US Schools Face Pressure to Discipline Students

US Schools Face Pressure to Discipline Students

Educators say children's behavior reached crisis¹ levels after the pandemic shutdowns. Now, many schools are facing pressure from critics to rethink the ways they discipline students.

In recent years, some schools have adopted policies intended to reduce suspensions² and expulsions. Some experts say suspensions and expulsions hurt students' ability to learn and largely affect minority students.

But more students have been misbehaving. Some school systems have faced questions from teachers, parents and lawmakers about whether a softer approach can effectively deal with problems that disrupt³ classrooms.

The latest example came recently in Newport News, Virginia, when a 6-year-old shot his teacher. Teachers there complained at a school board meeting that the school system had become too easy on students. Students who physically⁴ attacked school workers were often permitted to stay in the classroom, they said.

The local school board said it would take "the necessary steps to restore public confidence" in the school system.

Misbehavior has been on the rise since students returned to classrooms following COVID-19 lockdowns. The National Center for Education Statistics⁵ questioned school leaders on the issue last summer. It found that 56 percent of school leaders said the pandemic led to increased classroom disruptions from student misbehavior. And 48 percent said it led to more acts of disrespect toward teachers and staff.

Rachel Perera studies education at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. She said new criticism of approaches to discipline could slow changes in policy.

"There's a lot of pressure on schools right now," she said. "I worry that that will translate to schools falling back on old practices that are not effective in terms of supporting students in the way they need."

Policy changes are already happening. In Gwinnett County, Georgia, the school board approved the use of a "restorative practices" program in August. The program was meant to center on conflict resolution, repairing harm and rebuilding relationships in the classroom. But the district paused the program in December, with plans to restart it in the 2023-2024 school year. It did so after concerns were raised over incidents in school, including a video of a student attacking a teacher at a high school.

As of 2020, 21 states and the District of Columbia had passed legislation⁶ supporting the use of restorative practices in schools. That information comes from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality.

Carrying out the practice correctly takes time, resources, and community support, said Rebecca Epstein. She is the center's executive⁷ director.

"Change is hard," Epstein said. "It can't be up to individual teachers alone to shift the culture... It really takes a whole school cultural shift."

Using restorative justice does not mean a school cannot remove a disruptive student from the classroom, said Thalia González. She is a professor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. But unlike other forms of discipline, restorative practices aim to understand the causes of a student's behavior. The approach is less centered on punishment.

Traditional discipline has widened inequities. Black children are often suspended or expelled⁸ at rates far higher than white children. Research has found that these differences in discipline can have lifelong effects for children, including worsened educational results and higher rates of imprisonment⁹.

The Virginia city of Newport News has its own history with restorative justice.

At a school board meeting in 2017, district officials discussed efforts to reduce school suspensions while using restorative practices. At the same time, Tracy Pope¹⁰ was the school system's restorative practices specialist. She said at the meeting that such practices did not do away with anything already in place. She described the practices as "another way to look at how we do discipline."

Even before the shooting of a first-grade teacher, many educators were unhappy with the way the school system dealt with student discipline. In a spring 2022 opinion study of teachers and other employees, only 60 percent said school leaders were addressing poor behavior among students.

Words in This Story

discipline — v. to punish as a way of making sure that rules or orders are obeyed

expulsion — n. the act of forcing someone to leave a place

restorative — adj. having the ability to make a person feel strong or healthy again

assault¹¹ — n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically

shift — v. to move or to cause to move to a different place, position, etc.

reintegration – n. returning people to their original society or status

inequity — n. lack of fairness

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 suspensions   

n.悬( suspension的名词复数 )；悬架；暂停；悬浮液

参考例句：

• The two players are appealing against their suspensions. 这两名运动员请求取消对他们的停赛处罚。
• In 1972, International Harvester, Ford, Chrysler, General Motors and Volvo applied for suspensions. 1972年，国际收割机械公司、福特汽车公司、克莱斯勒汽车公司、通用汽车公司和沃尔沃汽车公司都申请了缓期。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 disrupt   

adj.分裂的，分散的；vt.使分裂，使瓦解

参考例句：

• The war seemed likely to disrupt the state.战争可能使这个国家分裂。
• The conflict seemed likely to disrupt the government.这场冲突可能使政府垮台。

4 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

5 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

6 legislation   

n.立法，法律的制定；法规，法律

参考例句：

• They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
• The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。

7 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

8 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

9 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

10 pope   

n.（罗马天主教的）教皇

参考例句：

• The Pope is the spiritual leader of many Christians.教皇是众多基督徒的宗教领袖。
• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。

11 assault   

v.猛烈地攻击，袭击；n.突然而猛烈的攻击

参考例句：

• She appeared in court on charges of kidnapping and assault.她因受到拐骗和侵犯人身的指控而出庭。
• The trainees were put through an assault course.受训人员接受了突击训练课程。