What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black (Part 2)

What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black

Margaret Burroughs

4^th Paragraph

 

What can I do to give him strength
That he may come through life’s adversities
As a whole human being unwarped and human in a world
Of biased laws and inhuman practices, that he might
Survive. And survive he must! For who knows?
Perhaps this black child here bears the genius
To discover the cure for… cancer
Or to chart the course for exploration of the universe.
So, he must survive for the good of all humanity.

 

                The words written by Burroughs in the fourth paragraph, speak volumes to the plight of young black boys.  No matter how much self-esteem is instilled in young black boys about how they have the same chances as any other child, once they leave the safety of their homes, they find a society that still views and labels them as three-fifths of a human being. 

 

                Black boys find themselves under constant suspicion by adults and law enforcement and labeled because of the color of their skin.  The clutched purses and crossing the street some adults do when black boys walk towards them because they fear they will become victim at the hands of black boys.  Black boys also find themselves under constant suspicion when they go into stores to purchase or look at items.  The suspicious looks they receive when they enter an establishment and the employee who constantly monitors their movement in the store and on occasion may ask black boys to “leave if they are not going to buy.”

 

                It would seem outside of the home there is no safe haven for black boys.  However, the one place that should be a safe haven for black boys, many times mirrors what happens to them outside of their home.  Unfortunately, Burroughs words also ring true about the plight of black boys in elementary, middle and high schools. 

 

                Education is supposed to be the great equalizer.  However for black boys, the same bias, fear and suspicion they face in society, they face in elementary, middle and high school classrooms.  Black boys face teachers who make assumptions about their intelligence based on their name, based on historical bias of teaching black boys and the perception that black boys aren’t interested or can’t learn.  This is one of the main reasons black boys are the majority of students receiving Special Education services, have the highest number of suspensions and highest percentage of high school dropouts.  However, Burroughs reminds us of who black boys could become if treated fair and given an equal chance.

 

The 4^th paragraph of Burroughs poem reminds us the path that Black boys have to navigate in order to survive and thrive in our society.  Burroughs reminds us that inequity in America is robbing our country of the potential to become even greater because our black boys are not given the opportunity to reach their potential.

What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black (Part 1)

What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black

Margaret Burroughs

1^st Paragraph

 

What shall I tell my children who are black

Of what it means to be a captive in this dark skin?

What shall I tell my dear one, fruit of my womb,

of how beautiful they are when everywhere they turn

they are faced with abhorrence of everything that is black.

The night is black and so is the boogyman.

Villains are black with black hearts.

A black cow gives no milk. A black hen lays no eggs.

Storm clouds, black, black is evil

and evil is black and devil’s food is black…

 

                The deaths Michael Brown and Eric Garner made me think about this poem by Margaret Burroughs.  With the acquittal of the white officers by the Grand Jury, these words continue to remind us behind these deaths is the ignorance, fear and hate.  Burroughs shows us how this fear, ignorance and hate
“of everything that is black” is part of the routine of everyday life.  So I wondered can we as educators change this narrative by teaching children and young adults the importance of having a diverse and inclusive society?

 

                Education has always played a major role in the movement for social change.  In the era of Segregation, educators, parents and students called for the end of the negative connotations that define black.  More importantly, to counter the negative connotations, teachers directly taught black students about their heritage, demystified the negative connotations and instilled pride of being black.  In the post-Segregation era, the push for diversity and inclusion of black studies and the end of the negative connotations defined the word black.  The word black was reclaimed by the community to define beauty and strength.  This was evident in the era of movies where black men and women were portrayed strong, intelligent and unafraid to take on injustice in the community.  This era is commonly known as “blaxploitation.”

 

Unfortunately, education has lost its way.  Under the disguise of faux diversity and inclusion, the struggle to completely remove the fear, ignorance and hate of everything that is black has been has been replaced by the drive to acquire and consume.  Now that we can live in any community, work in corporate America and not directly called the “N-word” on a daily basis, our attention is on accumulation over substance.  We believe everything is “fine” and our black boys believe this until Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and the long list of young black boys whose lives ended prematurely. What do we do about it, march, get angry and then go home until the next tragedy is posted on the news about the premature death of a young black male by the hands of a white police officer.

 

To end the cycle, of ear, ignorance and hate of everything that is black, we need to work on the young people.   Young people of all races should be required to take a diversity and inclusion class in elementary, middle and high school.  Young people in suburban and urban school should be required to have a joint class in diversity and inclusion to learn from each other to see how they have more similarities than differences even though they come from different socio-economic backgrounds.  That is how you begin to end the cycle, of ear, ignorance and hate of everything that is black.

 

By getting young people together in a meaningful way, the young person who may eventually become the white officer in the life or death situation with a young black male, may not turn out to be another tragedy.

Obituary for New Orleans/Recovery School District

                The New Orleans/Recovery School District expired at the end of the 2013-2014 school year.  As a state operated school district, the state decided to dismantle the district and convert the remaining schools into charter schools.  Unfortunately, the decision to dismantle the district was not put to a local vote so the citizens of New Orleans who pay taxes and utilize the public schools could decide the fate of their district.

                The decision to convert the entire district into a system of independent charter schools appears to be based on the misguided ideology by the state that an all charter school district will provide choice, innovation and competition.  However, the misguided ideology seems to ignore that charter schools were not performing any better that district.  According Ravtich (2013):

                                                “The state gave a grade of D or F to two-thirds

                                                of the charter schools in New Orleans.  Only 9%

                                                earned an A and 14% earned a B.  There are vast

                                                disparities among charters: some are high performing,

                                                but most are low performing…it could hardly be a model

                                                for the nation[i].

                The decision by the state also seemed to ignore that charter schools being independent will have different set of rules on enrollment, instruction and discipline that could be confusing to parents and student.  The lack of uniformity concerning enrollment criteria, the type of instruction students receive (if it is inclusive of students with disabilities, struggling learners and English Language learners)and student discipline will be different with each charter school.  The lack of uniformity has the potential to disregard the rights of student and parents.

                Finally, the decision by the state seemed to ignore the racial disparity and segregation of students who are enrolled in charter schools.  According to the Washington Post:

                                                White students disproportionately attend the best

                                                charter schools, while the worst are almost exclusively

                                                populated by African American students[ii].

The racial disparity is so bad that a federal civil rights complaint was filed against a particular charter school operator that runs the city’s best charter school which does not participate in the city’s One App school enrollment lottery. 

                Thank you to the teachers, administrators and non-instructional staff of the New Orleans/Recovery School District for the hard work you have done on behalf of children who were given very little chance to succeed by leaders who have a misguided ideology that does not have the best interest of children.

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[i] Ratvich, Diane (2013).  Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to American Public Schools, Knopf/New York

[ii] www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-new-orleans-traditional-public-schools-close-for-good

Thank You Mr. Brennan

            This week in recognition of Teacher Appreciation Day, I would like to thank my Junior High Teacher Mr. Brennan.  Mr. Brennan unknowingly gave me the desire to be an educator and he planted the seed for me to pursue my doctorate.

Mr. Brennan was a Science teacher.  In his classroom we had a snake and a miniature alligator, which for junior high school kids was cool because we would take turns feeding the snake and alligator mice.  Mr. Brennan made science engaging by making it hands on and relatable to the world outside of academics.  Mr. Brennan taught us to see science everywhere. 

Another lesson we learned was the importance of being a life long learner.  When Mr. Brennan was pursuing his Administrator license at Long Beach State, he would take a few of us to class with him.  We would sit in the back row of the lecture and listen or do our homework.  Every once in a while the professor would acknowledge our presence and at the end of the lecture would talk with us to see what we had learned from the lecture.  The professor also thanked us for being attentive and quiet students and hoped to see us as college students in his class one day.  On the drive back from college, Mr. Brennan would talk with us about the lecture and how the lecture related to our education and to being an administrator.

A final lesson Mr. Brennan taught us was we are important and have something to contribute to the world.  As a teacher for a Christian Junior High School, Mr. Brennan taught us that we all have gifts and education will help us learn what those gifts are and how to use them.  Mr. Brennan was the first teacher who utilized project based learning and he encouraged us to question, challenge and think critically about what we were learning.  Mr. Brennan encouraged us to think outside the box and he would always let us know that he doesn’t have all the answers.  There were times where Mr. Brennan would let us lead the instruction for part of the period.

Most teachers do not get to see the “fruits of their labor.”  A day of recognition for the teacher who inspired us allows us to say “thank you” and to let them know their efforts were not in vain.  The day also reminds us of our own educational journey and the educational journey of our children, nieces and nephews and the children in our community who are beginning, in the middle or ending the chapter of formal education.  This day should also remind us of the ongoing fight for quality education for all children.

Mr. Brennan, wherever you are thank you!

Euphoria over the 80 Percent High School Graduation Rate?

            This week a report was released that public high school graduation in the US has reached 80 percent.  Citing that 4 out of 5 students graduate from high school with a diploma, educators and politicians claim by 2020, the graduation rate could reach 90 percent[i]. 

           Credit for the increase in the graduation rate has been given to 1) a greater awareness of the dropout problem.  At all levels (district, state and federal), accountability measures, initiatives targeting the closure of “dropout” factories and aggressive actions by schools to hire intervention specialists who work one on one to keep students in class.  Credit has also been given to 2) the growth in the graduation rates of African-American and Hispanic beginning in 2006[ii].

            While this is good news, lost in the euphoria is the quality of the education and the skills the graduates received prior to graduation.  Also forgotten is how students in our public high schools are out performed by their international peers in science, math and technology. 

            Our high school graduates are leaving high school without the knowledge or skills to compete in the global workforce.  The gateway jobs (fast food, retail etc) that were traditionally wide open to graduates have been taken by displaced and underemployed adults. 

The lack of knowledge and skills is primarily due to the over-emphasis in public education on enrollment into college/university as the sole conduit to success.  By ignoring that fact that knowledgeable and skilled high school graduates can succeed if they are properly prepared for the adult world that awaits them, the graduation rate could be higher with less concern about unemployment and underemployment among recent high school graduates.

            We seem to be in an era of public education that is more concerned about the appearance of good data instead of the quality and substance of data.  Having an 80 percent high school graduation rate appears to be good.  However, if the graduates being produced are unable to take their place in the adult world and become a productive citizen, the data is skewed and does not reflect the reality of the high school graduate.

Increasing the graduation is good..high school students living at home and unable to work…bad!

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[i] http://news.msn.com/us/report-4-in-5-us-high-school-students-graduate#tscptme

[ii] ibid

Over Zealous Schools

            In its efforts to control school climate and maintain discipline, some schools have become over zealous and find themselves on the wrong side of what they believe is right.  A Charter school in Colorado provides a perfect example of what happens when a school becomes over zealous in maintaining school climate and discipline.

            A nine year old girl who wanted to support her friend and classmate with her battle with cancer, shaved all of her hair to makes sure her friend would not feel isolated and teased for her hair loss due to chemotherapy.  Instead of praising the little girl for her act of sensitivity, empathy and maturity, the school suspended the little for violation of the schools “dress code[i].”

            When notified of the suspension, the parent contacted the school and informed the school her daughter wasn’t trying to violate school policy, her daughter wanted to support her friend.  Unfortunately, the school upheld the decision to suspend.  It wasn’t until the incident reached the attention of the local media that action was taken to reverse the suspension.  The Charter school board voted 3-1 to overturn the suspension and allow the little girl to “be an exception” to the dress code policy[ii].

            The rise in the number of innocuous incidents that result in suspension and/or expulsion demonstrates that school leaders are looking to punish instead of changing behaviors.  When a school moves to suspend and expel a kindergarten student for turning his finger into a gun and make a shooting sound, why not use that incident as a “teachable” moment and address the behavior with the whole class and discuss why you shouldn’t make your hand a gun?

            Every parent would like their child’s school to be a place where learning occurs, positive climate and where there are rules and consequences for violation of the rules (student discipline).  However, student discipline should have some flexibility and not categorize every act by a student as an intentional attempt to violate school rules; especially at the kindergarten and elementary school level.

 

 

 

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[i] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-girl-shaves-head-for-pal-with-cancer-temporarily-suspended/

[ii] ibid

Other Ways to Empower

            Recently it was reported that a number of high profile women have begun a campaign to ban the “b-word.”  What is surprising is the campaign is not focused on ending the infamous “b-word” that is a slur against women.  The “b-word” these high profile women want to ban is “bossy.”

            The campaign to ban the word bossy is led by Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg and endorsed by high profile celebrity Beyonce who believe the word bossy discourages young girls and women from seeking leadership positions.  The campaign seeks to empower young girls and women to utilize their voice to be recognized for their accomplishments and strive to close the pay and leadership gap that exists between men and women.  So far 100,000 people have signed a pledge to stop saying the word bossy[i].

            While this is a noble campaign, I believe there are a number of causes that high profile women could focus their attention to empower young girls and women.  Shouldn't there be a campaign to ban the marketing of provocative clothing to young girls?  Shouldn't there be a campaign to ban the body image and perceptions of beauty in the fashion industry?  Finally, what about campaigning against the portrayal of young girls and women in many of the television shows?  Shows that portray young girls and women as shallow, petty and vindictive also send messages to young girls that to be popular, date the cute guy and to be part of the “popular” group, you cannot be smart.

            Instead of starting a movement to ban the word bossy, why not lend their celebrity to a movement for women and young girls to consider other fields where women are not traditionally represented?  Why not campaign to ban something that matters like helping young girls learn how to cope without a father?

            There are a number of things that are far more important to the empowerment, health and overall well being of women and young girls than banning the word bossy.  Since I am not a woman, I guess being called “bossy” is more offensive than being called the other “b word.”

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[i] www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/11/ban-bossy-numbers_n_4944280.html

Legislating Hope for Young Men in Public Education

                Many people wonder why today’s young men are not motivated or engaged in their education.  Is it the fault of the parent? Is it the fault of the school? Is it the fault of the young man?  Of course all three share some blame, but should we begin to consider another member to blame: our State and Federal representatives?  With all the budget cuts, layoffs and school closures in public education, many students have come to believe legislators don’t care about their education.  A perfect example of this can be seen in a comment made by a State Representative from Oklahoma last April.

            Addressing the expansion of Oklahoma’s Promise Program which provides post-secondary scholarships to qualified students living in economically distressed communities, the State Representative made the following statement in a debate to the Legislature over the bill:

                        “They {the Legislature} have no responsibility to ensure students have

                         access to a college education[i].”

The State Representative continued this belief in an e-mail exchange with a legislative colleague when discussing an academically talented student young man who did not have enough money to pay for college.  The Representative stated:

                        “It is not our job to see that anyone gets an education.  It is not the 

                        responsibility of me, you, or any constituent in my district to pay for

                        another persons education…their potential to benefit society is

                        irrelevant[ii].”

            It is this type of belief that discourage young men to become motivated and engaged in school.  During a time when young men are being told they have to go to college in order to get a job and succeed in society, they are seeing college graduates unable to secure a job and living at home with huge student loan debt, you can see how easily some stud can learn not to care about their education.

            Luckily, President Obama has created the “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative to help young men and young men of color become motivated and reengage in their education and take control of their lives.  By addressing the obstacles young men and young men of color face such as access to male role models, abuse of drugs, truancy and involvement in the juvenile justice system, it is believed young men and young men of color will be able to become successful adults.

            Programs and initiatives that focus on young men and young men of color comes at a time when young men of color are under attack and being murdered for “looking” like they are about commit a crime when walking home from the store to the “appearance” their music is too loud by a community of individuals who have embraced bias and stereotypes about young men of color.

                By embracing all young men, hopefully My Brother’s Keeper will break the cycle of generational bias and stereotypes and initiate a new generation of young men who refuse to continue the cycle of hate and intolerance and embrace the idea of equal access and opportunity for all men.  Maybe then young men and young men of color will reach their potential in school.

           

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[i] www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/mike-reynolds-education_n_3038157.html

[ii] ibid

What Obamacare Means for Public Education

There are a number of people who dislike the Affordable Health Care Act, which has been dubbed “Obamacare.” However through the lens of an educator, Obamacare may be  beneficial to public education.  

              Obamacare has the potential to address many of the social ills that affect academic attainment and school climate.  If everyone is mandated to have healthcare, the potential to have healthier children in school would greatly impact the classroom.  

Imagine, if schools did not have to focus on uncovering vision, hearing, and behavioral health deficits because children came to school with glasses, hearing aids and under the supervision of a physician or psychiatrist?  A true partnership could be built where school, parents and physicians work together to support children. 

Imagine attendance in schools improving because fewer children are out sick. Imagine instructional time be used more effectively when children come to school fed with enough sleep and energy to be engaged?  Without these distractions, children would be able to focus on academics.  The ability to focus on academics should translate to increase tests scores and increase content knowledge.    

Finally, Obamacare could be beneficial to schools in addressing teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease and AIDS.  Imagine young adults being able to learn the various forms of prevention from a physician who can inform them of symptoms and provide medication.  Being under the care of a physician for a pregnancy, STD or AIDS could alleviate the pressure and anxiety and allow the young adult to focus on their education. 

If Obamacare can address just some of the social ills that affect academic and school climate, schools and children will be the biggest beneficiaries of a controversial law.      

Growing Up Without a Filter

A child educated only at school

is an uneducated child

            A friend of mine posted this statement on Facebook.  The efforts to improve public education have primarily focused on students meeting content standards.  However, absent in the focus is the role parents should play in supporting their children’s education.  It is the absence of parent involvement that undermines the education of children.

There is a disturbing trend that is not being addressed and it has a tremendous impact on public education.  The trend is children who are growing up without a filter.  There are children who are witnessing, hearing and learning things that are not appropriate for their age.  Since there is no one to model appropriate behavior, these children come to school and emulate the inappropriate behaviors they witness, hear and learn. 

When their learned inappropriate behavior conflicts with expected school behavior, these children struggle and they become labeled.  These students are called disruptive, violent, emotionally disturbed.  These are children that will likely be placed in special education programs because they are unable to transition their inappropriate behavior to the expected school behavior.

While these children have now been labeled and placed in a special education program, the parents of these children continue to allow their children to be exposed to inappropriate behaviors.  When a child’s first instinct to conflict resolution is to fight, that child has witnessed, heard and learned the way to respond to conflict is to fight.  When a child is frustrated and they do not have the coping skills to calm themselves because they have witnessed, heard and learned to curse, yell, scream and threaten, that is what he/she will do.  Lastly, when children use inappropriate language discuss inappropriate content in their daily interactions with peers in public settings, it is because they have witnessed, hear and learned this in non school settings.  The question becomes, how can schools neutralize the lack of a filter some children have?

There is no easy solution to this problem.  A teacher and administrator can only do so much work with children who are growing up with no filter.  The difficulty is convincing parents to partner with the school to develop a filter for their child.  Unfortunately, there are some parents who do not believe in having a filter because they grew up without a filter. 

If we want all children to learn, not become labeled and not improperly placed in special education programs, schools will have to find a way to neutralize the lack of a filter in order for children to learn. This is where partnership with parents is crucial to the success of the child.

The Purpose of Public Education

            What is the purpose of public education?  Is the purpose of public education for students to understand, retain and recall content?  Is the purpose of public education for students to learn a skill? Or is the purpose of public education something else?

            If you believe the purpose of public education is for students to understand, retain and recall content, then there has to be a more effective way for students to be instructed that would rely less on rote memorization and recitation and more on open discussion.  Having open discussions would provide students the opportunity to develop theories and opinions and have those opinions challenged by peers and by the teacher in an informal debate process.  Instruction in this manner engages students to become a partner in the learning process, develops critical thinking skills and should allow them to understand, retain and recall content because of their partnership in the learning process.

            Additionally, if the purpose of public education is for students to understand and recall content, then why are schools using standardized testing as the sole means of evaluation understanding and recalling of content?  Why not give students oral and written exams to determine their understanding and recall of content?  Would this not be a more valid measure of evaluation?

            If you believe the purpose of public education is for students to learn a skill, how would this occur in a system where there are few opportunities for students to “learn by doing?”  With the exception of a hand full of schools that provide skills for a specific trade, a majority of students are not learning the skills that will help them compete in the global workforce. 

            There is great concern from higher education, corporations and parents about a “skills gap” in public education.  The claims about a skills gap in public education has gained more attention due to the perception a skills gap is one of the reasons for the poor economy.  Blaming the over emphasis of standardized testing in public education and the consequences tied to poor outcomes, instruction shifted to ensuring that enough students pass the standardized test.  Lost in the emphasis on testing was the instruction of skills.

            It is rare in public education today that students learn content in a project based learning model.  There was a time when public education utilized the “applied” method to instruction.  The applied method connected content to real world applications.  Subjects such as Applied Math, Applied Science, etc provided instruction that was hands on and provided a connection to the world of work.  It was this type of instruction where students learned skills as well as content.  However, the applied method was not considered “academically rigorous.”

            Finally, if you believe the purpose of public education is something else such as developing productive citizens, sending students to college, or to be critical thinkers, then you will begin to understand the perception of public education as a struggling entity.

            The purpose of public education is different from state to state, district to district, parent to parent and teacher to teacher.  If the adults cannot come up with a common purpose for public education, why do we believe students will?

Year Up

            Have you ever heard of “Year Up?”  Hopefully in the next couple of years, Year Up will be widely known like City Year and Teach for America.  Like City Year and Teach for America, Year Up is a program dedicated to filling in the gaps young adults fall through and helping young adults acquire skills to improve their lives.

            Year Up provides recent high school graduates and graduates with their GED who live in economically distressed communities an opportunity to participate in a year long jobs training boot camp.  What is unique about Year Up is that upon successful completion of the program, a majority of the participants secure full time employment as IT and Financial support with Fortune 500 companies such as J.P Morgan, American Express and Facebook[i].

            Year up participants spend six months working on technical projects such as building and maintaining computers to basic accounting and balance sheets.  Participants also work on soft skills and social skills, the skills needed to build the foundation to a career.  The remaining six months, participants work as interns in Fortune 500 companies as IT support or Financial support. 

            The founder of Year Up is Gerald Chertavian.  Gerald worked in Corporate America and in 1988volunteered as a Big Brother.  Being a mentor with a young man from an economically distressed community, Chertavian came to learn his mentee had “all the potential, but didn’t have the access and the opportunity…having seeing that for three years close up, I realized this was wrong[ii].”

            Using his own money, Chertavian started Year Up with 22 students with the purpose of creating a job boot camp that provides a pathway to good careers for young people who would otherwise never get the chance.  Since the inception of Year Up, the program has grown into 12 sites across the country training 2000 young adults for financial operations and IT jobs.  What is even more impressive is that after the completion of Year Up, 85% of the participants go on to attend college or are hired full time with an average salary of up to $50,000[iii].

            The success of Year Up has garnered the attention of President Obama who is looking to have Year Up replicated.  If Chertavian and President Obama are able to convince more CEO’s to get agree to embrace the Year Up model, young adults in economically distressed communities will have the opportunity to break the generational cycle of poverty. 

            Year Up is one of the most promising programs in decades. The program seeks to provide skills, opportunity and empowerment while challenging the systemic racial and economic bias in corporate America.

I believe Year Up could do for young adults living in economically distressed communities what the War on Poverty could not accomplish; break the cycle of generational poverty.

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[i] www.cbsnews.com/news/jobs-aids-fortune-500-underprivileged-youth

[ii] ibid

[iii] ibid

The Costs of Student Discipline Recommendations

            This past weekend while waiting in the line at the grocery store, I overheard two older women talking about “they heard Obama told the schools to stop calling the police on the kids for stupid stuff.”  One of the woman stated “it’s about time, but how much is it going to cost?”

            Cost?  Why did the two women believe that monetary costs would be attached to the Obama Administrations recommendations to schools on student discipline?  Did the two older women understand what the recommendations were trying to accomplish?

            When you consider the “cost” of the recommendations to schools by the Obama Administration, the question becomes, can you put a monetary amount on equity and fairness in student discipline? 

            The recommendations to schools called for changes in policy and the culture of criminalizing behaviors.   When reading the article on the recommendation to schools, I viewed the “cost” not in a monetary sense, but a cost of change in systemic, cultural and personal processes.  Schools are being told to remove bias, stereotypes and intolerance when it comes to student discipline and students of color.  Teachers and administrators are challenged to be student centered and work on alternatives to suspension, expulsion and involvement of law enforcement.  Lastly, school police are asked to become more involved with students on a personal level while they are in the building. 

If more students are able to graduate and not have their futures ruined by a student discipline process that involved law enforcement, then the changes schools are asked to do by the Obama Administration will give students of color opportunities to become productive citizens, which in turn benefits the economy.  Therefore, the costs of the recommendation to schools would be neutral in monetary sense; the cost of systemic change in schools is time.

If cost of instilling equity, fairness and student centeredness in student discipline is time, I think that is a cost everyone can live with.

Revising Student Discipline

                Last week the Obama Administration issued recommendations on school discipline.  The purpose of the recommendations was to end the racial disparities in punishment for violations of school policy[i].

                Pointing to “zero tolerance” policies as the primary reason for the racial disparity in punishment, Attorney General, Eric Holder argues that too often zero tolerance policies infused the criminal justice system as part of the punishment.  Attorney General went on to further argue that:

                                “Ordinary troublemaking can sometimes provoke responses

                                that are overly severe, including out of school suspensions,

                                expulsions and even referral to law enforcement…then you

                                end up with kids that end up in police precincts instead of the

                                principal’s office[ii].”

                The statements made by Attorney General Holder reflect the data collected by the Office of Civil Rights which found that African-American students were more than three times as likely as whites to be expelled or suspended.  Additionally, more than half of students involved in school related arrests or referred to law enforcement were African-American or Latino.

                To change the approach schools handle discipline, Obama Administration recommended:  1) ensure school personnel understand they are responsible for administering routine students discipline instead of security or police officers; 2) Draw clear distinctions about the responsibility of school security personnel; 3) Provide opportunities for school security officers to develop relationships with students and parents; 4) Establish procedures on how to distinguish between disciplinary infractions appropriately handled by school officials compared with major threats to school safety [iii].

                The recommendations by the Obama Administration clearly placed schools on notice that the racial disparity in student discipline has become so bad the Administration felt compelled call for change.  The recommendations also informed schools not to criminalize behaviors that should be handled at the school level.  Finally, the recommendations call for schools to adhere to the principles of fairness and equity in student discipline or they will face strong action if they don’t[iv].

The recommendations by the Obama Administration have asked schools to get back into the business of equal and fair student discipline by retaking control of the process and to help students get back on track without involving law enforcement.  By doing this, there should be an end to racial disparity and criminalization in the student discipline process.  If not, schools will have to face strong sanctions from the Federal government.

Thank you President Obama for taking on this important and overlooked problem.  The futures of too many students of color have been side-tracked or lost because of the criminalization of the school discipline process.  By putting the onus back on schools to discipline with equity and fairness, less students will leave school without a criminal record and hopefully go on to become productive citizens.

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[i] http://news.msn.com/us/government-offers-new-approach-to-classroom-discipline#tscptme

[ii] ibid

[iii] ibid

[iv] ibid

New Year's Resolution

                We have just entered into a New Year.  Many people see the New Year as an opportunity to change, to grow, to take risks.  The New Year also provides the opportunity for a fresh start.  One of the many things people do is to make resolutions for the New Year.  Usually it is the adults that make resolutions while young adults just view the New Year as another day.

The idea of change, growth, risk and a fresh start got me to think about how we should use these motivational ideas with young adults in school.  What would happen if parents and teachers talked to young adults about using the New Year as an opportunity to change, to grow, to take risks and to have a fresh start in school?

                What if young adults were asked by their parents and teachers to use the New Year to make resolutions on improving their grades, improving their behavior or becoming involved in school clubs?  What if young adults were told they could have a fresh start in school if they made resolutions and committed to keeping those resolutions?  What if the young adults knew they could be supported by their parents and teachers in their attempt to achieve their New Year resolutions in school?

                On the first day back to school, how would young adults feel if their teachers welcomed them back and told them “today is a new year and in this New Year we are all off to a fresh start?”  If teachers set the tone for young adults by letting them know they will encourage and support their efforts to change, grow and to take risks, young adults may re-engage, work harder or expand their mastery of the academic content.  

If young adults had the support of their parents and teachers to encourage them to sustain and achieve their New Year resolutions for school, how transforming would that be for young adults and for education?