Adherence to “rules” imposed by a private yeshiva/BY/kollel/pre-school etc. shouldn’t be a question…they are entitled under both secular law and halacha to impose such rules as long as they do not involve physical or emotional harm to children. (I’m putting aside the few schools that still claim a right to use corporal punishment which fortunately such dysfunctional practices are largely gone from Yiddeshe mosdos). The more prevalent issue in many schools are students who question or challenge the instructional naarative they receive from teachers. Many extraordinarily bright kids, some informed by their own internet research (where schools allow for such access) are getting suspended for speaking up in class, even when done so respectfully. Many kids don’t seem to have basic derech eretz and offer their “counterpoint” without being disruptive but often the smartest kids are most prone to be an azaz panim and disrupt the flow on instruction. Parents, teachers and school administrators need to get more involved with these types of issues and develop policies setting out boundary conditions for “intellectual disruption” on both limudei torah and secular subjects.
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