Discipline System
To anyone that was at Chengelo up until 1995 (I think) the credit/debit system along with the Responsibility Ratings was a central part of their life.
What is a credit card?
No it isn't a little bit of plastic that you carry round in your wallet. It is a little piece of cardboard which had your name, rating on the front and the inside was divided into 2 halfs; debits & Credits.
What is a debit?
A debit is basically a detention. You could get a debit for all sorts of things - not doing prep, not doing duties, being late to class and other things. One of my few was for "confusing table order". They carried different time weightings. The smallest you could get was 15minutes. By the time I got my first debit (Form 3) they had changed the system so that a 15minute debit did not carry any detention with it.
What is a credit?
A positive detention?? It basically rewarded you for doing good stuff. This could be having a particularly tidy dorm, excellent homework, picking up litter and one of mine believe it or not was for "being sweet". (they say a smile always works)
What was the point of these?
Well each week your credits and debits were recorded by your class teacher. The detentions would be added up and you would be required to do detention for that length of time. The credits were also added up and each week the person with the most credits form each form would receive the credit award in assembly. They also were taken into consideration when the ratings were reviewed.
How did the responsibility rating system work?
The system is designed to acknowledge all pupils who show responsibility, and rewards them with the recognition and some extra priveleges. All new Form 1 students start as an E rating. Anything below this, F, G, H is a negative reinforcement against irresponsible behaviour. Ratings are reassessed once a term but can be changed more often if necessary.
Each student was assigned a rating from A to H, A being the highest. Each rating gave (or took away) certain priveleges, but also gave you more responsibility. One of the catch words of Chengelo was initiative. A 'C' Rating was allowed to do prep in the classrooms rather than the Dining Room and was allowed to bring a radio/cassette player to school. An 'A' rating was allowed to do pretty much anything - they had no boundaries, were allowed to do prep in their dormitory and also had 'the complete trust of all the staff at all times'.
I liked this system, though that may be because I was a huge goody-goody and managed to get to an 'A' rating by the middle of 3rd Form. The rating system was effective but generally disliked and so was removed around 1995.
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