Discipline in schools has been a hot topic for many years, especially disproportionate discipline of African American students, with suspension rates often two to four times higher for African American males than other demographics. Cultural differences should be considered when disciplining students, and classroom practices should celebrate and encourage diversity, not punish it. Many veteran teachers have used the same systems of discipline and classroom management for years, and while those practices may have worked for some students, many of them are often reactive and do not work for the whole. Suspension and removal of a student from the educational setting is detrimental to the student and can have lifelong effects including higher dropout rates, delinquency, and entrance in the criminal system (Monroe, 2005). Schools must not just acknowledge disproportionate discipline, but take steps to restructure the policies and procedures to address it such as analyzing ODR data then respond to and reduce exclusionary practices (Boneshefski & Runge, 2014). Racism and Prejudice: Racism is very evident in our society and prejudices against different cultures continue to have an impact on the way individuals interact with one another (staff, students, and families). Many teachers would not identify themselves to be racist, but the nature of cultural differences and perceived prejudice can have an impact on student/teacher or teacher/family interactions. This is most evident in the discipline of students. The breakdown in understanding communication styles can often lead to misinterpreting a student’s behaviors as defiant or disruptive. Nieto and Bode (2012) provide several examples of culturally biased misinterpretations of behavior including Latino students who cast their eyes downward when being scolded which they are taught is a sign of respect but may be misinterpreted as defiant, and African American students being disciplined for wearing one strap unsnapped on overalls which is a common style among African American males but White students not being disciplined for wearing clothes with holes in them. Culturally Responsive Discipline: While PBIS has been proven to reduce the overall number of ODRs, Boneshefski and Runge (2014) caution that, even when PBIS is implemented with fidelity, there is still disproportionality in discipline of African American males and suggest a culturally responsive approach to disciplining students. In order to progress toward achieving multicultural education, Nieto and Bode (2012) provide a model of levels including tolerance, acceptance, respect, and affirmation, solidarity, and critique. While tolerance, acceptance, and respect are often found within the school and classroom in regards to educating students, they are less common in the discipline policies which is evident through disproportionality statistics. Monroe (2005) discussed that being culturally responsive to our students develops a standard of mutual expectations and reduces overall student failure. A variety of suggestions are presented by Monroe with the first being cultural synchronization in discipline. The discipline style of “warm demanders” is described as being from a firm, no-nonsense orientation which may be seen as harsh to an observer, but is often viewed as a sign of care and concern within the African American community (Monroe, 2005). Also in regards to cultural synchronization, teachers who parallel their discipline style to that of the student’s home “adopt strategies that address inappropriate conduct in productive and meaningful ways and avoid techniques that invite negative outcomes” (Monroe, 2005). This leads to teachers understanding the cultural nature of behavior and reduces misinterpretations. Once teachers achieve cultural synchronization, they must strive to create an inclusive classroom in which the teacher addresses misbehavior within the classroom. Referring the behavior to administration often results in exclusionary discipline. Lack of teacher training in cultural responsiveness leads to teachers implementing discipline practices that are irrelevant to students of color (Monroe, 2005). In order to make progress toward achieving multicultural education and addressing the disproportionality in discipline, teachers must be able to be culturally responsive to their students. One way of accomplishing this is through working with families to promote student learning (Nieto & Bode, 2012). Working with families goes beyond the expectation of parents helping students with homework or attending a parent conference. We must embrace the family role in education and understand the values that parents instill in their children. Boneshefski, M. J., & Runge, T. J. (2014). Addressing disproportionate discipline practices within a school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports framework: A practical guide for calculating and using disproportionality rates. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 16(3), 149-158. doi:10.1177/1098300713484064 Cartledge, G., & Robinson-Ervin, P. (2016). Issues and interventions for african american students with and at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders: An introduction to the special issue. Behavioral Disorders, 41(4), 175-177. doi:10.17988/bedi-41-04-175-177.1 Monroe, C. R. (2005). Understanding the discipline gap through a cultural lens: Implications for the education of african american students. Intercultural Education, 16(4), 317-330. doi:10.1080/14675980500303795 Netzel, D. M., & Eber, L. (2003). Shifting from reactive to proactive discipline in an urban school district: A change of focus through PBIS implementation. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 5(2), 71-79. doi:10.1177/10983007030050020201 Nieto, S., & Bode, P. (2012). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Skiba, R. J., Simmons, A. B., Ritter, S., Gibb, A. C., Rausch, M. K., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C. (2008). Achieving equity in special education: History, status, and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288. doi:10.1177/001440290807400301 Smolkowski, K., Girvan, E. J., Mcintosh, K., Nese, R. N. T., & Horner, R. H. (2016). Vulnerable decision points for disproportionate office discipline referrals: Comparisons of discipline for african american and white elementary school students. Behavioral Disorders, 41(4), 178-195. doi:10.17988/bedi-41-04-178-195.1
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