Commentary and Criticism about the National Education Association
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"The story behind the so-far successful crusade to end disproportionate student arrests and suspensions in one Florida school district.”
The American Prospect, 2013 'I'm sick to my stomach': 17 dead in Florida high school shooting; former student in custody USA Today, 2018 THESIS OF THIS BLOG POST The National Education Association fully supports an end to the “school-to-prison pipeline” and an implementation of “restorative justice” discipline policies. In 2013, Broward County Public Schools instituted these NEA-endorsed “restorative justice” policies throughout the district. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where the latest mass school shooting took place, is located in Broward County, Florida. Is it possible that this school shooting was an unintended consequence of the implementation of “restorative justice” discipline policies? Had the school been following old-fashioned “zero tolerance” policy, could this incident have been avoided? One thing is for sure: If the school shooter had ended up in the “school-to prison pipeline,” his criminal record would have precluded him from legally purchasing a firearm. THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE I am not a fan of the National Education Association’s support for ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline. In fact, over the past couple of months I have written several critical articles about this very topic:
If you are not familiar with this “pipeline,” it is a belief that students who are exposed to “zero-tolerance” discipline policies get unfairly expelled from school and eventually end up in prison. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE The NEA believes that “restorative justice” should replace “zero-tolerance” when it comes to disciplining students. “Restorative justice” refers to discipline without a punitive component. When schools implement this type of program, the bad students are not punished in the traditional sense. Suspension and expulsion are frowned upon. Instead, students are encouraged to:
BROWARD COUNTY ENDS “ZERO TOLERANCE” IN 2013 This morning, while listening to a podcast on the Financial Survival Network, I learned about a possible connection between the “school-to-prison pipeline” and the tragedy that took place in Parkland, Florida back in February. It turns out that in 2013, Broward County implemented a program called PROMISE to deal with the “disproportionate student arrests and suspensions” that it was experiencing. You can read about it here: Reversing Broward County's School-to-Prison Pipeline According to the article, up until 2013, Broward handled discipline the “old-fashioned” way: “Like most large school districts in the United States, discipline policies in Broward reflected the idea that the best way to maintain an orderly classroom is to get rid of disruptive students, an approach known as zero tolerance.” But starting in November of that year: “Broward’s Collaborative Agreement on School Discipline was announced in early November. Instead of suspensions, students can now be referred to the PROMISE program, where they receive counseling for several days and then return to school.” PROMISE sure sounds promising, doesn’t it? BROWARD SCHOOLS IMPLEMENT “PROMISE” What exactly is this PROMISE program? “The PROMISE Program (Preventing Recidivism through Opportunities, Mentoring, Interventions, Supports & Education) represents the most comprehensive thinking available to address socially unacceptable or illegal behavior, targeting both short and long term academic success, aligning best practice models and Restorative Justice principles, and developing pro-social and resiliency skills.” In other words, don’t punish students – even if they engage in “unacceptable or illegal behavior.” A better solution is to mentor, support and educate them. You can read the actual PROMISE document here: CONCLUSION – A Lesson for the NEA I started this blog post with a quote taken from a 2013 article praising the attempt by Broward County Public Schools to end the “school-to-prison pipeline.” “The story behind the so-far successful crusade to end disproportionate student arrests and suspensions in one Florida school district.” “… so-far successful …” Sadly, the tragedy that occurred in February signifies an end to that “success.” In response to the Parkland shooting, NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia said: “While our thoughts and prayers are with Marjory Stoneman Douglas students, educators and their families, we know that we, as country, need to do more to end these senseless shootings.” Unfortunately, Garcia’s take-away from this tragedy is to push for the restriction of gun rights. She doesn't appear to be open to the other possible lesson which is suggested here. To state it plainly: Maybe she should consider ending the NEA's opposition to the "school-to-prison pipeline."
3 Comments
Celine Martinez
4/18/2018 01:28:43 pm
It seems one bad policy, in terms of not really dealing with student behavior in an effective way that helped the misbehaving student known as Zero Tolerance, wad replaced by a worse policy. Actually the newer policy sounds really nice. However, what that counseling actually looked like, could be the main factor. Yet, negative consequences for innapropriate behavior must be included in policy.
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Harley Shoaff
4/19/2018 11:30:52 am
First, let me state that I was an NEA member for over 30 years and proud of it. I am a Marine Vietnam Veteran and a conservative in most things, but am open minded and will listen to opposing views. There are many members like me , who while greatful for the NEA’s support on bread and butter issues , like due process and collective bargaining.are appalled by the leftist, irritational , partisan political positions that the NEA adopts and supports.
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John Cardone
4/19/2018 08:57:37 pm
I agree with you 100%.
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October 2018
AuthorJonathan Smith - A New Jersey Public School Teacher who disagrees with the National Education Association. |