Presentation on the role of culture in school discipline - differences between school staff norms vs those of students

1. SOWA Bridge conference
Monday October 27, 2014

2. Working to improve
public education
in Washington State
from cradle to career
with ample, equitable,
and stable funding
We spend the first year of a child’s life teaching it to walk
and talk, and the rest of its life to shut up and sit down.
There’s something wrong there.
- Neil deGrasse Tyson -

3. What does culture have to do
with it?
• Introduction: 10 minutes
• Part I: What does culture have to do with
it? – small groups, 25 minutes
• Report back - 10
• Part II: Advocacy Role Play – small
groups, 25 minutes
• Report back, 10 minutes
• Further resources and next steps, 10
minutes

4. Overview: School Discipline
 Interviews
 Community conversations and presentations
 Actions: postcards, e-mails, petitions, testimonies, phone
calls, personal visits
 Limits to suspensions and expulsions
 Public data collection
 Reengagement plans
 Statewide taskforce
 Limits on long term suspensions
Mobilizing by LEV and many others
SB 5946
New Rules

5. Advocacy tips
• Notification of
suspension/expulsions
• Limits on
suspensions/expulsions
• Educational services
• Reengagement meeting and
plan

6. What does culture have to do with
school discipline?
• Respect
• Good communication
• Discipline
• Rules
• Expectations for
schools
• Expectations for
children by gender
• Respect
• Good
communication
• Discipline
• School rules
• Expectations for
students and
parents – boys vs
girls

7. What did you learn?
• What overlap do you see (if any between
the cultural messages in a family’s home
vs that of schools?
• What values would you add to the list that
concern student behavior and school
discipline?

8. Role play scenarios
• Role play A
• Three students are at elementary school recess, and two of them
report to their teacher that the first hit them because he wanted the
basketball. The parents of the first boy speak English as a second
language
• Role play B
• A high school student with special needs who was at recess with
another student was accused of having a cell phone, even though
the other student stated that the phone was his. The principal wants
to suspend the student because possession of the cell phone
violates school rules, and the student with special needs shouted to
his teacher that he didn’t own the phone.

9. Role Play debrief
• How did the role play go, and what did you
learn?
• What is your current understanding of how
decisions get made about whether or not to
discipline students?
• How can I advocate as a parent? As a
student?

10. There can be no keener
revelation of a society’s
soul than the way in
which it treats its
children.
- Nelson Mandela -

11. Resources
• Office of Education
Ombudsman (OEO)
• 1-866-297-2597
• www.governor.wa.gov/oeo
• Team Child: legal
representation for youth 12
and up
• Seattle
• www.teamchild.org

12. QUESTIONS?

13. Next steps…
• Please sign our action card
• Join our coalition