Derail the school-to-prison pipeline in Georgia
Rob Rhodes is director of projects with the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. This is his first piece for the AJC Get Schooled blog:
By Rob Rhodes
Along with the fiscal cliff, the United States faces an “education cliff” — the growing problem of unacceptably low graduation rates made worse, at least in part, by the reliance on school disciplinary practices that contribute to the “school to prison pipeline.”
Georgia’s significantly lagging high school graduation rate is the result of many factors. A key cause may be an overuse of exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions and expulsions, and the regular referral of incidents of schoolyard misbehavior to juvenile court.
The Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice has conducted a comprehensive study of student discipline policies, which found sharp differences among the school districts in the use of exclusionary discipline.
In 2011, eight school districts reported overall out-of-school suspension rates of less than 1 percent including one district with a student population in excess of 30,000. On the other hand, 10 districts reported rates in excess of 15 percent, about double the state average.
Of note, low out-of-school suspension school districts consistently outperformed the average graduation rate and graduated students at much higher rates than districts that used out-of-school suspensions more often.
For 2011, using the new graduation rate formula, Georgia’s four-year graduation rate was 67.5 percent. School districts with relatively rare use of out-of-school suspensions reported graduation rates on the average of 77.2 percent, as compared to a 64.4 percent average rate in districts that use them often.
While low graduation rates certainly are the result of a number of factors, a clear negative correlation exists between extensive use of exclusionary discipline and educational attainment in Georgia’s public schools.
Effective student discipline is vitally important to ensuring that all students are provided with a safe environment that is conducive to learning. However, each child in our public school system, even ones who are sometimes unruly, should also have a reasonable opportunity to obtain a quality high school education.
We recognize the very difficult balancing act that public school educators must perform every day to support these two vital interests. It would, therefore, be unfair to the thousands of Georgia K-12 educators who are committed to the success of their students to criticize the overuse of exclusionary discipline in the absence of effective alternatives.
The good news is that there are sound, evidence-based practices that can maintain collective safety and order while nurturing individual students. Such practices may include the implementation of school-wide climate enhancement efforts using the framework of positive behavioral intervention and support. Another approach may be increasing the efficacy of in-school suspensions. While there is no “one size fits all” answer, there is growing evidence that, with focused leadership and adequate resources, effective alternatives to exclusionary discipline can be implemented.
There are many reasons for low graduation rates, and we do not believe that addressing school discipline issues is a “silver bullet” solution. We do believe, however, that the changes discussed above can be implemented at a relatively low cost and will be a meaningful part of a comprehensive strategy to allow Georgia’s children to flow through a “school to opportunity” pipeline.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
172 comments Add your comment
HBD- Get over your rage
December 20th, 2012
12:11 pm
” When I have presented my credentials on my curriculum vitae to prospective employers, they are immediately questioned because many don’t BELIEVE that educated minorities EXIST!!”
…And I’m certain that YOUR entitled attitude came across in any interview situation. I would never recommend hiring you because you’re a lawsuit waiting to happen. Life’s too short. Why hire a headache?
teacher/coach
December 20th, 2012
12:15 pm
There are a few reasons why the graduation rate stinks. The middle school teachers in our county are told they are not allowed to fail kids (hold them back). If the elementary schools are told the same thing…It’s no wonder when we get them in the 9th grade that many of them read and write on an elementary school level. Not to mention that at the end of each semester “recovery grades” are rampant. Teachers don’t want to look bad by having 2/3 of their class fail so they offer recovery packets, test re-takes, etc. It has nothing to do with the teacher and everything to do with perception. If from the 1st to 8th grade you are going to passed on to the next grade level despite your grades and what you’ve actually learned then how are the high schools supposed to have a classroom of successful students? I have students who do not know how to read a question and find the answer in the text.
There are no special ed diplomas or tech diplomas anymore. Everyone is “college bound”. This is not realistic. The graduation test is a standardized test, everyone has to pass the same test (down syndrome and autism kids excluded). The special ed student who reads and writes on a 4th grade level is not going to read and write on a 12th grade level by the time graduation rolls around. They also aren’t going to college and are not going to pass the grad test.
Adults are to blame. Enabling students to never fail is only hurting them in the long run. How many of you would’be taken school seriously knowing you would passed along no matter what????
Everyone is not created equal in this world and until people realize that start to not hold every student to the same diploma/standard the graduation rate is not going to improve. Don’t believe me? Ask a teacher.
teacher/coach
December 20th, 2012
12:20 pm
Let’s all ignore the fact the cars these kids get today are probably nice than the one you drive. They are definitely nicer than the ones in the teacher parking lot. If there are no expectations/discipline at home then you will accomplish very little with that student.
What should the discipline look like in schools? There has to be consequences for negative actions and it has to be an undesirable consequence. Why else would the behavior change?
Maude
December 20th, 2012
12:23 pm
First of all get real and open up alernative classes for students with behavior problems as early as kindergarten!! Move all behavior problems away from the general education population. Provide a chance for these troubled students to learn how to act in a proper way.
indigo
December 20th, 2012
12:34 pm
teacher/coach – “everyone is not created equal in this world”
Say that in a room full of the terminally politically correct and then listen to the thundering silence.
Unfortunate Reality
December 20th, 2012
12:45 pm
My child is in first grade at an APS school. I am white middle class and his school is mostly black. After an incident in my childs classroom last week, I set up a meeting with the teacher. She told my wife and I that we should not send our child to this school, that the majority of the time she has to attend to behavioral issues and cannot teach.
We sat down with the Principal and asked what could be done to remove these children from the classroom. Cant do it, against the law. Have to go through a very long drawn out process to get any kid removed from the classroom. Most of the kids in the classroom have behavioral issues.
We’ve committed to this school, attend all functions, PTA, you name it.
Do you know what I see? Fewer than 10% of the black families ever attend any functions at this school. The bottom line is that education in the black community is just not a priority. That is a fact.
That is a very sorry fact of life.
teacher/coach
December 20th, 2012
12:45 pm
Indigo- no kidding. The sooner people realize that the better off we will be. It sounds heartless but it’s reality.
George
December 20th, 2012
12:48 pm
No not School to prision it should be from home to prision.Parents need to raise their dam kids .These kids in the metro are terrible and they gets away with it until they go to jail.School do not have a dam thing to do with it.
William Casey
December 20th, 2012
12:52 pm
@MAUREEN: Not only is BAD parenting universal, so is DELUSIONAL parenting. Saw tons of it as a North Fulton educator.
Most of us agree that most school problems begin in the home. Let’s start the solution at its root: home formation. Institute universal MANDATORY birth control. Distribute the pills as a school ritual. Make parenting a PRIVILEGE earned by taking classes and rigorous licensing procedures including field testing. Stop the “womb to prison pipeline!” (Jonathan Swift used this approach.)
Former Reagan Republican
December 20th, 2012
12:57 pm
How do you get a job as “Projects Director” at some think tank? Go get a real job in the real world then get back to me.
Dewey Cheatham & Howe
December 20th, 2012
1:02 pm
“We sat down with the Principal and asked what could be done to remove these children from the classroom. Cant do it, against the law. Have to go through a very long drawn out process to get any kid removed from the classroom. Most of the kids in the classroom have behavioral issues.
We’ve committed to this school, attend all functions, PTA, you name it.
Do you know what I see? Fewer than 10% of the black families ever attend any functions at this school. The bottom line is that education in the black community is just not a priority. That is a fact.
That is a very sorry fact of life.”
School choice. That would solve a lot of the problems that parents like you are experiencing. (There is NO magic bullet,even with school choice,there would be problems). I feel for you. You and your child are being cheated.Let the money follow the child and the good teachers will follow the money and the good parents will seek out the good teachers.
Surge
December 20th, 2012
1:09 pm
Wow, the conversation turned from graduation rates and discipline within schools that are either successful or not to parents raising their children in the proper fashion to distributing birth control and stopping the baby to prison pipeline. The article lacked some significant statistics that left the door open to inferring what the author may have wanted to say. That’s not appropriate. If the author has something to say then say it! If race and ethnicity matter then say it! Poor parenting or no parenting should not mean that uncontrollable kids rake havoc in classrooms. I discussed this with a friend in Michigan who stated that the teacher is focused on the bottom 10% because of federal mandates, that the class size for his 5th grader had ballooned to 35 kids and she was going to be lost in the mix (he pulled her out and moved he to a private religious based school)…thank god for Charter Schools or other alternatives…
Dr. Monica Henson
December 20th, 2012
1:12 pm
“It would, therefore, be unfair to the thousands of Georgia K-12 educators who are committed to the success of their students to criticize the overuse of exclusionary discipline in the absence of effective alternatives.”
This is an outstanding statement, and I’m going to come down squarely on the side of teachers on this one. When administrators don’t provide effective alternatives to exclusionary discipline (out-of-school suspension, referral to alternative school, & expulsion) teachers and well-behaved students are literally hostage to the serious troublemakers. If in-school suspension isn’t a combination of complete repression of socializing plus intensive academics, which should include remedial assistance if called for, then it’s a waste of time.
Many schools I’ve worked in have either not provided ISS due to the cost of hiring someone to supervise it, or it’s been staffed with Coach Good Ol’ Boy who treats it like buddy time, or worse, goes to hang out in the weight room or teachers’ lounge and leaves the kids unsupervised for long periods of time.
ISS, properly implemented, and Mary Elizabeth offers some tremendous suggestions along that line, can be an excellent solution. Another issue is the simple fact that students of color, especially black males, tend to be disciplined more harshly for the same offense than white students, even by educators of color. This is an issue of awareness and training for school administrators that needs to be brought to the forefront.
I’m all for getting the serious troublemakers out of the regular school environment–those of you who read my posts know that I operate a school that accepts those students every day. The beauty of our arrangement is that we can segregate those kids from the general population we serve via technology and providing them with laptops and internet subsidies if needed, having them work from home–but they have access to the same excellent teachers that the high-performing, behaviorally compliant students have. If they prove able to participate in the hybrid learning environment of the Magic Johnson Bridgescape center and live close enough to get there, we give them the opportunity to try that, as long as there is no danger posed to others (such as a convicted violent offender). If they prove that they won’t/can’t function appropriately in that environment, we remove them swiftly and they continue their education from home with frequent contact by their Advisor and Teachers, including Special Education Teacher if an IEP is involved. At that point, it’s up to the student (and parent/guardian, if they are in the picture, or probation officer) to decide if/she is going to get it done.
The MJB center is not “the school”–it’s a program of the statewide online school–so removal from the center is not tantamount to excluding the student from school. The student has 24/7/365 access to school via technology. Brick-and-mortar districts could do the same.
Beverly Fraud
December 20th, 2012
1:14 pm
“Take some time and look at virtually any study on how the criminal justice system responds to first-time offenses by black kids vs. white kids.”
All the more reason there should be firm, compelling, and most of all consistent consequences for all students.
It’s not like two poor parents and one says to their child “the man” is always out to get you and the other says work twice as hard because unfortunately, you weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
Which mindset is more empowering?
And Already Sheared hit the nail on the head. Last stat I read 85% of prisoners come from single parent households.
Mary Elizabeth
December 20th, 2012
1:16 pm
@Paulo977, 10:46 am
“I am not sure that we, as a nation, now have the vision or love to recognize that our chidren as need our ’specialized’ care in the schools!”
====================================================
Well said, Paulo. Vision and love. Two essentials needed to improve education. The depth of love that teacher Victoria Soto had in her heart for her students when she saved them from the Newtown gunman’s bullets, and took those bullets herself instead, is one example what love in a teacher’s heart can impel a teacher to do for the welfare of her students. Love and knowledge are critical toward impacting schools (and society) for the better. Unfortunately, often society-at-large has become too cynical to value the lasting importance of love in the classroom, toward all students.
Also, I understand that in many school systems in Georgia, reading specialists are no longer being hired to work with students (as well as to work with teachers and parents in training them in how to teach reading skills – in the content areas – to their students/children).
Maureen Downey
December 20th, 2012
1:22 pm
@To all, I have attended day-time assemblies at predominantly black schools where many parents, aunts and grandparents were in the audience. I know teachers in low-income schools who talk about the wonderful cooperation of their parents in sending snacks and desserts when asked.
Low-income does not mean low interest in schools. It may mean less time to attend events. (I had almost no job flexibility when my oldest was in school and hardly made any day programs at her school. It was not that I was not interested.)
I also know that college-educated parents, no matter race, are far more involved and concerned about education. Neither of my parents attended college and did none of the stuff that I do for my kids in regards to school. (And I don’t do nearly as much as some parents. I know people who still edit their children’s papers and the kids are in law school.)
My parents made sure I was fed and clothed when I went to school and they volunteered but did not get involved in my academics. My parents had no idea about AP classes or SATs. Still, all four of us went to college and graduate or professional schools — because of the schools we attended and the teachers we had.
Having a husband whose great grandparents were Ivy League graduates, I see how much more emphasis his family placed on reading classics and attending cultural events.
For families without that grounding, schools can help create it.
Maureen
RGB
December 20th, 2012
1:22 pm
We need a taxpayer-funded $50 million study to peel back the onion, clarify this whole causation-correlation issue, and socialize the results to “educators” throughout the state at a conference to be held in Hawaii where shifting the paradigm and other such matters are discussed.
Do it for the children.
Don't Tread
December 20th, 2012
1:23 pm
The solution to this problem is the same as the solution to the so-called “gun control” problem – parents need to raise the kids and teach them right from wrong instead of letting the television, Internet, video games, social media and movies do it (i.e. “California parenting”).
It’s not an “educational cliff” or a “fiscal cliff” – it’s a MORAL cliff, one that about half the population has already jumped over.
Beverly Fraud
December 20th, 2012
1:24 pm
98% of prisoners in Georgia came from school accredited by SACS.
Ban SACS!
97% of prisoners in Georgia drank milk as a child.
Ban Milk!
100% of prisoners in Georgia breath oxygen during their formative years
Ban oxygen until age 18!
At what point do we accept that the individual makes choices?
And when do we realize that it empowers a child to teach them they can indeed choose?
HS Math Teacher
December 20th, 2012
1:28 pm
Bottom Line:
Savages beget savages. . . an endless cycle. From the poor-a$$ redneck who gets drunk in front of his children . . . to . . . the welfare Mama who lets in a hoodlum walking the streets at night….and the children hear the word “motherf_ _ _ er” about 60 times a day. What the hell does anyone think these kids from this kind of environment can accomplish? This is not an exaggeration. I’ve taken players home from practice, and I know what kind of conditions they have to put up with. Some of them tell me. In a small town, everyone knows everybody.
The problem is, the genie is out of the bottle, and no one can get him back in again. There’s no going back. LBJ went too far in 1965. Now, we’re just left nibbling at the margins of the core problem.
A poor Jew can out-perform a poor “anybody else”, because of their good culture and values. It’s not just poverty.
skipper
December 20th, 2012
1:32 pm
Maureen,
I have enjoyed you allowing me to be post on your blog. It may seem that folks blatantly disagree, but you keep it in perspective.
There is no way one can talk about race/school without it being confrontational. Of course there are blacks/whites/browns/etc. that hunger for a good education. At this time, and cultural/economical and other factors may be a large part of it, but there is less involvment for whatever reason by much of the black community. While folks say arrests and punishments (whether they are founded or not) are disproportionate in the black community, so are many crimes. THIS DOES NOT MEAN that there are not white or asian, etc. criminals. But the murder rate (even mass shootings notwithstanding) carjacking, etc. are also very disproportionate among the black community. Even the most liberal minded soul in the world would probably not put their kids (unless they had no choice) in one of the inner-city schools.
A friend of mine, who is black, has talked over many issues with me, and very frankly enlightend me on some things. He is a psychologist/counselor for the Georgia prison system. He wants progress more than many you or I will ever meet. He told me this week (Monday, to be exact) that the thug culture has by far and away disproportionately affected the black population, and that many of the prisoners he tries to help (and he will not get into too much detail, as he respects his job) are absolutely (and then he shook his head….and said not much more.) Everytime someone points this out you and others holler “I know white criminals, too!” And, you are right. But it is the cities that have the highest densities of a black populace that have the heaviest and most violent crime….do not delude yourself and others and think otherwise. This is a phenomenon that must be addressed. Many, quite frankly most folks, like it or not ARE afraid of schools/areas like this because often discipline in the school has become secondary to raising/teaching unlearned values, and baby-sitting. It may be a culmination of past injustices, etc. but (and take Chicago, for instance) how can you have a real dialogue when on the one hand killing is accepted on a daily basis, and then when the crack-down comes “police-brutality” is the mantra. (See New York City.) This problem is more complex than it seems, and I’m sure I will get castigated by posting this. But while a solution must be strived for, until the overall culture (home, etc.) changes.what can you do? You think a family is moving to Atlanta to open up a big business and then sending their kids to one of the nightmare inner-city schools? Of course pas injustices/racism etc. are facts. However, how do you handle stuff that is happening now????????
Maureen Downey
December 20th, 2012
1:34 pm
@Beverly, It is lovely to talk about empowering kids and holding them accountable for their choices, but here is the reality: It is not a level playing field. The choices aren’t the same. Neither are the consequences.
I have friends whose kids get arrested for various traffic violations and for minor drugs. Every one of them hires attorneys, spending thousands of dollars to make sure that these mistakes don’t follow their kids or cost them college opportunities. Poor kids make those same mistakes. Difference is that their parents can’t spend thousands to get them community service or get their records expunged. Their mistakes don’t disappear quietly, as if they never happened.
And I can tell you that when those kids are part of a group that was arrested, they fare far better in the courts than the kids whose parents could not afford to hire an attorney and rely on the mercy of the courts.
More resources means more choices and fewer consequences.
Maureen
Dr. Monica Henson
December 20th, 2012
1:41 pm
Maureen makes an extremely worthwhile point, that involvement in school is not limited to volunteering and knows no color or socioeconomic boundaries. Some of the laziest, least involved parents I’ve ever dealt with have been white, upper middle-class people with the attitude that the public schools are their personal babysitting service.
It is the sacred mission of the public schools of this country to ensure that all children who attend them get the best possible chance in life, regardless of what kind of parents they have.
Don't Tread
December 20th, 2012
1:44 pm
aha…here we go with the “equality of outcome” thing again…
I guess the next time a poor kid gets into trouble we force the rich kid’s dad to pay for his lawyer. Or just decriminalize everything…that’ll fix it.
Maureen Downey
December 20th, 2012
1:44 pm
@HS Math, I agree that family matters and I think we can only hope that some adults in these children’s lives model better behavior to them. People who have grown up in the negative and damaging environments that you describe often credit a coach, a youth pastor or a teacher with giving them hope they could leave it behind and forge a better life for themselves.
Maureen
Lee
December 20th, 2012
1:49 pm
“We need a taxpayer-funded $50 million study to peel back the onion, clarify this whole causation-correlation issue, and socialize the results to “educators” throughout the state at a conference to be held in Hawaii where shifting the paradigm and other such matters are discussed.”
Maybe if Obama didn’t spend over $823,000 of taxpayer money on how to teach men in Africa how to wash their Johnson after sex, we could spend more on our kids here in America. (BTW, I suggest some Irish Spring and a washcloth, but that’s just me thinking outside the box…)
Think I’m kidding? http://cnsnews.com/node/75198
HS Math Teacher
December 20th, 2012
1:52 pm
Yes, Maureen. Although I get frustrated with some of these affected kids, most ignore my classroom rants and tirades, because they know I’m telling them the truth. Deeply, I care very much for them. A lot of them tell me that they learned a lot about life and math in my classes. Yes, I do depart from math once in a while to try to teach them some good values. May God bless these kids. Some of them don’t have much of a chance to live beyond 30. I can name several who have been killed or jailed, and 3 who have killed other people. It’s really a sad situation.
gaeliano
December 20th, 2012
1:57 pm
Andy: “Why is it 60 years later, the black population as a whole still can’t assimilate into society? The black kids sit next to and get the same education as the white kids, yet they still can’t as a majority even make through an easy 12 years in the GA Dept Education.”
Andy, would you say that Adam Lanza, and others like him had assimilited into society? Why did you automatically assume that the article was referring to the black population? Black population? Which black population are you referring to? and which society? The white societies of this planet are not something worth looking at, are they now? not with the history you all share? rapes, murders, pillages, deceptive practices, destruction of others, and the list goes on and on. Why don’t you get off the pedestal you have placed yourself on, and take a good look around you, then come back and talk about assimilation. What makes you think others want to assimilate in this system of yours? it’s going down in flames! can’t you see that? That system was created to work for your kind and not for everyone else, but as you can see though, the tides are turning, and that is a good thing.
Maureen Downey
December 20th, 2012
1:58 pm
@Don’t tread, Having covered a case where two local high school seniors were arrested and handcuffed for throwing water balloons in the school parking lot on the last day of class, I think we could decriminalize a few things here and there.
Maureen
Old School
December 20th, 2012
2:12 pm
How about bringing corporal punishment and prayer back into the schools? I forgot that sounds too much like common sense.
LarsX
December 20th, 2012
2:12 pm
A small minority of students cause most of the behavioral problems in public schools. There will have to be intervention for them in order to teach them proper behavior or address other dysfunctions. If we don’t modify their behavior, they will not graduate or learn anything. Yes, that means more adults in the school which means more money. This extra money is currently being used by the Defense Department and Wall Street.
AlreadySheared
December 20th, 2012
2:15 pm
@Maureen,
“Low-income does not mean low interest in schools. It may mean less time to attend events………college-educated parents, no matter race, are far more involved and concerned about education……Neither of my parents attended college and did none of the stuff that I do for my kids in regards to school…..My parents [...] did not get involved in my academics. My parents had no idea about AP classes or SATs….Having a husband whose great grandparents were Ivy League graduates, I see how much more emphasis his family placed on reading classics and attending cultural events.”
Maureen, you need to talk with Maureen and straighten her out on the relationship between income, family culture, parental involvement, etc. Y’all two have some serious differences to iron out.
Returning DCSS Parent
December 20th, 2012
2:24 pm
@Andy
Please be aware that rural whites should be included in your little rant. They are also subject to low graduation rates and high rates of incarceration. It is clear that you probably get all of your information from Fox News as it pertains to people of color. Prisons are big business and these companies do their research. They follow kids (boys, in particular) from 3rd grade on and assess their chances of becoming incarcerated. Using that information, they can gauge the number of prisons needed which means billions of dollars to house, feed ,provide healthcare etc., to these prisoners. The money would be better spent on helping these kids to learn better habits in school and in society. My mother demanded excellence from her children. She understood that education was the key to excell in any chosen profession. What you obviously don’t know or have had exposure to, is the fact that many minority parents have the same values and desires for their children as many white parents do. Get out of your house and meet people other than the ones that look like you and leave the “white hood” mentality at home.
indigo
December 20th, 2012
2:25 pm
Maureen – 1:34 “it is not a level playing field.
And yet, since the 60’s, there has been one social experiment after another trying to level this field. That’s over FORTY FIVE YEARS of failed program after failed program.
Perhaps it’s time to be realistic and realize this field simply will not ever be level.
Maureen Downey
December 20th, 2012
2:31 pm
@Old school, Corporal punishment never left.
Georgia allows districts to use corporal punishment. Last time I looked in depth at DOE data in 2009, 100 Georgia systems used corporal punishment. In total, the districts reported using corporal punishment 28,529 times that year.
(Terry, Do you have the newer data? )
I doubt it has changed — those rates had been holding steady. Systems that believe in it really believe in it. Systems that don’t have banned it.
Maureen
anObserver
December 20th, 2012
2:37 pm
hmmm…
“school to prison pipeline”. Who might I ask does that affect disproportionately?? Good thing it’s not a person of color moderating this topic on this blog. They’d be accused to no end of playing the race card, even though the moderator raises the VERY point we compalin about in the Black community constantly. So it goes.
Starik
December 20th, 2012
2:53 pm
We need more discussion about race; this is healthy. There are significant differences between successful cultures, like the white upper-middle class culture, the Asian striver culture and the like and the unsuccessful ones, which include ghetto-black and honey-boo-boo white.
In the school context we need to stop and reverse the pattern of placing large numbers of the unsuccessful cultures into successful schools – as in DeKalb County. Call me a racist if you like, but that process destroys the school without improving the education of any group.
roughrider
December 20th, 2012
2:57 pm
Just let the non achievers die out as nature intended.
anObserver
December 20th, 2012
3:13 pm
Yes!!! Because those who have enjoyed living in a SYSTEM that places them on third base and free walks to bases are truly the successful ones. This is why I don’t feel the least bit guilty about laughing at so many of these high-horsed white folks who have less “success” than I, in the way of money or education. These same people would call me “uppity” or as another was accused of for DARING to not conform to same privileged White person’s stereotype. “ENTITLED”. Hah! When will some of you learn, it’s not a person’s race in and of itself that determines their capability or opportunity. You just refuse to deal with the fact that there are systematic factors that are and always have been in play, which really is the crux of this article. Admitting to that though would force you to have to be honest about the fact that you are not really as great or “successful” as you believe, because your opponent has been “handicapped” for lack of a better word.
paulo977
December 20th, 2012
3:22 pm
Maureen Downey…… ” Poor kids make those same mistakes. Difference is that their parents can’t spend thousands to get them community service or get their records expunged. Their mistakes don’t disappear quietly, as if they never happened.
And I can tell you that when those kids are part of a group that was arrested, they fare far better in the courts than the kids whose parents could not afford to hire an attorneyetc etc”
_________________________________________________________
Thank you Maureen for saying it .Unfortunately we are still not at a point where we are able to figure out that unless ALL in the society are afforded justice and nurture then the society is not in equilibrium and we will not fare well!!!
Beverly Fraud
December 20th, 2012
3:41 pm
@Beverly, It is lovely to talk about empowering kids and holding them accountable for their choices, but here is the reality: It is not a level playing field. The choices aren’t the same. Neither are the consequences.
Exactly. Thank you for making my point. Because the consequences may not be proportionate, it’s not only “lovely” but necessary to empower kids by showing them consequences while they are young. Let Junior the football star miss the big homecoming game, in the hopes that one day he doesn’t miss the holidays because he’s incarcerated, or can’t celebrate the holidays because he’s unemployable due to lack of education.
Educate them to the reality that when you are in general rude and surly to the teacher, you may get a rep that fairly or unfairly is factored in if you and a peer engage in a fight. Educate them to the reality that you may want to conduct yourself in such a way that runs counter to a stereotype, not confirms it.
Don't Tread
December 20th, 2012
3:54 pm
“I think we could decriminalize a few things here and there.” You mean like maybe Tweety Bird keychains and such? How’s that zero-tolerance policy working out (you know, that same policy that was supposed to keep things like school shootings from happening)?
Policies demonizing inanimate objects don’t work. The lack of morals is the root cause and needs to be fixed (good luck with that).
mgdawg
December 20th, 2012
4:01 pm
Do you think there is also a link between lack of out of school suspension and easier classes? Usually the teachers with easier classes let the kids get by with more,
The problem is that forms of punishment are being taken away all the time. Used to you could spank a kid, they took that away so teachers began making kids do pushups (or I had a teacher that would make you stand with your arms outstretched with books in your hands) now that would be frowned upon. All the punishment we have now is to talk with the kid, if they continue send them to a principal.
Also, it is the talking back that kills kids. Usually a teacher will tell you to stop and if you stop what you are doing and shutup it’s fine. It’s when they talk back, that’s what really gets them in trouble. And that has to be fixed at home. If you want to stop the pipeline, don’t talk to the teachers, talk to the parents.
Once Again
December 20th, 2012
4:26 pm
Government schools ARE prisons. Why the surprise at how many kids end up in the adult version? Parents aren’t ready to take a harsh, critical look at what they are subjecting their children to every day. If they were to look critically, they would be disgusted.
Stan
December 20th, 2012
4:36 pm
I don’t remember being suspended for acting up in school. I remember leaning over a chair in the principles office and having the board placed on my rear end three times. I remember the principle calling my parents in front of me and reporting it after the board was performed. I remember being afraid to go home because my already burning rear was going to get it again.
Now its kindergartners being suspended for shooting the wall with their fingers, 1st graders being suspended for a small kiss on the cheek that was not appreciated by one of the 1st graders. 2nd grader being suspended for drawing a gun with a cowboy in art class. 3rd grader being suspended for having his pocket knife in his book pack after a camping trip. Need I go on. Our kids are in the hands of people who have no common sense. Non at all. So when real problems occur they hide in a closet.
Get the spineless administrators out our schools, put in real teachers who will not allow for disruption in the classroom. Teach the kids real subjects. If they pass they move on. If they don’t then fail them. Its that simple. Parents, stop coddling your brats. Teach them respect, work ethic, honor and dignity at home before they start school. Its never to early to teach your child mam, sir, yes sir and no mam. Listen to your child’s teacher and realize that YES your kid does act up at times. Handle it, stop demanding that you kid be treated like a prince. The last I knew we had no titles in this country. And parents, stop allowing your kids to wear their skirts up to their cracks and the shirts under their boobs and for the boys, buy clothes that fit you and stop allowing them to run around with their belts tied under their knees. Do you realize that this is a respect factor that will carry you forward the rest of your life. Get a life parents. You start them out right and they will grow strong. If you baby and coddle them then you will allow your darlings to disrupt the entire school system. At that point, they should be thrown out.
Just saying.
Old Physics Teacher
December 20th, 2012
4:47 pm
OK: As the number of churches increases, the amount of violent crime increases. Therefore we need to outlaw churches as they cause violent crime. Here’s another one: As the sales of soft ice cream rise, the amount of violent crime increases. Therefore we need to outlaw Dairy Cream operations as they cause violent crime. HEY MR. RHODES! Correlation does not imply causation! Your Ph. D is in education, right? Didn’t you have to take a course in statistics?
The most obvious reason that high-performing schools have few out-of-school suspensions is that they are heavily populated by high-achieving students (from high-achieving parents) who rarely act up in school. As the book says, “When you hear hoof-beats, think horses, not zebras.”
bRoane
December 20th, 2012
5:19 pm
Let’s all be honest here. If you think that black children get the same “quality” education as white kids, you’re delusional. The schoolbooks and buildings are outdated and not conducive to a quality education. Then the environment has to be addressed. Earlier this year, Freakonomics determined that the introduction of crack-cocaine set the black community back 30 years.
Homes were broken. Priorities were shifted. Fast forward to today, we have an abundance of single-parent/poverty level families in the mix. When kids are worried about IF they’ll be able to eat or if they’ll come home to a house with heat in the winter, they may find it hard to learn about the Pythagorean theorum. You’ve got kids seeing dope peddlers live a “successful” (kids, of course, aren’t going to be concerned about the long term, only the flashy cars and money afforded by a life of crime.) life by cutting the legal corners and sit in class learning things that will not benefit them in the long run.
I’ve graduated from college and still fail to see what high school curriculum has to teach kids who won’t go on to higher education. Mix that with SOME teachers and administrators who do more damage to these kids than anything. My young girl was told by her guidance counselor that she should drop out of school and not even concern herself with advancing her education after high school because the girl had missed classes due to health concerns. Who is the counselor to say something like that to an impressionable girl?
I can understand that without the complete story of Blacks in America, that people will attribute the income and educational disparity with the thought that Black people are “lazy.” That’s certainly not the case.
I also find it funny that nowhere in this article was race spoken about but somehow the focus shifted from behavior to race.
Private Citizen
December 20th, 2012
5:31 pm
Can’t say a lot about “educated whites” existing. In fact, it is a real problem if you are “educated” and live away from “the university zone.” And then there are those who are “educated” at the 4th tier state universities, white, black, or otherwise, the people running those schools should be in prison!
And and…. and… the mail order for-profit office park schools too!!!
Outside of the metroplex, “educated” people went to the police training academy!
Ed Johnson
December 20th, 2012
5:34 pm
“Love and knowledge are critical toward impacting schools (and society) for the better. Unfortunately, often society-at-large has become too cynical to value the lasting importance of love in the classroom, toward all students.”
–Mary Elizabeth, December 20th, 2012, 1:16 pm
Indeed…
http://www.artofteachingscience.org/2012/12/17/u-s-department-education-simply-out-of-touch/
Hillbilly D
December 20th, 2012
6:04 pm
we do not believe that addressing school discipline issues is a “silver bullet” solution
That’s why things are in the mess they’re in.