Posted on 03/30/2014 8:06:49 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Why black children are being funneled into the preschool-to-prison pipeline.
Black students, particularly Black boys, are most likely to be suspended, expelled, and referred to law-enforcement. The school-to-prison pipeline has been well documented for middle and high school students: black teenagers are forced out of school, onto the streets, and ultimately become trapped in the revolving door of crime and incarceration. New data issued by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights reveal that thousands of black preschool students are also being suspended from our nation’s public schools. While black students comprise about 18 percent of preschool students, they represent half of the students suspended multiple times. Black boys are the largest victims of racial disparities in pre-K punishment, though black girls are suspended more than girls of any other race. The data also show that punishment begins early and persists in later grades: black students are three times more likely than white students to be suspended or expelled. Black students only represent about one-sixth of all public school students, but account for nearly one-third of those arrested in school. Likewise, the proportion of black student with disabilities being restrained—strapped down, handcuffed, or legs tied—is almost twice that of other special needs children. Calling the police, handcuffing students, and kicking four-year-olds out of school are irresponsible educational practices that contribute to the criminalization of black children. These experiences can traumatize any child, at any grade level, but the stigma of punishment for black kids has been shown to increase the odds of dropout and incarceration. Racial disparities in early childhood education threaten to destroy the potential of black children before they even have a chance to excel. Why are black children being funneled into the preschool-to-prison pipeline? Part of the problem can be traced to the rise of “get tough” and zero-tolerance policies that have become popular in the post-Columbine era of schooling. Far from increasing school safety, these strategies have resulted in kindergarten students being suspended for "Hello Kitty" bubble guns, kissing another student on the hand, or playing cops and robbers.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a 7-year-old girl was sent home and banned from school because of her “distracting” locks. Ninety-five percent of school suspensions are for non-violent offenses like dress code violations and tardiness, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In early 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan called for the end of zero-tolerance policies, which disproportionately target black and Latino students, “make students feel unwelcome in their own schools,” and “disrupt the learning process.” Instead, they advocate what good teachers and smart parents would recognize as common sense: clear boundaries, high expectations for students, and caring relationships between teachers and students make a difference—not kicking students out of school. The Obama Administration should be applauded for tackling the misuse of punishment in our nation’s public schools. However, this does not address the main reason why black students are suspended so often. America continues to see our children as natural born criminals.
For example, The National Review offered the following commentary on the preschool discipline gap: “…The black crime rate […] explains the school-suspension rate. Black males between the ages of 14 and 17 commit homicide at ten times the rate of white and Hispanic males of the same age combined. Given such high crime rates, what do the civil-rights advocates and the Obama administration think is going on in the classroom — docile obedience and strict self-discipline? In fact, the same weak impulse control that leads to such high crime rates among young black males inevitably means more disruptive behavior in school.” [Emphasis added]
In addition to the “weak impulse control” of black people, the author blames single black mothers, absentee black fathers, and the “civil rights industry.” Ronald Reagan perfected this kind of fear mongering about black criminality in the 1980s, while the politics of fear fuel Bill O’Reilly and today’s white minority politics.
Let’s be clear, there is no evidence that black four- and five-year-olds are baby thugs. Disparities in school discipline cannot be explained by the behavior of black children, or black boys in particular. This month, Indiana University researchers released an exhaustive review of the published scientific literature on race, behavior, and discipline. The researchers concluded: “Regardless of the source, there is virtually no support in the research literature for the idea that disparities in school discipline are caused by racial/ethnic differences in behavior. Studies comparing the severity of behavior by race have found no evidence that students of color in the same schools or districts engage in more severe behavior that would warrant higher rates of suspension or expulsion.”
Black kids aren’t little gangsters; rather, we have lost the ability to recognize the innocence of black children. Fear of black children can make Trayvon Martin’s Skittles and a hoodie seem like an eminent threat, or cause Jordan Davis’ killer to fire nine rounds over loud rap music. In the classroom, fear results in harsh punishment for behaviors that might be overlooked among white children. Cutting-edge research published by the American Psychological Association confirms the tendency to see black children as older, less innocent, and as potential criminals. “Racist” preschool teachers are not hatching a plot to destroy black people, but it’s not difficult to find teachers who are afraid of and fearful for black children.
The vast majority of early childhood teachers are white, middle-class, female teachers who too often enter the profession with little prior experience interacting with black children, families, or communities. Some white teachers are less patient, less forgiving, and underestimate their black students, resulting in black students feeling disrespected and treated unfairly because of their race. Teachers are not immune to the harmful stereotypes of black criminality that circulate in popular culture. Rap videos, such as 6-year-old Albert squirting half-naked women with a supersoaker, or 10-year-old Lil Poopy posing as a drug dealer, contribute to the view that black children need harsh discipline before they grow up to become a real threat. Breaking the supposed “cycle of violence and thuggery” was the motivation behind the Omaha police releasing the video of the swearing toddler. Closing the preschool-to-prison pipeline will require abandoning “get tough” school rules and challenging those politicians and media moguls who profit from the myth of black criminality. We must also address the lack of diversity in the nation’s teaching workforce. Black men represent only two percent classroom teachers. The #Dangerous Black Kids social media movement is flooding the Internet with photos of adorable, innocent black children. This is one example of how everyday folk can fight back. Of course, parents must remain the first and last line of defense by continuing to demand that all children are afforded basic civil rights throughout the entire schooling process.
Thanks for your perspective on him. Unhappy situation that such people are “recycled” from these programs straight into a teaching position, eh? What a revolving door that is.
For that “take it with a grain of salt” quote...you can find studies to back literally ANY viewpoint you hold on ANY topic, so this proves NOTHING. Being an educator for several years (over 2 decades) black, fatherless boys have a LOT more behavior problems and to even refer them for treatment is viewed as racist.
It is enough to observe that professors are notoriously naïve about real life, which is why the majority of the ones in the soft sciences are liberals. I can look at his CV and see the glaring lack of real-life work experiences. I can look at his photo and see how young he is. I can look at his degrees and see the focus on soft, useless academic diddling and know his brain and his assumptions show no evidence of having ever been challenged.
I will not presume any further than this. You may, if you like, but I will not.
1) Some black children are suspended, but most are not. Is that random chance, or is something different about their conduct? What might that be?
2) Child behavior problems often arise from violence, turmoil, etc. in their homes. Does Professor Gosa argue that black children are NOT disproportionately affected by that?
3) Another big factor is low IQ, which is known to affect certain communities more than others. I don’t see any mention of these factors in Professor Gosa’s analysis of disciplinary “disparities”. A valid study would compare the behavior and discipline of children from similar socioeconomic circumstances and IQ levels.
4) Gosa makes no mention of actual studies involving observation of children’s conduct. Bias might be documented by placing video cameras in multiple classrooms at multiple schools without the knowledge of the teachers, etc. Reviewers can then identify problem conduct on the tapes without knowing what action was taken. Then disciplinary results can be compared. If this show a long-term pattern of well-behaved black children being disciplined, and/or poorly behaving whites getting a pass, then you have something.
5) Comparison of disciplinary results alone indicates that the whole thing is bogus. Gosa is either an idiot or dishonest. He obviously cares nothing for children if he thinks letting them run wild is to their benefit, or that the other kids can learn anything amid chaos. He needs to take a seat and grow up.
Wrong...
My evidence is from my own experience. I was in kindergarden in 1959. There were three black kids in my class. Pure and simple, they were all thugs. They were 5 and they were thugs. I could go on about what they did in the class, on the playground and on the way home. But suffice it to say, they were thugs.
And 1959 was when things were "good".
No, he had "act of war" issues. The real question is, why didn't Clinton go after Hussein?
It is enough to observe that professors are notoriously naïve about real life, which is why the majority of the ones in the soft sciences are liberals. I can look at his CV and see the glaring lack of real-life work experiences. I can look at his photo and see how young he is. I can look at his degrees and see the focus on soft, useless academic diddling and know his brain and his assumptions show no evidence of having ever been challenged.
That's all well and good BUT, the problem is; they don't need to be coddled, understood and tolerated, they need to be discredited and defeated.
BTW, your observation sounds like you're describing Obama.
I say there is no "ignorance". He's fully aware of what he writes and believes. The only thing missing from his indoctrination, or CC, is attending a church that teaches black theology. I would bet that he might have attended a "church" much like Jeramiah Wright's church.
It’s HIGH above Cayuga’s waters....
As a society, we sometimes expect too much from our schools. Teaching is a no- thanks-job with little financial reward. Still, entertainers like Gucci Mane have no place in the classroom. Teachers: keep imaginary and real life gangsters out of the school building. Oh, and if there is time left in the school day, please teach something that might help our children dream beyond the block and the recording booth.
*****
In the last decade, Gucci Mane’s “art” has coincided with real life legal troubles, including at least ten arrests for drugs, parole violations, weapons, and attempted murder. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to throwing a woman out of a moving vehicle after she refused to have sex with him. After undergoing psychiatric treatment, Gucci Mane emerged from the mental hospital sporting a bizarre, three-scoop ice-cream cone tattoo on his face.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Travis L. Gosa
http://www.hiphoprepublican.com/travis-l-gosa-gangster-rappers-are-not-role-models/
It's probably the same kind of "willful ignorance" that prompts the black-yutes to loath education...because it's "acting white".
Notice the stats shift?
Talks about the percent of blacks suspended then says total percent over nonviolence. What’s the percent of black violence suspensions versus white?
The better question is why whites, asians, and hispanics capable of better behavior?
Skin color has now been forced into a binary "spectrum".
There is a level of conformity among blacks that whites would find hard to believe. They like one kind of music: rap. They will vote for one political party: Democrat. They dance one way, speak one way, are loud the same way, and fail their exams in the same way. Of course, there are exceptions but they are rare.
Whites are different. Some like country music, others heavy metal, some prefer pop, and still others, God forbid, enjoy rap music. They have different associations, groups, almost ideologies. There are jocks, nerds, preppies, and hunters. Blacks are all -- well -- black, and they are quick to let other blacks know when they deviate from the norm.
One might object that there are important group differences among blacks that a white man simply cannot detect. I have done my best to find them, but so far as I can tell, they dress the same, talk the same, think the same. Certainly, they form rival groups, but the groups are not different in any discernible way. There simply are no groups of blacks that are as distinctly different from each other as white "nerds," "hunters," or "Goths," for example.
I can't help but think that whites do well because they ALLOW each other the freedom to specialize and differ. Individualism is prized, not treated with suspicion.
It is the culture. Sadly, our government and government programs designed to help support the very culture that is the root of the problem.
The war on poverty has become the war on American values and the progressives won. We lost.
It is heartbreaking to think of what could have been millions of times over and what will be in the future. Too many Americans believe the lie that they are not allowed to have input because they are the wrong color. This is a national sin and tragedy that we all pay for.
So, how much of the variation is ascribed to Nurture and how much to Nature?
I agree. I simply don't think the best way to discredit him is to pronounce him "evil." The best way to discredit him is to discredit his work by showing its weaknesses.
It makes no sense to say he is indoctrinated but claim he isn’t ignorant. In order to BE indoctrinated, you have to be ignorant (of opposing views and their rationale, at the very least.)
*I rarely use the phrase African-American, but in this case it's the only accurate word or phrase to express what I mean.
Stop harassing and attacking those who “act white” and you’ll reduce the prison end of the pipeline.
What a waste of what could have been a functional brain.
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