I have read these three articles that all discuss about making schools equal opportunity learning environments where all students without any racial belongings could achieve satisfactory academic results. However, it happens that there are so many predicaments rooted to a constant racial discrimination that are subject to jeopardizing the minority group students’ achievement in school. Those articles are: The Achievement Gap and the Discipline Gap: Two sides of the Same Coin? co-written by Anne Gregory, Russell J. Skiba, and Pedro A. Noguera; The Brown Legacy and the O’Connor Challenge: Transforming Schools in the Images of Children’s Potential written by Stephen W. Raudenbush, and Critical Race Theory, Racial Microaggression and Campus racial Climate for Latino/a Undergraduates by Yossa et al.
My interest was actually oriented to The Achievement Gap and the Discipline Gap: Two sides of the Same Coin? which deals with the social, ethno-cultural and economic aspects of such disparities in schools. I realized that what I have learned in my education class along the spring semester has been proved by this article. It underlines the unjust treatment that students of color are victim of in schools. There is a huge gap separating Blacks, Latino and Native American students from their white counterparts. Among all the minority groups in schools, Black students suffer from the higher rate of discipline sanction due to a consistent racial disproportional gap. Research shows that Black students suspension double or triple which has an impact on their low school enrollment. Not only is this dis-proportionality limited between Black and White students, but it is valuable for other ethnic groups whose sanction percentage is lower than Black students. (see The Achievement Gap and the Discipline Gap: Two sides of the Same Coin? ). However, female students for all racial groups behave better in schools than their male fellows. So they suffer less from disciplinary sanctions which rate is lower or even half of males’ rate. The consequences of disciplinary sanctions of minority students find its explanations in a socio-economic context, while these sanctions enhance the racial disparities in the juvenile arrest.
The burden of school disciplinary sanctions fells on in a large part on Black students. The comparison between Black and White students is the most obvious given that it shows how large are the disparities that separate the two groups. Although White students misbehave in schools almost at the same level than other racial groups, they undergo fewer sanctions than Blacks and other minority groups. According to Tim Wise, there is no difference between students of color and white students’ rates of breaking school rules (Wise, 2009, p.54)
The academic failure of students of color depends in some extent on intentionally disproportional disciplinary sanctions they are victim of in schools. Indeed, suspension delays students’ academic performance in the sense that they miss classes during days and they are not afforded the opportunities to catch up: “In Year 1, suspended students were three grade levels behind their nonsuspended peers in their reading skills, but were almost 5 years behind 2 years later”(Gregory, Skiba & Noguera, 2010, p.). Consequently, those students who are suspended end up dropping school due to a disconnection that engenders less motivation. But in the long run, students show a sense of disengagement from school. Therefore, their learning process is compromised and the drawbacks are that: “Students who are less bonded to school may be more likely to turn to lawbreaking activities and become less likely to experience academic success” (Gregory, Skiba & Noguera, 2010, p.60). In this perspective, students face an unprecedented academic failure which from my point of view stems from the teacher’s responsibilities.
The discrimination patterns in schools constitute the main cause of the existing academic achievement gap. In addition this gap extends to the juvenile justice system through a consistent racial profiling which may also apply to the attitude of teachers and administrators who expect from minority students to transgress the established rules in school settings: “(. . .) most Americans appear to believe that black and Latino students have far higher rates of drug possession, or weapons possession, or fight in school” (Wise, 2009. p.54). Such phenomenon is part of the stereotypical formations that enhance the prejudices against students of color.
Even though teaching and learning refer to the school setting, it happens in classrooms where teachers and students interfere in a close or distant way. When teachers regard their students as individuals, they are building a connection that may allow the students to have certain behaviors that respond to the teacher’s expectations or wants. But, if ever it exists a disconnection separated the both sides, there might be students’ misbehaviors which leads to a more tended learning environment. Consequently, the teacher will focus more on trying to correct or sanction students instead of teaching them. In other words, the classroom is transformed into “where bodies are managed and maintaining order becomes the primary task” (Landsman & Lewis, 2006, p. 29).
Even though there are policies on antiracist education and academic opportunities, disparities in education remains an issues. I invite everyone to read the discussed article and take actions by giving your critics and uttering your ideas.
