As everyone who closely follows education policy knows, discipline is a hot issue and has been for a while. As the data consistently shows, there are concerning disparities in suspensions and overall consequences for black and brown students when compared with white students. But the conversation, in typical 2018 style, has devolved into an assuming of worst intentions and accusations of racism not only aimed at commentators, researchers, and policymakers but also at teachers. In my own work on this topic of school discipline and the 2014 Obama guidance, I have found educators to be very split on the issue, and that split has broken down more by the age of the students that they teach than the color of their skin.
Needless to say, people are talking past each other and neither side seems to be willing to step back and reflect on how incredibly hard the work on the ground around discipline actually is, no matter how many fights you pick with your ideological opponents on Twitter.
When I saw the following tweet from former Camden Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard, I reached out and asked if he’d write a blog post.
Teachers have been saying this from the jump while policy makers have been slower to respond. Getting school discipline right is insanely hard. Mandating fewer suspensions without an inordinate amount of implementation support is arguably worse than not doing anything. https://t.co/LtMO6vkqD2
— Paymon Rouhanifard (@Rouhanifard) July 10, 2018
It would be such a value add to the conversation if you, Paymon, wrote something about this. Those I see who are most fervently for/against restorative justice and other issues around discipline often lack the first hand knowledge you have.
— Erika Sanzi (@esanzi) July 11, 2018
I’m too lazy to write some blogpost, so here we go on Twitter (1/x)
Look at your data. Your schools are likely over-suspending students of color, especially those w/ an IEP. Talk about why that’s ultimately not good for kids. But don’t assume the worst in your teachers. https://t.co/JmhySXhq3e
— Paymon Rouhanifard (@Rouhanifard) July 12, 2018
If you expect your teachers to model endless care and patience with students who are often acting out b/c of the trauma and toxic stress in their lives, you yourself should lead w/ empathy & support, not empty, unfunded mandates and righteous indignation. (2/x)
— Paymon Rouhanifard (@Rouhanifard) July 12, 2018
Staff support isn’t easy or cheap. You’ll need to invest in tons of PD & will likely have to reorg and/or create new positions. Have this plan ready before you start demanding lower suspensions. (3/x)
— Paymon Rouhanifard (@Rouhanifard) July 12, 2018
Lastly, Set up a focus group w/ exemplar teachers to build in a very regular feedback loop. This is critical. Listen to them. Iterate. The end. (5/5)
— Paymon Rouhanifard (@Rouhanifard) July 12, 2018
Lastly, Set up a focus group w/ exemplar teachers to build in a very regular feedback loop. This is critical. Listen to them. Iterate. The end. (5/5)
— Paymon Rouhanifard (@Rouhanifard) July 12, 2018
this article unfortunately reads a bit different in the Trump era, but I think still largely holds true https://t.co/KUyPpuiaUD
— Rachel Cohen (@rmc031) July 12, 2018
And he also added this in response to a 2016 piece by Rachel Cohen.
Btw, I tend to cringe when I hear “school-to-prison pipeline.” Glad you called out the linkage isn’t as clear as some acknowledge. I just generally think casually connecting (mostly) loving, nurturing environments filled w/ children to prison is too visceral and misses the mark.
— Paymon Rouhanifard (@Rouhanifard) July 12, 2018
We must work harder to capture and elevate voices like that of Paymon Rouhanifard in this overheated discipline debate because he—and others like him— come to the table with first hand knowledge and experience that is far removed from the abstract world in which too many of the loudest voices reside. He has lived the difficulty and the nuance and seen teachers work hard to do the same. It doesn’t mean there aren’t huge problems but it does mean that anyone who implies the answer is simple is adding nothing of value to the conversations or the experiences of students or educators.
While I didn’t get the blog post I had hoped for, this series of 5 Tweets must be part of the conversation.
Thank you Paymon!