Why Are Black Students Punished So Often? Minnesota Confronts a National Quandary

New York Times ^ | March 18, 2018 | ERICA L. GREEN

[reaganaut1]

MINNEAPOLIS — When Erin Rathke, the principal at Justice Page Middle School, is called to extract a student from class, she hears the same plea over and over again, most often, she has to admit, from black children: “The teacher only sees me.”

The plea weighs heavily at Justice Page, where African-American students are 338 percent more likely to be suspended than their white peers. “It’s painful sometimes, but I have to say, ‘Yes, that’s probably true,” Ms. Rathke said.

It is a reality that district leaders here have been grappling with for years: The Minneapolis school district suspends an inordinate number of black students compared with white ones, and it is struggling to figure out why. Last year, districtwide, black students were 41 percent of the overall student population, but made up 76 percent of the suspensions.

Numbers like that prompted the Obama administration in 2014 to draft tough new policies to try to address racial disparities in school discipline across the country. Now, the Trump administration is trying to reverse those policies — in part, administration officials say, as a response to school shootings like the massacre last month at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

The Obama-era policies — and the Trump-era reversals — have divided educators in the Twin Cities. In recent months, educators from Minneapolis, St. Paul and suburban Minnesota traveled to Washington to lobby the Education Department in support of reversing the 2014 guidelines, which encouraged school districts to review racial disparities in student discipline rates to ensure against violations of federal civil rights laws. Those that do not comply can face federal investigation or a loss of funding.

Then another group followed them to lobby for keeping the guidance.

[reaganaut1]

Because they misbehave more often? The same reason whites are suspended more than Asians, and boys are suspended more than girls. School discipline is not the business of the federal government, unless it can be shown that it is be administered in a discriminatory way. DeVos should revoke the Obama policies on school discipline.

[Reno89519]

Maybe because they are more often bad?

[Carl Vehse]

"Maybe because they are more often bad?"

Certainly it agrees with U.S. crime statistics.

[MtnClimber]

No fathers at home, no discipline. Gangs, thug culture. That will do it.

[brianr10]

From my hometown: http://wivb.com/2018/01/29/new-survey-finds-hundreds-of-bps-teachers-say-student-behavior-is-out-of-control/

[ClearCase_guy]

“The teacher only sees me.”

Well, then you'd best behave.

[Williams]

Total bullcrap. Why do black children behave so badly? Duh

[dsrtsage]

Because in this day and age of hypersensitivity and machine gun political correctness, the overwhelming liberal educational staff just knows that they can totally get away with oppressing black people.

[ridesthemiles]

Maybe because they are more often bad?”””

Exactly.

For every action, there is a reaction....

Misbehave & there will be punishment.

They have been raised with no rules. We have spent 15 Trillion $$$ & 60 years to raise a feral army that hates us.

[EinNYC]

When you have 73% of black kids born out of wedlock, usually in a single parent home, you don’t have both parents in alignment for discipline. In fact, you don’t have much discipline at all. So when a teacher makes a perfectly normal classroom request for quiet, to put a phone away, to do anything at all, black kids resent any attempt at correcting their behavior and act out. So these stats are hardly a surprise.

[libertylover]

If a black student gets suspended for chewing gum and a white student gets a pass for starting a fight, then they would have a legitimate gripe. But I seriously doubt that’s the case.

[Hojczyk]

Schools with no discipline ....you have to start in kindergarten...

[hanamizu]

boys are suspended more than girls

---

...and men commit crimes, are convicted and sent to prisons at a far higher rate than women. Yet no one questions this. Since women are more than 50% of the population, shouldn’t they be at least 50% of the prisoners? Of course not. Men commit more crimes than women. Yet the idea that blacks, in fact, commit crimes at a higher rate than whites seems to be unthinkable.

The school I sub at (and used to teach at) was completely turned upside down discipline-wise with one large family of black kids. When they left, the discipline issues seemed to disappear.

[SkyPilot]

and it is struggling to figure out why.

- No father in the most of the homes (no matriarchal society raising bastard children has ever succeeded, much less survived)

- No impulse control

- No respect for authority

- No respect for white teachers or administrators

- Children taught from birth that nothing is really their fault, and that all of their failures and shortcomings is because of "racism"

- Cultural rot that promotes illicit sex, boisterous behavior, violence, and narcissism

- Those children who do want to do well in school are targeted for abuse and violence for "acting white"

[fortes fortuna juvat]

I’m wondering, do they also commit 338% more behavioral offenses that are grounds for suspension? Just asking.

[Telepathic Intruder]

It’s always bothered me too why alcoholics get a disproportionally high number of drunk driving convictions.

[donna]

Because acting white is unacceptable?

So, kids act in a different way that attracts attention?

Kids needed endless activity or work to stay out of trouble.

[wdnhrse]

My wife is retiring after this year, after teaching in public schools for almost 40 years. The reality is that the black children ARE the most disruptive and active children in most classes. Not all, but there are a good percentage that have NO INTEREST IN LEARNING. They know they will not have to get a job or be responsible for their own support.
This last week, she was giving out the class instructions for the learning task. One third grade male child, would not follow instructions. He was refusing to do anything. When she asked him why he wasn’t doing the assignment, he said very loud.. “I don’t take orders from no old white woman.”
Students like him, with failing grades, are why the teacher is held responsible for the students having such low general academic scores. My wife has had enough of being blamed for his kind of failures.
The inmates are running the asylums. The parents don’t care either.

[MtnClimber]

Yes schools too. Especially the ones who have programs to reduce minority charges with misconduct and crime. That only encourages crime.

[Sasparilla]

...where African-American students are 338 percent more likely to be suspended than their white peers...

They should be asking baby momma and Democrats where baby daddy is. Could it be that they create 338% more disruption than other students?