Schools address black students' suspensions

Maybe they get suspended at a higher rate because they misbehave at a higher rate?

Just a thought.

I love this quote:

"Studies have linked suspensions and expulsions to lower academic achievement and higher dropout rates."

Now there's a real stunner. Kids that misbeahve enough to kid suspended or expelled apparently care less about academic achievement.

Hopefully AA county won't be forced to change its discipline standards because Baltimore City is a great example of what happens when the troublemakers are allowed to take over the schools.

The article says "Teachers and administrators may misinterpret the body language and occasional confrontational behavior that some African-Americans learn in their neighborhoods and use at school as a way of standing up for themselves, veteran educators say."
I sure would like to see the reasons these students are getting suspended. I highly doubt it is a result of just misinterpreting body language unless perhaps like in the African-American neighboorhoods the middle finger means I love you. We need to analyze this data since there is a significant difference and tell the story like it is -either way.

Unfortunately, it is a socioeconomic issue. Many of these children have never been subjected to discipline from day one. I believe the parents are a major source of the problem.

When the children are allowed to exhibit the behaviors they learn at home and not conform to the behaviors that have been considered the norm for our schools, they learn that their behaviors are acceptable. When they then transfer this learning to the workplace or into the world they get fired, can't get hired or get locked up because the rest of the world is not as accepting of their home influences as the schools are forced to be. Let's agree that there are norms that society values, and lets teach those norms to all of our children.

I don't think that there should be any policiy changes on this issue, at least not as it's written. This is not an issue for the teachers to fix. That's probably part of the reason why the schools are short of good teachers. Teachers should teach. I would like te see a policy formulated that goes into a different direction. One that will force those parents who are not responsible to step-up to the plate and face their responsibilites. But probably most important, one that allows parents to discipline their kids as the see fit. I'm not talking about abuse, but a belt to the rear never hurt me to bad.

"Being rude means one thing to you and another to me," said Ella White Campbell, a retired city school teacher and an education advocate in Baltimore County."

No ... it doesn't. It's behavior that is unacceptable in the classroom, the workplace, and (at least it should be) in the neighborhood, be it a black neighborhood or a white neighborhood. If these idiot administrators keep trying to justify away the problems these little demons bring to Baltimore schools, NOTHING WILL CHANGE. Throw the disruptive ones out, lock the violent ones away, and only spend (my) resources on kids who actually want to learn. What part of this is so hard to grasp?

Why are we still harping on the difference in color in 2008? Seriously. Yes there are cultural differences but when we are in public we should all behave as human beings. Period. No excuses. It drives me nuts that we give a group of individuals an automatic excuse for behaving poorly in public. I don't care what you do in private, but when you are in my presence you had better behave like a civilized human being. I don't care what your color is. Get it together people...there is a code of ethics that we should all follow and if you don't get it you need to be retrained.

'Studies have linked suspensions and expulsions to lower academic achievement and higher dropout rates.' And why is that? Come on folks, solve the question!

"Being rude means one thing to you and another to me," And 2+2 = 7...

I agree with JB pointing at the parent (not plural), but only thing 'blahblaheconomics' plays in this picture is the manufactured culture dung pushers.

ocboy - Wow! you're really doing a 180 from them hired analyst's way of thinkling!

rice bowl!!- I would work to solve this rather than drag it on for my own financial bennies...

Then everyone wins.

Yeah, lets keep them in school so they can keep other students who want to learn from getting a good education. The NAACP and their cronies have found another way to bring down society.

Wow. What a great idea. Apply quotas to punishment to ensure statistics are even. That's really a smart idea. Let's project that to the criminal activities these same youths will be committing when they grow up too. And, let's alibi their out of control culture and use that as a premise to exccuse the behavior. After all, internal genocide is just their way of life (see africa for proof of that!). I guess we should just lower our standards for penalties for these folks because that's just the way they are.

One question though. Is there a way we can have these journalists at the Sun live in the same community with these kids to see a little bit more into the results of constantly using statistics as a crutch to blame somebody else all the time instead of the perpetrators?

Just more of the same. more of the same. So I suppose the art teacher that was recently attacked actually was at fault as her principal told her because she spoke a "trigger word" to the youth that attacked her.

Makes me remember the mother, taking up for her son. " he was ONLY skateboarding, not hurting anyone." The whole time she was saying this, she knew it was against the law. They BOTH deserved a ticket. Bad choices deserve bad consequnces. And don't give me any of this " but their just kids" B.S.

This is another example of the bass-ackwards way liberal thought processes work. If teachers don't understand the reasons for the bad behavior exhibited by these "students", it's the teachers' fault for not being properly prepared. If the teachers can't interpret the body language of the little dears and react in an appropriate way to "diffuse" tense situations, they need more training. The tail wags the dog. If A.A. County has any sense, they won't change a thing. The first step toward restoring order in any school system is to remove the trouble makers and require them to conform to civilized standards of behavior before they are allowed back in. This needs to be done at home. All of this cultural sensitivity/anger management training that is being foisted upon teachers is the job of parents, not teachers. When teachers are allowed to teach, things will improve. When policy allows for the gradual chipping away of standards of behavior for the individual, chaos results when you throw a bunch of these individuals together in a confined space. Classroom rules are simple: 1)Come to class on time. 2)Keep your mouth shut and stay in your seat. 3)If you have a question or need to get the teacher's attention, raise your hand. 4)If you can't do these things, you can't come to class. 5)No exception to the first four rules. Principals and school administrators need to back teachers up when they enforce these rules. If parents have a problem with their children keeping to these standards, they need to take it up with the principals and administrators, not the teachers. The teachers should be busy teaching the students sitting quietly in their seats, listening and learning.

They should not change one thing. Do not make this system fix to Black people needs. These kids must follow rules. An if they don't want to learn don't come to school. BA have a 80% drop rate, so i guess they will blame it on the school system , or better yet they white man. Who made the school system.

I tell my friends in other countries you have to pay to go to school, you can go for free!

Education you will need, so take it or get out of your seat so someone else can have it.

If ed. administrators in MD develop a 'black code of behavioral standards" it will back fire. It is bad enough many of these students are not learning appropriate behaviors from their parent(s), now school administrators want to teach teachers to turn a blind eye! Black students are being set up for failure. They will become misfits in society.

I can't believe what I just read!!!

"Being rude means one thing to you and another to me," said Ella White Campbell, a retired city school teacher and an education advocate in Baltimore County."

So when little Jamal says, "Teacher,I'm gonna bust you upside your head." I guess what he really means is... "Good morning Mr. Jones, how are you today?"

Schlomo,

"Wow. What a great idea. Apply quotas to punishment to ensure statistics are even. That's really a smart idea. Let's project that to the criminal activities these same youths will be committing when they grow up too. And, let's alibi their out of control culture and use that as a premise to exccuse the behavior. After all, internal genocide is just their way of life (see africa for proof of that!). I guess we should just lower our standards for penalties for these folks because that's just the way they are."

Good point! 100% agree. Also agree 100% with all the other posters above.

Henry Bowman wrote:

Maybe they get suspended at a higher rate because they misbehave at a higher rate?
Just a thought.

It's a dumb thought. Frankly, when I was in middle school and high school, black children misbehaved LESS than other students. Less than the white kids by far. Yet it was only THEM who were being suspended and expelled for the same things that the white students did.

I do not know if that is the case anymore, but I am willing to bet both my legs and my right arm that it is!

I guess the thrust of this article is that, as far as some school administrators are concerned, it's OK to cuss out and threaten your teacher if you're black - after all, it doesn't mean anything!

typical politically correct B.S.!!!