tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29763791.post2624214274744840672..comments2023-10-31T05:07:19.353-04:00Comments on Delenda est Carthago: Disparate Impact: Meet the LosersDr. Φhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14086783503820477029noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29763791.post-50400008240577974462010-03-23T13:33:55.489-04:002010-03-23T13:33:55.489-04:00But in those cases, we had lots of detail about wh...<i>But in those cases, we had lots of detail about what happened.</i><br /><br />Again, though, Zero Tolerance is impervious to detail. The whos and whys and whats don't matter. Even in cases where a non-ZT regime would boot the kids out of school, you can still disagree with the mechanism (ZT) without disagreeing with the result (expulsion).<br /><br /><i>I don't have any direct knowledge of this, but I wonder the extent to which replacing teacher discretion with "zero tolerance" is itself driven by the need to avoid real or apparent discrimination against minorities.</i><br /><br />I think discrimination is a reason, though racial discrimination is only a small part of it. These policies are particularly popular in conservative, white suburbs where minority enrollment isn't an issue. I think the anti-discrimination angle is often to prevent being unfairly lenient on kids with influential or persuasive parents or kids that are themselves influential or persuasive.<br /><br />It doesn't really succeed at that, though. What happens instead is that, knowing the stiff punishments, teachers and administrators decide not to report the incident in the first place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29763791.post-39189506191720729562010-03-23T12:05:46.677-04:002010-03-23T12:05:46.677-04:00Way to reframe!
Okay, so obviously I'm not a ...Way to reframe!<br /><br />Okay, so obviously I'm not a fan of "zero tolerance" after watching, say, a kid get suspended under anti-weapon policies for <em>drawing a picture</em> of a firearm, or that future midshipman on his school's skeet shooting team who was suspended for having a shotgun shell in the <i>trunk of his car</i>. But in those cases, we had lots of detail about what happened. In this case, I don't have the same confidence level that we're getting the whole story, either because of agenda-driven reporting (especially from the <em>NYT</em> or because privacy laws prevent the school district from making its case in public.<br /><br />I don't have any direct knowledge of this, but I wonder the extent to which replacing teacher discretion with "zero tolerance" is itself driven by the need to avoid real or apparent discrimination against minorities.<br /><br />I will concede this though: I do not understand why the school district found it necessary to deny a gen-pop student the opportunity to attend the alternative school.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/23/402657/school-suspensions-before-justices.html" rel="nofollow">local coverage</a> tells the story without reference to race or the "school-to-jail pipeline" or any of that business.Dr. Φhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14086783503820477029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29763791.post-26366949379037837012010-03-23T05:08:19.098-04:002010-03-23T05:08:19.098-04:00In isolation, no single incident seems like it sho...<i>In isolation, no single incident seems like it should be an expellable offense; cumulatively, however, they can drain the teacher of her teaching time in favor of “keep order” time. </i><br /><br />That's just it, though. Zero Tolerance policies make no distinctions. The middle ground that would allow teachers to "keep order" but also not toss kids out of the schooling system was explicitly rejected in this article. Alternative High Schools exist precisely for the purpose of removing distractions from the classrooms that you and I are a part of while keeping the disruption of their education to a minimum.<br /><br />Instead, however, they went straight beyond that. It was strictly punative, going beyond the point where it's doing good (as removing them from regular classrooms often is) to the counterproductive (what good really comes from denying them study aids so that they can keep up at home)?<br /><br />I'm with Peter on this. This is first and foremost about fear of young people. Race is a secondary factor as these inane policies exist in communities bereft of significant minority populations, too. But they're idiotic policies even when aimed at minorities. The institutions lining up behind these policies, school administrators (frequently blamed by the right for the state of our education system) and law enforcement personnel (frequently hiding behind rocks with radar guns at city limits), don't really have track records that garner much trust when it comes to the sorts of corner cutting policies that Zero Tolerance is an example of.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29763791.post-32971601569299781262010-03-22T19:59:12.960-04:002010-03-22T19:59:12.960-04:00There are three fears that define modern American ...There are three fears that define modern American life:<br /><br />1. Adults are afraid of teenagers.<br />2. Whites are afraid of minorities.<br />3. Everyone is afraid of Muslims.<br /><br />The excessive punishment meted out in the North Carolina case is primarily the result of Fear #1, with some of Fear #2 thrown into the mix. At least the third kind isn't involved.<br /><br />PeterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com