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| | | -- By SarahShaikh - 22 Feb 2024 | |
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< | After our discussion on the first day of class on theories of punishment and if punishment in the United States truly serves its supposed deterring function, I find myself still confused. On one hand, I agree that punishment will never deter absolutely everyone. Does that mean it has to in order for it to be effective? Is it enough that it deters to a point? On the other hand, in a world with no punishment, I empathize with a victim who perhaps sees her abuser free in the world. I think these are all fair questions, but our discussion in class turned my attention to punishment in another setting, one every one of us was familiar with. The classroom. | >
> | After our discussion on the first day of class on theories of punishment and if punishment in the United States truly serves its supposed deterring function, I found myself conflicted. On one hand, I agree that punishment will never deter absolutely everyone. Does that mean it must in order to be effective? Is it enough that it deters somewhat? On the other hand, in a world with no punishment, I empathize with a victim who perhaps sees her abuser free in the world. These are all questions I still do not have an answer for, but our discussion in class turned my attention to punishment in another setting, one every one of us was familiar with - the classroom. Here, the theories of punishment create a singularly illuminating view of punishment in schools. | | | | |
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It seems to me this introduction diffuses more than it concentrates the reader's attention. Perhaps it would be better to begin with what you are writing about, rather than what you aren't?
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< | Childhood Education and Barriers to Higher Education | >
> | Background | | | | |
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< | Childhood Education | >
> | Inequality in Discipline
To begin this conversation, it is important to note that punishment in schools is highly discriminatory. Beginning in preschool, Black boys are overrepresented in discipline. They make up 50% of the preschoolers being expelled, yet are only 20% of children enrolled. Statistics on Expulsion This persists in high school. Black students, especially Black boys, are consistently overrepresented in every category of discipline: corporal punishment, referrals to law enforcement, school-related arrests, and suspensions/expulsions. Dept of Education Data While these statistics are certainly not surprising, they are necessary to have in our minds to truly understand how the effects of punishment play out. | | | | |
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< | A child’s education does not begin when they step foot in a kindergarten classroom or even possibly a preschool classroom, it starts with their family. It starts with their economic status, their race - a whole slew of factors they have no control over - that decide where they go to school in the first place. I think this preliminary choice that is taken out of the hands of almost every child is certainly crucial to understanding how injustice perpetuates itself. However, this paper will attempt to ignore that and instead focus on how punishment in classrooms can perpetuate the system of inequality. | >
> | The Effects of Discipline
Discipline is natural and certainly needed in such formative years, however there must be a clear delineation between discipline meant to guide and punishment. Yet, the line becomes blurry when common forms of discipline in school, suspensions and expulsions, are convoluted. | | | | |
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If there is an idea here crucial to the development of your larger thought, it needs to be put more succinctly.
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> | First, I believe that, in opposition to the view many of us may have, suspensions and other forms of exclusion should not be taken lightly. School suspensions do not simply mean not being able to attend school for a few days. Not being present in the classroom means not being there when a teacher begins a new unit or being in a setting meant to develop your brain. This may at first simply result in poorer performance in school. The longer effects might be lower grades, SAT performance, all of which influences college admissions, perhaps influencing one’s economic status the rest of their lives. Caste and Control in Schools | | | | |
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< | One would not think it, but punishment starts in the very first year of a child’s education, in their preschool or kindergarten classroom. | >
> | Putting aside the academic consequences, the persistent force of punishment in schools leads to something much worse, incarceration.The school to prison pipeline is not a new phenomenon and has been studied at great lengths. Welsh and Little highlight how school exclusions result in a multitude of life-changing negative consequences like lower attendance rates, severe effects on mental health, juvenile detentions, arrests, and eventually prison sentences. Caste and Control in Schools These forms of exclusion have long lasting effects and yet are doled out without any thought. | | | | |
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It's not clear, here and elsewhere, whether you think "discipline" and "punishment" are synonyms. That's not the way we usually think about the behavior of parents dealing with toddlers, for example, where we tend to differentiate sharply between efforts to help small children learn to exercise self-control and the imposition of punishment. Shouldn't that be true also in thinking about the socializing function of primary school?
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> | Our class discussion on the incarceration system and prisons in America must again be highlighted here to shed some light on just how gross and impactful discipline in education can become. Referring back to the disparate rates of school exclusions for certain demographics like Black students highlights how phenomena like the school to prison pipeline only serve to further the deep racial lines of this country. School to Prison Pipeline | | | | |
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< | Students that display “disruptive behavior” in these early years are disciplined, perhaps more subtle than we perceive discipline to be, but discipline nevertheless through out of school suspensions or expulsions. Unsurprisingly, teachers tend to perceive this so-called disruptive behavior more in minority students than White students. As a result, Black elementary students are more likely to be disciplined. I think it is fair to say that this form of discipline has lasting effects and ingrains itself onto students, displayed in high school. | >
> | What is the Purpose Then? | | | | |
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Perhaps it is "fair" to say, but wouldn't it be useful to have evidence? In most other contexts, we expect the behavioral repertoire of children to change as they grow from childhood into adolescence.
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> | The effects of suspensions and expulsions begs the question: what is the purpose of them? If discipline is meant to better a student’s involvement in school, can this be accomplished by taking them out of the classroom. As law students, our class discussions tend to ignore the actual effects or purposes of a law. Lending from the leading theories of punishment, I find it difficult to picture a theory that represents the actual effects of school exclusion. | | | | |
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> | Moore’s ideas of retribution, that a just society must punish because the offender deserves it, does not track many intuitions. First, do children’s actions in preschools deserve punishment? Personally, it is hard to believe that children have the capacity to connect their actions to their punishments or even that if they do, this is the form of discipline that is most effective. Further, Welsh and Little find that students will receive the same punishment for both low and high level offenses, showcasing that the theory of retribution cannot truly be the reason for punishment in school. If it were, the level of punishment should correlate to the level of offense. How can assault or bullying be the same as tardiness. Caste and Control in Schools | | | | |
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< | High School and the School to Prison Pipeline
Punishment does not stop there, if anything, it is likely much more developed and detrimental to students in high school. Again, minority students tend to receive these punishments more. Numerous studies finding that people tend to perceive Black girls as less innocent or police shootings of young Black children, confusing a toy for a weapon are similarly reflected in a classroom. The result of this is not simply being able to attend school for a few days. Not being present in the classroom means not being there when a teacher begins a new unit or being in a setting meant to develop your brain. This may at first simply result in poorer performance in school. The longer effects might be lower grades, SAT performance, all of which means less likelihood of attending college.
Putting aside the academic consequences, the persistent force of punishment in schools leads to something much worse, incarceration.The school to prison pipeline is not a new phenomenon. Schools forcing children out of classrooms inevitably leads to actions that might at first land them in juvenile detention, but eventually this culminates in a prison sentence. Our class discussion on the incarceration system and prisons in America must again be highlighted here to shed some light on just how gross and impactful discipline in education can become. | >
> | A utilitarian theory of punishment is perhaps even more confusing in this context. Surely, a student or society cannot improve through school exclusions when we consider the previously mentioned effects, mainly the school to prison pipeline. In fact, many leading thinkers have deemed school exclusions to be a key, negative turning point. School Exclusion and Incarceration
The goal of utilitarianism is that society is improved through punishment, yet the reality of school exclusions tell an opposite story – that school exclusion makes it harder for students to succeed. | | | | |
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At least some evidence relating high school suspension to subsequent criminal justice experience, and maybe some effort to avoid drawing correlations as causations, would be helpful.
How Law is used to perpetuate these barriers
As law school students, much of our discussion in classrooms ignores topics like this one. Criminal Law does not highlight the racial proportions of incarcerated people. We do not learn a substantial form of property in recent history, slavery, in Property. Yet, it is abundantly clear that law does not simply reflect the inequalities in our culture, it furthers them. So, as a law student, I think it is important that consider how policies are used to further punishment in schools.
Good. What the essay could most use, I think, is precisely that form of learning.
One of these policies is “zero tolerance”. Similar to the three-strike law, this means strict enforcement of school rules. Similar to the discussion on theories of why we punish, zero tolerance policies leave almost no room for addressing the root of the problem or substantial change. In contrast to the criminal justice system, it is even more unclear on what the reasons are here. Is it because a child’s behavior must be punished or is it meant to deter? If the former, it is extremely abnormal to believe that children understand enough to make the connection between their supposedly disruptive behavior and the school’s disciplinary measures. The same reasoning can be used to understand why punishment in schools does not deter either.
The best route to improvement, I think, is to put the net draft in touch with the not insubstantial literature on school discipline. Nothing in this draft suggests that any human being has even thought about this subject before, which makes it harder for you to do the learning that you and I agree above would be most valuable. You cannot teach to the reader what you have not yet learned yourself, and as the subject is of great interest to you it would be good to dive in. Showing the breadth of contemporary dialogue might be the best way to work, given the restrictions on space and the desire to show how your own ideas have been shaped by what you've read. Who are the leading writers on the subject; how has what they think about the issues affected your own developing opinion; and—if it is the case—how does what you've learned affect your own evolving views of what kind of your you'd like to become? I look forward to reading the next draft.
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> | What Can I Learn From This?
The past months on campus display how quick administration is to devalue academia. Sadly, this is nothing new. Appointed police officers at schools starting from elementary, metal detectors, clear bag policies, and police dogs are now the new norm for our students. This is the reality of education - punishments that make no sense and installing a military operation in schools over academics. How can we say students now are lazy or don't want to learn when this is our world? I often forget to connect the world we live in to my law school classes and I appreciate that I was able to think this through in this essay. I never questioned policies like these, they simply existed and I assumed there was a reason for them. I found many connections between education and incarceration, connections I hope I can continue making in other classes and in my own life. | | |
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