The Problem With Suspension in Schools
By: Rafeeat Bishi
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I remember one day in middle school, a girl in my grade was begging the administrator to put her in ISS with her friends who were there. My brothers have gotten it multiple times for minor infractions, and all it did was put them behind in their schoolwork. They were not given any forms of counseling to work through what put them in ISS in the first place.
More often due to implicit bias, Black, disabled, and Latino students will be suspended, instead of given chances or warnings. Many teachers view having those students as "extra work" and are more likely to penalize and ostracize them, seeing them as "problem students".
Moreover, unless the student has proven themselves to be harmful to other students, out of school suspension for minor offenses I think can be very detrimental. Educators and administrators claim it gives students time to "think about their wrongdoing with their parents". But what happens if the student is sent to a home without an adequate support system? For example, a child is told to stay at home, but their guardian works for most of the day. An entire day is spent at home alone,and most of the time young kids will not take that time to "reflect on their actions". If no one helped them understand what was wrong with their actions and how to fix them, what will stop them from doing them again?
Studies also show that suspension promotes the school-to-prison pipeline, which is the disproportionate tendency of minors/young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds to become incarcerated, because of increasingly harsh school and municipal policies. Kids who have been suspended are more likely to repeat a grade, dropout, or be arrested.
I think administrators and educators should receive training for minority students so that their behaviors are not met immediately with aggressive punishments. And while suspension may not be completely eradicated, it can be reformed so that the time spent during suspension is productive. Counseling, tutoring, meditation, and interactive activities are some suggestions.
I read that a Baltimore school replaced detention with meditation and counseling. I think that's a good idea.
https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/health/meditation-in-schools-baltimore/index.html
Moreover, unless the student has proven themselves to be harmful to other students, out of school suspension for minor offenses I think can be very detrimental. Educators and administrators claim it gives students time to "think about their wrongdoing with their parents". But what happens if the student is sent to a home without an adequate support system? For example, a child is told to stay at home, but their guardian works for most of the day. An entire day is spent at home alone,and most of the time young kids will not take that time to "reflect on their actions". If no one helped them understand what was wrong with their actions and how to fix them, what will stop them from doing them again?
Studies also show that suspension promotes the school-to-prison pipeline, which is the disproportionate tendency of minors/young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds to become incarcerated, because of increasingly harsh school and municipal policies. Kids who have been suspended are more likely to repeat a grade, dropout, or be arrested.
I think administrators and educators should receive training for minority students so that their behaviors are not met immediately with aggressive punishments. And while suspension may not be completely eradicated, it can be reformed so that the time spent during suspension is productive. Counseling, tutoring, meditation, and interactive activities are some suggestions.
I read that a Baltimore school replaced detention with meditation and counseling. I think that's a good idea.
https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/health/meditation-in-schools-baltimore/index.html
I genuinely agree that what detention and ISS represents sends a bad message to students. I understand wanting them to be disciplined but most times kids are just being punished for breathing. I believe that mediation would be a more effective way of kids learning how to find peace instead of making them feel like normal behavior that children have will always be punished because it is not what most people are used to. However, I have also been in ISS before and it actually gave me time to get my work done, but it was also a place I could BS and it was kind of a break from school. I guess every situation depends on what the child has done and what is actually done in ISS.
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