its website that explains what detention is.