The Controversy Of Dishonest Smoking

K: Yes, in the end you spend the entire day telling them what to do. That’s why they have the option to choose. They’re free to do as they please. But we’re not going to tell them that they can go smoke, because that’s a sort of stimulant. And that’s not what this is about: knowing your responsibilities and finding a way to deal with them.
M: I think that’s something beautiful. And I have another question, even though we’re going through them rather quickly… I’m curious about the enforcement of the smoking ban. You’re not allowed to smoke, but some people will undoubtedly join the smokers, will sneak off the school premises for a cigarette. How do you deal with that?
K: The way I do it… I sit at the administration, in the front. I have a pretty good view of what happens with the pupils on the schoolyard. So we usually catch those who try to sneak out. Whenever we see something peculiar, then we catch them. Then we’ll say: “A third-year student was caught smoking.” We pass that on to the section head of the day—we have a different section head each day. So we pass it on and they’ll take that pupil aside and they’ll tell them that their behaviour is unacceptable and that their behaviour has consequences. That requires a punitive measure, or maybe just a conversation will also suffice… Anyway, that usually—
K: Yes, punishment is a possibility. It’s possible to be punished. It is stated that as a third year student you’re not allowed to leave the school premises prior to Christmas