Suspension in boarding schools

[dk59us]

Carol wrote:
>
> Recently, the main list has been discussing suspension in relation to Harry and Snape. I won't repeat my arguments on that topic here, but I have a question. What, exactly, does suspension from a boarding school involve? In American public (state-supported) schools, students simply aren't allowed to attend school for a few days, meaning that they stay home. I assume that would also be the case in British day schools like the ominously named Stonewall High. But what about boarding schools? Would the student be sent home even if he lives some distance away from the school or would he just be forced to remain in his dormitory and not attend classes for a few days? (Imagine a Muggle kid who lives in Arizona but attends a boarding school in New York or even one who lives in Edinburgh but attends a boarding school in London. Surely, he wouldn't have to go home for a few days or a week. He just wouldn't be allowed to attend classes and would have to stay in his dormitory or, if he's done something slightly more serious, stay in his room.)
> 
> Carol, who fears that for most kids who break the rules and get suspended, suspension isn't much of a punishment
>

Now Eustace_Scrubb:  Having been a day student at a primarily boarding school in the US back in the 1970s, I can say that students who were suspended definitely did not stay on campus.  Whether or not they lived across the continent, suspension meant going home.  The headmaster previous to my attendance had been head of the school for over 65 years (yes, even longer than Dumbledore's term as head) and was most proud that he had never expelled a student.  I don't know what his policy on suspension was, but his successor did use it sparingly.

Since the general theory (quite probably valid) was that idleness leads to trouble, keeping a suspended student in his/her dorm not participating in class, sports, etc., would have been seen as a recipe for further disaster.

Hope that helps,

Cheers,

Eustace_Scrubb