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It's tough to be a black boy in Nashville, Tenn.
Nine middle schools there have suspended half of their black male students at some point, more often than any other group.
One school suspended 58 percent of its black male students, but just 10 percent of its white male students. Another suspended 58 percent of black boys but only 13 percent of white boys.
On the elementary school level, six schools suspended only black males, even though four of those schools have a mixed black and white population. In Tennessee, black kids are four times more likely to be suspended than other students.
And the problem is not unique to Nashville. Nationally, black kids are suspended three times more often than whites.
"That's a terrible track record," attorney Larry Woods, who is suing the school system over inadequate textbooks and resources, told WSMV-TV in Nashville. "I think the entire community's going to be shocked and surprised at these numbers. ... These aren't the occasional bad kid or bad seed; they're suspending more than half [of] their minority students."
The numbers are alarming and speak of the racial bias that black males face from an early age. I'm sure some of the suspensions were justified, but the disparity shows that something is wrong. It's impossible for black boys to cause all the problems at a school that is racially mixed.
The treatment some black males receive in school only conditions them to future stigmatization and negative behaviors. The practice of treating black male students more harshly for behavioral problems is the first step for the school-to-prison pipeline, the trend of dealing with our children as criminals as opposed to the still-developing, potential-filled young people that they are.
These students are being treated like criminals at an early age. Black students are more likely to be arrested for acting out in class. There is less tolerance for activities that would have been dealt with in-house a generation ago. It is akin to the way in which black males are sometimes judged more harshly when it comes to the criminal justice system and job opportunities.
Suspending these children from school denies them the opportunity to be educated. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) postulates that the treatment of minority students may be related to the school system's increased emphasis on standardized testing.
The ACLU writes:
As a result of test-based accountability regimes such as the No Child Left Behind Act, schools have an incentive to push out low-performing students to boost overall test scores. One study found that schools meted out longer suspensions to students who performed poorly on standardized tests than to high-performing students for similar offenses. This "punishment gap" grew substantially during the period of time when standardized tests were administered, indicating that schools may use "selective discipline" to keep low-performing students out of school during testing days.
Nashville school administrators say the numbers are unacceptable.
"The numbers are still higher than we would like, clearly," Paul Changas of Nashville Metro Schools told WSMV-TV.
In an effort to reduce the numbers of suspended students in Nashville, students who are suspended are being sent to twilight schools, which are run from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. These programs are supposed to give kids a chance to learn in an alternative environment.
This year, suspensions of black boys are down 25 percent in the Nashville school district and 50 percent at some of the offending schools.
However, as the ACLU points out, alternative programs are not the answer either because their standards are often not the same. The ACLU writes:
In a growing number of jurisdictions, struggling students are sent involuntarily to disciplinary alternative schools. These alternative schools -- sometimes run by private, for-profit companies -- are not subject to traditional school accountability standards (such as minimum hours and curriculum requirements), and frequently fail to provide meaningful educational services to the students who need them the most. Some lack even the basics, such as teachers and textbooks, and many do not offer high school diplomas upon graduation.
Woods also has valid concerns about Nashville's use of alternative schools.
"The problem with some of these alternatives, like twilight school, is once you take children out of their regular curriculum and regular classes, you're on a slippery downhill slope," he said. "These are the kids who are going to be the dropouts. These are the kids who are not going to be able to find a job. These are the kids we're failing.
"Now, I don't mean to say some kids don't deserve discipline. Of course they do at times," Woods added. "But to do this kind of massive disruption of particular groups in our entire school system and not to realize, 'hey, maybe we're doing something wrong here,' there's no excuse for that," he told WSMV-TV.
Teachers must learn to deal with students equally. They must also seek to understand why a student is acting out. Immediate suspension is not always the answer. Zero-tolerance policies are counterproductive.
In some more wealthy districts, a child with behavioral problems might be sent for special counseling. Sometimes home troubles or learning disabilities can be the spark for a student to act out. Black parents also need to take a more active role in educating their children.Your job does not end with just feeding, clothing and sending a child to school. Children need to be helped with their homework and held accountable for studying and their grades.
Teachers and administrators get paid to find ways to help students be the best that they can be. They can't do that if entire groups are sitting at home.
Comments: (106)
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By: Captainfun on 6/09/2010 10:12AM
One of my chilhood friends wife, was a High School teacher at a school in Prince Georges County, MD (88-01). The school is about 70% black. She told us that by early April every year the the % of black male children suspensions and explusions has reached a level that the school administrator tell the teachers that they can't suspend any more black males. They were told to tell the children in question not to disrupt the class by having bring headphones/Ipods to class and or give them passes to be out of the room while they try to teach.She said that the ACLU and the NAACP have both made inquiries to the numbers of suspensions from white to black kids. Which she thought was funny because the % of whites attending the school was only at/around 10%. They didn't seem to care about the other school demographics and their rates of suspensions. The school wanted to escape just what this story is talking stating. She said the kids who try to learn are the ones that suffer the more than the ones being suspened.
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By: Chris Summerfield on 6/09/2010 1:47PM
Another black racist spewing hate. slavery was a long time ago and guess what....it didn't happen to you!!! quit blaming whites for your shortcomings. do you see the japanese hating whites??? three words.....GET OVER IT. oh btw, try to give our society more than a peanut...geez.
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By: Watcher Watchmen on 6/14/2010 3:57AM
@:Chris Summerfield , mind if we fill in the blanks missing from your post?
**Another black racist spewing hate.**
Which is what whites have been doing for ages and still at it, long before blacks did it BACK!
but we don’t expect you to point “THAT” out, right?
**Slavery was a long time ago and guess what....it didn't happen to you!!!**
Nor are white “current” slave owners, but yet they carry on the IDEALS of the era, passed down through to TODAY! And are the “current” beneficiaries of the wealth gain off their black-Blood spilling “Slave Owning Ancestors”. (forgot that part, right?)
And NO, it didn’t happen to today's blacks, but they are the “Current” products OF IT, which has set them back to play catch-up.
(white whites now mock)
**quit blaming whites for your shortcomings.**
As if years of racial deprivations, which now contributed to blacks current set-backs, means nothing at all and the current disproportional racist abuse that whites of equal reasons are NOT GETTING, is just their imagination, right?
** do you see the japanese hating whites???**
After getting their retributions, (Only because Japanese population has grown to threatening numbers), You’d think not! And YOU would hope not!, right?
** three words.....GET OVER IT.**
Yet whites never let blacks get over “OTHER” blacks who does something wrong, (which they like to remind you of), or what “OTHER” races did to them. –IN THE PAST! Go figure.
** oh btw, try to give our society more than a peanut...geez.**
This is their best response in words after generations of tearing down, discrediting or generally ignoring everything blacks do right, while over-publicizing everything blacks do wrong, to give themselves something to feel better than.
But also unwitting misleads themselves to believe blacks have done absolutely nothing at all in all of history to date, while systemically insuring would-be black inventors, scholars and more are derailed into the prison system, systemically soften up the obstacles for advancements for the black women, systemically PAY her out of the black man reach (because of his criminal record systemically instituted upon him as early as possible that haunts him later in life to minimize how far he can go or what jobs he can get and therefore minimizes his salary to hers.), systemically guide a white male, (replacement), in her direction, breed out black-skinned men, and more.
You see @:Chris Summerfield, the game is a lot bigger than you want to believe and far beyond what you think you have figured out!
Your just a drone! And you don’t even know it. (or maybe you do!)
But when all the dust settles, what you’ve just learned is exactly the way it’s going!
You only need to look. (Except in you case that might be difficult, because you’re surrounded by mirrors.)
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By: Zzeesonja on 6/09/2010 8:15PM
We should NOT assume that all of the boys were bad, because they were black. I have worked with children and young adults in church, civic
activities and volunteered in the public school system. Frequently those in educators haven't been taught anything about cultural
differences in ethnicity and gender.
In my experiences boys & teens typically are more animated and their deep tones in their voices carry loud than intented when they are answering questions or simply speaking in casual conversations. Think about how loudly people speak on a bus, mall or movie. In addition, we forget that children and young adults haven't learned how to mask their true feelings or expressions when they have been treated wrong or misunderstood by someone an adult or anyone in authority.
We've all had parents, teachers, co-workers, superviors and adults speak to us in a tone or
with an attitude that we don't like. However as an adult we have learned how to pretend or simply fake indifference. For the last ten years, several weeks prior to school I have been working with my youth at church and in my neighborhood to remind them of the perspections that most white educators have of people of color and prepare
themselves not only with school supplies and uniforms but their behavior. Various public television stations have talked about
gender and racial issues with teachers and students. The studies have proven that some teachers have preferences on who the select to answer questions or students who can assist the teachers based on what that individual teacher believes is 'good' classroom behavior. Parents and guardians who hold both the teachers and children responsible for their child's actions have a greater chance of your child being treated more fairly. It is our responsibilty to not let
our children suffer ill treatment. Children usually go to school with a positive attitude, but if you get talked to anyway just because your black that sends the wrong message. Finally I agree all of the black boys weren't always doing the right thing, but if black boys are getting worst you know so are black girls, white boys/girls,hispanic boys/girls and other races are having behaviorial problems also.
[Please disregard the errors and just consider the comment.]
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By: SageBrown on 6/24/2010 12:27PM
I am of 2 worlds- A Black male Educator at a 99.9% black school with a 95% poverty rate that looks at our 3 sister schools with 52-64% black populations.
At my school the heavier suspensions have been the 9th graders drastically reducing by each grade. That's when we have to gain control. At the sister schools I know of the double standards an our system has constantly turned it's eye. Why would 90% of your 42 black teachers ask to transfer our of a new school after the first year. Why was it that only 20 black teachers filled those jobs and after 2 years only 10 black teachers remain on the staff?
At the end of the year during finals a black senior who had no discipline problems and perfect attendance for the year has to get his mother to take him to school because his car would not start. Arriving about 10 minutes late, the mother is told that she has to go with him to check in - he is suspended and must take his finals the day after school ends for punishment and a white child comes in and is handed a pass to go to class. The black mother ended up being taken out by campus police.
Similar stories come out of the other sister schools yet not only does the system turn it's eyes but black parents turn their eyes because the schools are "better." The parents understand that those schools are trying to help "the black" students by unequally suspending them for dress code - sagging and inappropriate attire. Yet many took their children out of our school because we have a "wanna-be-white" black staff.
Many problems in one small bundle
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By: wrf on 8/17/2010 5:15PM
Its called accountability people! Black people refuse to be accountable for any wrong doing on their part.
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