Growing up black, I have always felt and noticed that blacks kids got into trouble for the smallest infractions. Yes, we cut up sometimes as all kids do. But it was as if we were being watched all of the time. And so other kids that did the same things were getting away with it. And to me, it just felt as if the punishments were harsher. When I was in school, our school was probably 30% to 40% black…..but I swear the black kids were getting into most of the trouble. So that was my unscientific and probably biased observation.
And when my son was in elementary school, I had that same feeling. He attended majority white elementary schools. When I picked him up from the after school program I thought, why are all of the black kids (mostly males) in time out? Are black kids more unruly than the other kids? Are they being watched more? Are they being punished more?
Tell me, I am not the only Black person/parent that has ever felt this way.
Well I came across this study that was released by The Civil Rights Project (CRP) that shows that disparities in school discipline are harming black students. The report was taken from 2009-2010 data from K-12 students from 7,000 school districts representing every state in the USA.
The report shows that African American students and students with disabilities are at a greater risk for being given out of school suspensions as punishments.
National suspension rates show that 17%, or 1 out of every 6 Black schoolchildren enrolled in K-12, were suspended at least once. That is much higher than the 1 in 13 (8%) risk for Native Americans; 1 in 14 (7%) for Latinos; 1 in 20 (5%) for Whites; or the 1 in 50 (2%) for Asian Americans.
Is out of school suspension really the key, if the child’s behavior is not dangerous or disrupting the school’s processes? The report says no and it is particularly harmful to students that are already at risk for dropping out. Studies show that suspensions increase the probability of dropping out or worse incarceration. Given that our society is known for disproportionately incarcerating African American males, I would say that we need to challenge our schools to find better solutions.
This report has sparked a lot of debate and conversation around the web. There are some that believe that African Americans are getting suspended more because they are more unruly and disruptive than their counterparts of other races.
Do they have a point? I have personally witnessed African American teachers quit their professions because the kids were just plain out of control.
The report ends with recommendations of things we can do as parents and child advocates to address this issue such as: asking your school districts to start collecting data on suspensions (as it was found that many school districts don’t), more training for school personnel, and challenging school districts that high suspension rates and inequitable disciplinary practices to find better solutions.
But as a parent, I found that the best thing I can do for my child is be present and active. I am involved in the school by volunteering and I am involved with my children’s education by helping with homework and projects. My involvement lets the teachers know that they have my support, and it lets them know that I am looking out for my child; And I am not standing for any mess. It lets my kids know that even though I am their advocate, I am not supporting any mess from them either. So if you are caught cutting up, you are in trouble at school and at home.
BMWK family – Check out this study. I want to hear from you. Are out of school suspensions necessary? Are they getting out of control? What are some better alternatives?
nikia says
Parents are responsible even more than schools. Often times teachers have to be parents, police, teachers, etc. Teachers/school officials often times are not positively reinforced by parents, so the abuse begins.
Alison Crockett says
This is such a difficult topic because the problem is multi layered. There probably is some bias toward black boys in both majority and minority black situations. However, I think your solution of being part of the school environment is a great one that many of our parents don’t have time to do or don’t know to do. There is racism/bias against black boys, but there is also a significant behavioral problem. Suspentions generally are a last straw because a teacher has difficulty teaching with that student in the room. Our culture as americans glorifies the outsider and the rebel without having ways for that personality to reintegrate back into the society. Young white boys do have an easier time moving from that rebellious phase into productivity into young adulthood since a lot of their rebellious males moved into stable jobs(this is obviously a big generalization). The lack of black males that have moved through this stage into productivity has made it more difficult to negotiate out of this phase.
I really have no answers but I hope we continue to have the conversation shining a light on ourselves and our own behavior so we can find productive ways of fixing this complex issue.
Cheryl says
I can remember, when I was growing up, in a household of nothing but teachers!! Matter of fact my grandmother taught at the middle school I went to. The point being in that time neighbors watched out for neighborhood kids! If you did something wrong , believe you me it got back to your parents before you got home!!! Even if we were around the corner!!!
Noelle says
My son went to a predominately white Catholic grade school. Some of his Caucasian teachers reported they were afraid of him. He didn’t act out, per se, but we later learned he had an attention-deficit, got bored, distracted and was not seeing as well as he should. He was only 7 years old. Strange thing, once he started wearing glasses, their fears seemed to dissipate. One teacher let him do word puzzles in class because he finished his work early instead of finding ways to engage him in his own learning. Once we discovered this, my husband and I a talk with her and the principal. We sacrificed to pay for our children to go to that school to learn…not to do word puzzles to keep busy while the teacher taught the others. Because we were active, visible, involved and vocal parents in giving our child good education, today that son is a physicist.
Monte says
When I was teaching, some of the young African Americans in my class wanted to ask me about my African American hair, rather than those things that I was teaching in the lesson. Some of the young men wanted to regurgitate some of the language, mentalities, practices or even verses embedded in some of the adult mainstream music that imitates many adults. When an attempt was made to call home, as these young males persisted in reaching the furthest limits that they could with – I want to say abhorrent, but I will say – inappropriate behavior, in class. Many of the things that I wanted to tell the young men in class, felt more appropriate in some other environment. Airing dirty laundry about whose family was “broken” and why, discussing the laughter over why the school did not have their home phone number, telling to focus when the young girls dressed so provocatively relative to features, and to try to educate the young men beyond an aversion to read from the book over such traditions where many families either don’t encourage young men to be disciplined readers while cd’s have been called volume I and volume II. When and where do young African American males address their personal issues before focussing on their lessons.
One topic that was discussed for days among the young men was about Zimmerman’s offense against Trevon Martin. They even wore hoods a day or two, in a school where no hoods or hats are allowed.
Many of the young men had greater preferences to entertain one another (and others) and discuss other things that interested them. One student asked me who was better out of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. This was in Biology class. They continued a heated debate on the topic for ass long as they could. I’ve seen other teachers chime into those discussions. Some join in those discussions and still flunk them, if they don’t socially promote them.
I have just said all of these things to say, “Things happen.” Some things, like pencils where borrowed, thrown and broken. Things happen until the youth’s parents come up to school and leave the contact number, keep checking up on their child’s behavior, and keep having their child (and the child’s teacher) held accountable for all of the productive things that occur in the classroom.
shelly says
I just wanted to ask you ‘are you really a teacher?’, because you were just rambling and rambling and I could not keep up. I think that instead of trying to point out the mishaps of other peoples lifestyles and rearing, why dont you try to find a way to connect with these children and their parents so that they can see that the school is willing to help them as long they are willing to accept the help. There are too many people pointing fingers at each other, and no one owning up to the responsibility of helping our children. I believe that this old proverb still holds true today, “that it takes a village to raise a childâ€. We all need to stop excluding ourselves from this problem because; these young people will be the future of our America.
Monise Seward says
As a former teacher, this is not new to me. What’s unfortunate is that most parents have no idea what happens to teachers who speak-out against these kinds of ‘practices’. Time and time again I tell parents to stay involved, don’t let the fake smile of the administration fool you. Far too often, many parents take the stance “Well I don’t want to make waves” or “I don’t want anyone to start picking on my child”. If your child is already being picked on by teachers/administrators, why not formally address the concerns? We have to stop acting as if we should be grateful simply because we are ‘allowed’ to attend schools in predominantly white communities. That right was fought for and won a long time ago; we need to evolve. We spend more time worrying about our kids activities and grades than we do about how they are being treated in school. It is very frustrating to try to encourage adults to start speaking-up. This spirit of timidity is then passed on to the kids, who don’t speak-up when they have been wronged or violated. It’s a cycle that must end. I risked my job to stand-up for one of my kids. The least others can do is ask questions, especially those parents who are not also teaching in the school their kids attend.
Christina Harrison says
It is not just black boys it is girls also, and it is also the parents fault for not disciplining their children anyway. I have not nor will I ever let someone outside of my house tell me how to raise and or discipline my children. I will also discipline an adult if they disrespect or harm my child, as i teach my children to respect their elders and to do the right thing. I expect the adults that they are forced to endure all day to do the same!
Jeffry says
Hi! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick
shout out and tell you I really enjoy reading your posts.
Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same
subjects? Thank you!
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