Students Speak Out About Exclusionary School Discipline

Reports of exclusionary school discipline policies including suspensions, expulsions, and other disciplinary practices that keep students out of the classroom have made headlines in recent years. Policies that were once instituted for safety reasons to prevent serious infractions, such as weapon carrying or use of illicit drugs, have crept into discipline practices for minor issues, such as tardiness and dress code violations. -

The students in this video discuss the negative consequences of harsh discipline that excludes them from school. The young people were part of a group of students who participated in a roundtable on the topic hosted by the American Institutes for Research.

[Atitlan]

I'm a HS ESL teacher (28 years) in an inner city school. I teach recently arrived immigrant/refugee kids from all over the world. These kiddos come with the clothes on thier back, escaping wars (afghan, congolese, syrian kids)...none of them come with any money.
The Honduran kiddos are escaping horrifying gang violence and the inabilty to attend school unless they pay extortion to an MS gang member standing in front of the school entrance.
My student WANT education. They want to learn English. They don't worry too much about what clothes they wear because their familes (if they have one) just don't have the cash to buy expensive things. Most students after a few months in the US, find work....they work in restaurants or clean offices after school from 5pm until 11 or midnight then wake up early to go to school the next day....late sometimes but they come. They work to pay rent then send some home to their country to help out family. These kids are 15 -18 years old. They love it here...they can't believe they can earn 8 bucks and hours cleaning tables. They can't believe the school lends them an expensive laptop to use for the school year. They never complain.
I have discipline problems once in a while. A fight here and there. Excessive tardies. A rare case of disrespect towards me. Refusal to hand over a cell phone. Some kids come stoned once in a while and some drop out to work full time out of necessity.
If I punish them, they usually admit their fault when they are wrong. (If I over react....I admit my fault). The parents show up, they ALWAYS back me. THey trust my judgement implicitly.

I taught regular ed ENG 1 classes years ago and I hated it. There was this feeling that the kids just didn't like me. THey (not all of them) just seemed uninterested and got upset when I assigned homework. If I caught them cheating, they blew up. . They argued a lot if they were called out and they seemed to think they were being picked on. A common response after calling a kid out for watching a YouTube movie during class was, "Mikal over there was watching YOuTube and you didn't do anything." or "HE was talking and laughing and you didn't say anything, " then a parent would come in and repeat the same rationalization. Maybe I didn't have the skills for that group but I've noticed many teachers don't last long in those 9th and 10th grade core classes as well.
I appreciate what these young people are saying in the video but I think they are off the mark. I would ask them, "What do you think should be done to kids that constantly disrupt classes, fight in the halls, openly curse they be allowed back in class. Also, , , , "Do you respect teachers? How much should a teacher put up with before they call a student out for discipline....if at all?" "Is suspension (on or offcampus) ever appropriate or shoud teachers handle everything within the classroom"?
If you've never been in an inner HS classroom, or walked the halls or stepped into a restroom you should. Volunteer in a local school to get prespective on what teachers go through every day.

[stp]

AIR illustrates the denial, delusions, and deceit parading through our victimhood culture. Now give me my trophy.