Education Next – Robert Pondiscio
“As a young child, Adrian was quick to anger and acted out in class frequently, sometimes physically. In fourth grade his school classified him as having emotional problems and assigned him a personal aide. After a few years, the aide was phased out; his behavior improved, but the disciplinary consequences got worse. “If he lost his temper, he was generally suspended,” recalls his mother, who asked not to be identified. “I had meetings upon meetings with the vice principals, but they would say, ‘This is what we do; we have no money for things like detention or supervision for in-school suspension.’” The barrage of disciplinary actions against Adrian (not his real name) began to feel like harassment. “Countless suspensions for countless issues,” his mother recalls. Before one six-month suspension, a lawyer told her the school was “essentially a dictatorship” and that she had no real recourse. Frustrated and increasingly embittered, the family withdrew their son, moved away and enrolled him in a public school where minor misbehaviors were punished by detentions, not suspensions. “The school got rid of him by excessive penalties and suspensions,” she concludes.”(more)