AS IT IS 2016-08-16 How Should Schools Deal with Misbehaving Students?

AS IT IS 2016-08-16 How Should Schools Deal with Misbehaving Students?

About 2.8 million American children were told at least once during the 2013-2014 school year to leave public school for bad behavior.

In the United States, forcing a student to leave school is a punishment known as suspension. It is designed to stop misbehaving students from interfering¹ with classroom activities.

But a number of recent studies suggest the punishment does not work.

One group, for example, found that suspended students are more likely to be arrested by police or drop out of school. The Council of State Government carried out the study.

Another survey found that suspensions in 10th grade alone cost U.S. taxpayers² $35 billion for extra prison and social welfare spending. That finding came from researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

And suspensions may unfairly target African-Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Education. It reported in June that African-Americans are 3.8 times more likely to receive one or more suspensions as white students.

Education officials across the country are debating what to do with students who talk loudly in class, throw things at other students or arrive late. There is more agreement that a student who physically³ attacks a fellow student or teacher should be removed.

Misbehaving students must face “consequences”

Lynette Stream has three children attending public schools in Oskaloosa, southeastern Iowa. Oskaloosa is home to about 12,000 people.

In her daughter’s kindergarten class, Stream said, some students arrive late all the time. She said this forces teachers to repeat lessons, taking away teaching time.

Some students refuse to sit down in the classroom, choosing instead to walk around and talk. This makes it hard for other students to keep their attention on what the teacher is saying, Stream said. Bad behavior is even more of a problem in middle school, she added.

“Students know they can run all over the teachers,” Stream told VOA. “Students need to know there will be consequences if they don’t behave.”

‘Alternatives’ that keep students in school

Better ways than suspension are available to deal with misbehaving students. So says Daniel Losen, director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA.

“There are many alternatives that teach good behavior and hold students accountable for their conduct while keeping them in school,” he said.

Russell Skiba is an education specialist and professor at Indiana University. He said more counselors⁵ for students and training teachers to deal with misbehaving students work better than suspensions from school.

“No one argues that we should be tolerating students who are disrupting classes. But I think it is the schools’ responsibility to make it clear to parents there are more effective methods,” he said.

Shaun Harper directs the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Race and Equity⁶. Harper said he found a successful alternative program at 40 small public high schools in New York City.

?The program uses student-led groups, working with teachers and counselors, to decide punishment for misbehaving students. Harper said the students are more likely to react positively⁷ when they are “part of finding a solution.”

John King is the U.S. Secretary of Education. In June, he reported a nearly 20 percent reduction in school suspensions nationwide.

“Fewer suspensions is an important sign of progress,” King said. But he said concern remains⁸ over continued higher suspension rates for African-Americans.

Union questions ban on suspensions

Recently, the labor⁹ union representing 200,000 New York City teachers objected to a plan to ban suspensions for young children. Under the plan, school officials would be barred from removing boys and girls in grades K (Kindergarten) through Grade 2.

“In a perfect world, no child under the age of eight would ever be suspended,” said union president Michael Mulgrew. But he said the proposed ban would hurt thousands of children “who will lose” education time because of disruptive students.

Mulgrew said ending suspensions will only work when New York City officials agree to more counselors and better teacher training.

In Texas, a member of the Dallas school board also proposed a ban on suspensions for students from pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade. Miguel Solis said his proposal would make suspensions the “last alternative” for students in grades 3-5.

Some Dallas school board members worry about doing anything to make it harder for teachers to teach and students to learn, reported the Dallas Morning News. The board decided¹⁰ to study the suspension issue before voting on the suspension ban proposal.

Solis understands. “I think it best that we take a hard look at our own practices to see if they are adding to the problem,” he told VOA.

Solis worries about higher suspension rates for African-Americans and higher school dropout¹¹ and arrest rates for suspended students.

Words in this Story

consequence - n. something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions

alternative - n. something that can be chosen instead of something else

accountable - n. required to explain actions or decisions to someone

conduct - n. the way that a person behaves in a particular place or situation

counselor⁴ - n. someone, usually a trained professional, who provides advice to someone

tolerate - v. to allow something that is bad or unpleasant to exist or happen

disrupt - v. to interrupt normal progress or activity

practices - n. the way a group or agency carries out its work

1 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

2 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

3 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。

4 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

5 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

6 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

7 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。