Unfortunately,
we don’t see the same success happening in our schools’ out-of-school
suspension rates. For the 2011-2012
school year:
·
59%
of public schools in New Orleans have an out-of school suspension rate higher
than the state average of 9.2% *
It is time to consider school discipline as a metric of a school’s success. Successful schools should also be measured by how many students they keep engaged in school.
This
led me to think about my own experiences with suspensions. I used to think that suspensions were the
most effective way to change student behavior; if you asked me about a
consequence for a student, I’d just immediately to suspension. But after being in schools for some time, my
opinions on zero tolerance and suspensions have changed. Here’s one of those stories…
I was
shocked. I didn’t even register that he
had touched me, let alone that he had tried to pick me up to move me from the
doorway where I was blocking his departure from class. My experience up until that point was that he
was a quiet, but participatory with a calm demeanor. This day, I had to remind him several times
of the classroom rules. He wouldn’t keep
his head up from the desk, he wouldn’t get a textbook, and he wouldn’t work
with his partner to complete the assignment.
The last time I tried redirecting his behavior, I also told him that he
would have to serve part of his lunch period with me, which would start when
his class’ period ended. He met the news
expressionless.
He
remained in his seat when the bell rang and his classmates left for lunch. I collected my things and talked to him at
the same time. It was probably a
diatribe about being working hard in class, how he didn’t follow the classroom
rules and how I expected better behavior.
I was close to the door when I noticed that he was coming toward me to
leave the room. “You can’t leave, you
have to stay for your detention.” He
didn’t say one word, just continued moving toward the door. By the time he had reached the doorway, I had
placed myself in between him and the hallway.
“You need to get back to your seat.
This is a lunch detention.” In a
matter of moments, things changed; he was running down the stairs and I was
crying in the classroom.
By the
end of the day, his mother had been called in for a conference for the next
morning and I was confused. From my
perspective, he should have been suspended and I couldn’t understand how he was
still in school at the end of the day. I
felt betrayed by the Assistant Principal and questioned her competency in the
position. I wondered how I could work in
a school where students were allowed to touch the adults. I considered quitting that day. I convinced myself that I wouldn’t ever feel
safe in the school.
I was
invited to the conference, but asked to sit out in the hallway while the Assistant
Principal spoke to the student and his mother with the social worker
present. When I was allowed into the
room, I was able to talk about what happened in class and express to him how it
made me feel. The social worker asked
him if he understood my perspective. The
Assistant Principal asked him to tell me what he had told them. By the end of the conference, I learned about
the crisis his family was experiencing and realized how it was impacting his
judgment, his disposition and his behavior.
He apologized, “Ms. Mac, I wasn’t trying to hurt you or nothing, I was
just mad and I didn’t want to stay in that room. I’m sorry Ms. Mac, I like your class. I won’t do nothing like that again.” As a result, he had to serve a week of
afterschool detention and the social worker and I designed activities to work
on anger management with him. He and his
family received referrals to family services organization. I’m not sure that I understood or agreed with
the decision, but I complied with the decision.
So did he.
It took
some time, but I’m glad that the student wasn’t suspended. To be sure, this kind of situation is
unacceptable. PERIOD. I believe there needed to be a consequence
for the inappropriate behavior, and now I’m confident that suspending him may
not have had the same significance for this student and would not have gotten
us closer to what the problem was for him.
In our conversation, I heard a sincere apology, he received a
consequence, we got to the root of the problem and he understood that he had
people in the school community who would give him a second chance. It was a moment that would be instructive for
the rest of my career as an educator. School discipline isn’t just
about safety- it's about personal growth and character; suspensions don't
result in either. I’m
glad that the
Assistant Principal stepped in and with the Social Worker found a better
solution than suspension.
[ii] For more information about
zero tolerance policies in New Orleans’ public schools, see JJPL’s Suspension
Matters series at http://jjpl.org/suspensions-matter/
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