Posted on October 3, 2018 by Michelle Skidmore
In his op-ed discussing racial disparities in school discipline, Columnist Walter E. Williams for The Patriot Post refers to the article from Education Week earlier this year titled “ When Students Assault Teachers, Effects Can Be Lasting ,” that highlights Criminal Justice Professor Byongook Moon’s research on teacher victimization.
Moon says that according to his study of 1,600 teachers, about 44 percent of teachers who had been victims of physical assault said that being attacked had a negative impact on their job performance. Nearly 30 percent said they could no longer trust the student who had attacked them, and 27 percent said they thought of quitting their teaching career afterward.
Williams talks about an article titled “The Department of Education’s Obama-Era Initiative on Racial Disparities in School Discipline” (Spring 2018). The departments of Education and Justice see racial discrimination as a factor that explains why black male students face suspension and expulsion than other students. Because of the threats from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, schools have adopted new disciplinary policies. While in some public school districts, there were reported decreases in suspension, but teachers said they were being told to ignore the misbehaving such as yelling, cursing and screaming among students. Some teachers left because they did not feel safe. Others were assaulted and returned to school the very next day.
Read more from The Patriot Post .
— Michelle Skidmore
