As DDCUS students, we are all familiar with the Kickboard system. Its intentions are to reward positive behavior and punish bad conduct using a point system. In theory, it sounds like a good idea, but most of us can agree the system is not an efficient portrayal of our student behavior.

The biggest issue presented by Kickboard is that the behavior that earns merits and demerits is relative, and varies with each professor. What one teacher may consider behavior deserving of a demerit, another might dismiss or categorize it differently. Because its rules are not concrete, the system gives students a wrong sense of how the real world works. For high school students, it’s not long until we graduate and become adults. In the real world, the law does not change depending on who you talk to or how the person is feeling that day.

Furthermore, the Kickboard system seems to be designed for elementary school students. For younger students, gaining points and rewards is something you look forward to and want to accomplish. As young adults, there’s not a lot of motivation to do so. Freshman, Paulina Almandoz, says, “Kickboard rewards students who have the most points by giving pizza and ice cream parties. As a high schooler, I can speak for most people when I say that these rewards aren’t motivating enough for excellent behavior.”

Even though the Kickboard point system may work on some students, most can agree it is an obstacle rather than a tool to discipline us. It gives students the false narrative that good behavior should be rewarded and treated like it is an extraordinary thing. It should be the standard that students, especially in a prestigious school like DDCUS, are expected to reach.

Nicolas Chavez, 9th grade, says, “Since the merits on Kickboard are given for normal things such as being prepared for class, a lot of teachers don’t input them.”

There are alternative ways to discipline the behavior of students. Unfortunately, Kickboard, in the view of most students, has proven it doesn’t work.