California still suspending black and Native American students way more than whitesIs it at all possible that those groups of students misbehave "way more than whites"? Clearly not. California's teachers, the vast majority of whom are union members, are racists.
Darren, I've not looked into it extensively so maybe these reports cover it but I am curious what the chances are that they are comparing apples to apples. As a statistician and survey methodologist I want to know:
ReplyDelete1) Has any study looked into whether misbehavior on the part of white students is under-reported?
2) When stating a minority student is suspended longer than a white student for the same offense, do they factor in the past history of the transgressor?
3) Has anyone researched the learning cost of keeping misbehaving students in the classroom?
#1 would show if white students are given a pass while minorities aren't for the same transgression. If they are, then minorities would be suspended at an unfair rate. If they aren't, then it is only natural suspensions to be proportionate to the proportion of transgressors in the sub-population.
#2 would show if their is bias towards minorities should a 1st time offender minority get a longer suspension than a 1st time offender white. However, if they are comparing a 1st time offending white to a 3rd time offending black for the same transgression, it is only natural to come down harder on the 3rd time offender.
#3 I understand the argument that an suspended student can't learn since they are not being taught. However, listening to my son's experience in Baltimore schools among others, keeping the offending student in the classroom lowers the learning of the entire class a significant amount. Has anyone shown that keeping the offender in class raises his/her learning enough to offset the loss of learning for the entire class?
Anyway, just some quick thoughts that come to mind when I see these headlines.
This piece by Sarah Hoyt (now an Instapundit contributor) has always stuck with me. Her kids were put in special ed just because she had an accent.
ReplyDeletehttps://accordingtohoyt.com/2013/03/11/malice-or-incompetence/
Steve, it's racist of you to ask.
ReplyDeleteYou ask questions similar to ones I've asked in the past. Honestly, the fact that answers to our questions aren't reported--they would seem to me to be pretty important!--tells me that the questions either aren't asked or the answers aren't politically correct.
Ah, you want an out there reason? Union full employment.
ReplyDeleteThe reasoning I"ve heard - in a school board public comment session no less, is that students who 'are a handful must not be treated as slaves'...i.e. they can't be expected to adopt the norm of listening while another talks, sitting when the teacher ask for seatwork to be done...the solution proposed was hiring an aide. Said aide would size up the situation and tell student what he needed to be doing, rather than expecting the student to comply with the teacher's instruction or the teacher to learn other techniques for his particular culture (we are diverse, some 57 different languages/countries). Others have also suggested that personal translators be hired for individuals who don't speak English.
Can't blame 'em for trying. Cushy benefits here in the NY/NJ area, best retirement around short of being a CEO.