This is Jean
Jean is a nickname, used to protect the privacy of a minor.
Jean is autistic and has ADHD. She is brave, funny, and fierce.
She dreams of becoming a volleyball coach one day.
Isolation
For the past two years, the school has systematically isolated Jean from her closest friends, citing her tendency to become disruptive in their company.
Jean has ADHD and a diagnosed learning disability. She frequently misunderstands instructions or loses track of what she is meant to do. When this happens, she instinctively turns to her friends for clarification—because the school has refused to provide her with a support worker to help her stay focused or decode classroom tasks.
Without that scaffolding—no educational assistant, no peer access—Jean withdraws. She doodles, she drifts. She spends long stretches alone, unsure what she is supposed to be doing. Sometimes she wanders the halls, not out of defiance, but because no one has given her a way to remain engaged.
The incident
One day, Jean and her friends broke into the gym to play. They wanted a place to play with just the small group.
In the gym, they were running and cavorting, when staff found them. Staff rounded the kids up and took them to the principal’s office.
The punishment
The principal stated that if Jean and her friends could not follow the school’s conduct rules, they would be barred from representing the school in the volleyball game.
They were told they could apologise. Jean was dysregulated, as one of the staff members confronting her in the gym was someone who had previously caused her harm. She refused.
They cancelled the volleyball game for everyone. They gathered the whole team and told them why.
Jean stood in front of them humiliated and isolated by their judgement.
Afterwards
After that, Jean kept getting asked about it. She refused to go into the classroom for months, unless the school would give her EA support.
Collective punishment isolates disabled and neurodivergent students. It magnifies shame, deepens fear, and erodes any sense of safety. They learn they are not worthy to represent their school.
It teaches their peers that proximity to an impulsive classmate puts them at risk. It breeds resentment, scapegoating, and surveillance.
Discipline must be discerning to be just. Accountability is not born of humiliation or exclusion, but of relationship, support, and repair. Collective punishment achieves none of these.
