Today I read an article in the Huffington Post, Chicago
edition about CPS and their discipline issue. To me this is such a complex
issue that I almost don’t know where to start. It is a very short article (link
below) however; it so far has prompted over 97 comments, all interesting with
merit in their own perspectives. I grew up in Chicago and went to a myriad of
schools from test-in-only gifted schools to high priced catholic prepatory
schools to the local neighborhood corner school. My opinions and feeling of
these individual schools have changed over the years and given me perspective
on my views of them when I was attending them. I say this because this school
experience gave me a diverse background and insight into how they are run, the
type of students that attend tehm, and the culture cultivated there as well.
This article, as I said, addresses the discipline issue
facing inner city schools in the Chicago area. Many of these schools have
notorious reputations or are breeding grounds for various gangs from the
respective neighborhoods. The article states that a group of students staged a
protest to the current discipline system demanding that it is reevaluated for
its harsh standards. Student activist favor “restorative justice programs” and
peer juries to determine disciplinary measures needed on a case by case basis.
Well, duh. You catch more bees with honey than vinegar.
Teens have conflict because they lack the life skills to handle various
situations and weigh the consequences of those actions against long periods of
time. Well, most teens, of course there are the exceptions. Most kids can’t
realize that whatever Suzy or Johnny did that made them mad will not matter in
the grand scheme of things later. And of course this is something that is more
prevalent in young teens and dissipates though the years with…waitforit…life
experience. Yes, that’s correct folks, life experience.
Now, let’s think about this in terms of the CPS and their
disciplinary measures. Most schools have very strict zero tolerance policies in
effect for a variety of offenses. Zero tolerance sometimes is necessary however
not an effective long term cure for social ills. Schools are supposed to
nurture a child, and help them grow into a well developed and educated adult.
New rules and government legislations have turned schools into privatized
institutions that can be likened to the penal system. When a student is unruly
they are immediately expelled and no longer the school’s problem. How does this
help a student learn the skills he needs to act appropriately in this type of
situation? All this does is put a brick wall in this student’s life and force
him/her to try another route, bitter from the previous experience. Couple that
with the fact that most of the “bad” schools are also in “bad” neighborhoods.
Compound that with the fact that these students face all kinds of challenges
everyday based solely on the location of where they live. Pressure to join
street gangs, sell drugs, not got shot in a drive by, etc is enough for a 15yr
old to deal with that they may overreact to a irrational situation or lash out
in school. These kids don’t have the skills to handle everything in their life.
And that is not their fault. How long have these “bad” neighborhoods been
“bad”? One, two, three generations worth?
These kids need love, and respect, and guidance from all
areas and aspects of their life. Facing them with strait harshness is not
productive in building a relationship, it only builds a brick wall and turns
them away. Tough love is needed, but only after unconditional love has been
applied first. Kids need to know we actually do listen to them and understand,
because we were misunderstood kids once. They need to know we understand that
they will make mistakes and things sometimes happen, but learning from that
mistake and applying that knowledge later is the most important part of that
mistake.
