Oakland schools ban suspensions for defiant behavior following civil rights probe - Polidicks

[b]Oakland schools ban suspensions for defiant behavior following civil rights probe[/b] Source: [url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/15/oakland-schools-ban-suspensions-for-defiant-behavi/#.VVZf13Za9HU.twitter]The Washington Times[/url] _______________ [quote][img]http://i.imgur.com/grv0veA.jpg[/img] [i]Students listen as the Rev. Jesse Jackson gives a speech at an assembly Monday, Dec. 1, 2014, at the Technology Access Foundation Academy in Kent, Wash. Jackson spoke at length about a grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, for the Aug. 9, 2014 fatal shooting of black 18-year-old Michael Brown. Jackson was in the Seattle area to urge more hiring of minorities by high tech companies such as Amazon and Microsoft. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)[/i] --- The Oakland Unified School District voted unanimously Wednesday night to ban the practice of giving out suspensions to students who mouth off in class or disobey the teacher’s orders, in an effort to even the playing field for black children. Oakland Unified joins San Francisco and Los Angeles school districts that carry lesser punishments for willful defiance — a broad category of misbehavior that includes swearing at a teacher or storming out of class, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The state already bans suspension for willful defiance from kindergarten through third grade, but Oakland’s decision extends it through high school, The Chronicle reported. It’s expected to be phased in and fully effective just over a year from now.[/quote] Wow. This is ridiculous.

So basically just allowing them to lash out and act rudely without punishment just for the sake of "equality". Fucking bullshit.

[QUOTE=Sombrero;47742188]So basically just allowing them to lash out and act rudely without punishment just for the sake of "equality". Fucking bullshit.[/QUOTE] Doesn't say they don't get detention. Suspension isn't the only punishment or way to deal with disorderly students.

So maybe black children shouldn't swear or disobey so much?

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;47742239]Doesn't say they don't get detention. Suspension isn't the only punishment or way to deal with disorderly students.[/QUOTE] Yea, but you have to think who would have been getting suspended, those who habitually argued and disobeyed the teachers.

So it's come to the point where people are convinced that it's equal to allow them to act like fucking shitheads and not face (serious) punishment? I know it's Oakland but if you don't want to sit there and realize school is important then you're probably no fucking use to society anyway [editline]17th May 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=itisjuly;47742243]So maybe black children shouldn't swear or disobey so much?[/QUOTE] No that's racist how can you even suggest such a ludicrous unfair decision you should feel bad about yourself you toothless hillbilly racist [editline]17th May 2015[/editline] Tbh in my high school we wouldn't get suspended for any of this anyway unless it was after several previous offenses, detention the first time was usually enough

I think this miiight be beneficial for students overall. We should give kids actual friggin' compassion and understanding, and let them know that the teachers and staff are adults that can HELP them.

This is a good thing. Schools give out way too many suspensions because they don't want to bother with the student instead of a detention. My school basically gave out suspensions for anything because they had a shitty zero tolerance policy. Get in a fight, get beaten up? Both were suspendable

The way American students get punished in schools is already too harsh (too many suspensions, expulsions, detentions, "zero tolerance" policies...). Add on racial and gender bias (women and black people are more likely to get punished than white males, with harsher results too) and you get a subgroup of the school constantly getting treated like shit for, at worse, acting as badly as the other kids usually do.

Zero tolerance is for lazy fucks who can't go the extra mile for their students.

Honestly I'm not sure how well this might work out in the long run, but I do understand that some compassion is needed in the current environment of "zero tolerance" for everything. Things have to be looked at in a case by case basis. This isn't something that many educators are even willing to go the extra mile to do. Unless you do it you're not going to see any change, or even worse, have the student(s) go further down the path of wilful defiance. Allow me to give you a personal anecdote; the VP in my medical college was one of the greatest men I ever had the privilege of knowing. He knew the importance of treating students as individuals and giving them attention, however little it was, and listening to everything they had to say. He never believed in canned student policy and always stuck up for the student as opposed to anything the teachers did, and believe me, there used to be a lot of problems where the teachers' egos were at fault and not any mistake the students committed. But trust me, if the students were the ones at fault, they'd get their punishments, fair's fair, as anything else. You can't maintain discipline without showing that there are consequences to playing the fool or neglecting your studies. He'd give folk many second chances to mend their ways and never yelled at or shouted at anybody. I'd honestly worship the guy for being such a good example. But back to the topic at hand. While it's important to look at each case on an individual basis, if students go too far out of line, they have to understand there are consequences. Discipline is an important thing to have from the get go, otherwise you'll probably find yourself in trouble down the line if you don't get that knocked into you during your schooling and early years. At the same time, only the guilty parties should be punished. This dumb "zero tolerance" bullshit perpetuated by victim blaming and lazy educators should be stamped out, once and for all.

[QUOTE=MattSif;47742759]Zero tolerance is for lazy fucks who can't go the extra mile for their students.[/QUOTE] If there had been zero tolerance policies when I was in school, I'm pretty sure not one of my teachers would have followed them. I never really showed my appreciation but every one of my teachers through the years helped their students waaay beyond their regular work hours. Like, driving an hour out of town to send a kid home during a category 2 or [I]moving their wedding a week ahead of schedule so they could attend the graduation.[/I] Rather than punish the students, get those educators to start understanding the kids. Students who engage with their teachers don't go out of their way to be bad at school. [editline]18th May 2015[/editline] Perspective: my aunt went and did teaching in Maryland a few years back just for a change of pace. When she arrived, she had to build an entire special-ed program for this school from the ground up because they were just thrown in with regular students and expected to perform the same.

[QUOTE=person11;47742640]The way American students get punished in schools is already too harsh (too many suspensions, expulsions, detentions, "zero tolerance" policies...). Add on racial and gender bias ([B]women[/B] and black people [B]are more likely to get punished than white males, with harsher results too[/B]) and you get a subgroup of the school constantly getting treated like shit for, at worse, acting as badly as the other kids usually do.[/QUOTE] Can you provide a source for the bolded part? I'm talking about women specifically, I haven't heard anything about girls being specifically targeted by schools. In my anecdotal experience it was usually the guys who ended up in the disciplinarian's office not the girls.

[QUOTE=amos106;47743488]Can you provide a source for the bolded part? I'm talking about women specifically, I haven't heard anything about girls being specifically targeted by schools. In my anecdotal experience it was usually the guys who ended up in the disciplinarian's office not the girls.[/QUOTE] For me, it was about equal. You would be surprised at some of the shit girls pull

[QUOTE=BusterBluth;47742257]Yea, but you have to think who would have been getting suspended, those who habitually argued and disobeyed the teachers.[/QUOTE] Well denying these kids a day or even a week of their education isn't going to help them in the long run, either. If anything, it holds them further behind which will only add to their apathy about school and cause them to argue or disobey even more.

[QUOTE=Kylel999;47742260]So it's come to the point where people are convinced that it's equal to allow them to act like fucking shitheads and not face (serious) punishment?[/QUOTE] Yup, in a nutshell. I honestly don't understand what's the reasoning behind this, it's utterly ridiculous.

[QUOTE=itisjuly;47742243]So maybe black children shouldn't swear or disobey so much?[/QUOTE] The idea is that black students are punished for "defiant behavior" disproportionately more often and more heavily, and are more often hit with these suspensions. While it might be the case that black students are acting out more, the idea is that they are punished more strictly than e.g. white students. Besides, if you are acting defiantly, chances are you're already jaded and cynical about the school system. Somehow I feel like kicking these students out is counterproductive. If you read the article you'd see that it's about changing the punishment systems to be more "rehabilitative," (as it were), not giving students free reign due to their race [editline]17th May 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Sombrero;47742188]So basically just allowing them to lash out and act rudely without punishment just for the sake of "equality". Fucking bullshit.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Kylel999;47742260]So it's come to the point where people are convinced that it's equal to allow them to act like fucking shitheads and not face (serious) punishment? I know it's Oakland but if you don't want to sit there and realize school is important then you're probably no fucking use to society anyway [editline]17th May 2015[/editline] No that's racist how can you even suggest such a ludicrous unfair decision you should feel bad about yourself you toothless hillbilly racist [editline]17th May 2015[/editline] Tbh in my high school we wouldn't get suspended for any of this anyway unless it was after several previous offenses, detention the first time was usually enough[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Pretiacruento;47744621]Yup, in a nutshell. I honestly don't understand what's the reasoning behind this, it's utterly ridiculous.[/QUOTE] Bring back bad reading pls, because I don't think any of you read a damn word of the article Like, it's eight sentences long, none of you have an excuse

I remember during middle school my English teacher got injured during class, pretty much retired after that. For the rest of the year, we were stuck with this control freak who wrote up students for the most minute of things. Speaking in a ghetto accent definitely rubbed him the wrong way. Soon the students began to retaliate (verbally), some even walked out of class. And would you know, we all got in trouble for it. That is, except this small group of white girls in the class, who were just as pissed off and vocal as the rest of us, mind you. The assistant principal (black) was called into the classroom, everybody tried to explain what was going on and she silenced them, actually saying she did not want to hear what we had to say. Looking back at my school years, I am honestly not surprised students have a habit of mouthing off their authority figures when they cannot do their job right.

[QUOTE=amos106;47743488]Can you provide a source for the bolded part? I'm talking about women specifically, I haven't heard anything about girls being specifically targeted by schools. In my anecdotal experience it was usually the guys who ended up in the disciplinarian's office not the girls.[/QUOTE] This is what I figured too. I mean, I could see it being the case for minorities but I figured that it was generally guys that got punished more in school as well.