A Thoughtful Conversation with Dr. Sheldon Eakins on School Discipline, Student Voice & Serving Students

I recently had the opportunity to join Dr. Sheldon Eakins for a conversation on his platform, and I’m genuinely grateful for it.

It is always energizing to sit down with someone who is asking serious questions about education, not just how schools run, but who they are really serving, what discipline is actually doing, and whether our systems are helping young people grow or simply asking them to comply. That is part of what made this conversation feel so worthwhile. The episode is now live as “Why Everything You Know About School Discipline is WRONG!” on YouTube and in the Leading Equity podcast feed.

In our conversation, we explored school discipline, blanket policies, student voice, and the importance of moving beyond exclusionary responses that often say more about adult systems than they do about the needs of the child in front of us. We also talked about some of the ideas behind my Web of Rights work, especially the belief that schools should be communities built with students, not systems imposed onto them.

One of the ideas that came through strongly for me is this: consistency is not always the same thing as fairness.

In many schools, discipline policies are written broadly so they can be applied uniformly. On paper, that can look clear and efficient. In practice, it can flatten context, ignore identity, and miss the real needs behind behaviour. That is a problem. A school cannot claim to care about equity while refusing to consider the lived reality of the students it serves.

We also talked about the difference between facilitation and control.

I believe deeply that educators have experience, responsibility, and an important role in helping children navigate conflict. But that is not the same thing as dictating every agreement from above. A healthy classroom is not a dictatorship. It is a community. It is a place where students learn that rights matter, that other people’s rights matter too, and that conflict is something we can work through with structure, honesty, and care.

That kind of work is not always easy. It asks a lot of educators. It asks us to reflect on our own instincts, to question policies that may be convenient for adults but harmful for students, and to stay grounded in integrity when systems make that difficult. But I think that is part of the vocation of education. If we are here to serve students, then our structures, our discipline approaches, and our relationships all need to reflect that.

I appreciated the chance to explore these ideas with Sheldon because his work is clearly rooted in helping educators think more deeply about belonging, leadership, school culture, and what it means to create student-centred learning environments. Through Purposeful Teaching Academy, his services for schools and leaders, and his broader writing and speaking, he continues to create space for conversations that matter.

If this conversation resonates with you, I encourage you to check out the full episode and spend some time with Sheldon’s work as well.

You can watch the conversation on YouTube, and you can find the episode in the Leading Equity podcast feed on Apple Podcasts. Sheldon’s current work can be found through Purposeful Teaching Academy, and educators or school leaders interested in workshops, coaching, or consulting can start on his services page or contact page.

He also has several books worth exploring, including Meaningful Classroom Management, which ASCD has listed under his author profile, and What Are You Bringing to the Potluck?, available through Solution Tree. A Wiley listing also continues to carry Leading Equity: Becoming an Advocate for All Students.

I’m thankful to Sheldon for the invitation and for the chance to talk with someone clearly committed to supporting educators who want to build schools that are more thoughtful, more just, and more human.

You can listen to the episode here:

• Listen on Apple Podcasts

• Listen on Spotify

• Watch on YouTube