Relationship Between Discipline & Race

This paper is an exploration of the relationship between discipline and race in the classroom and the issue of discipline itself as part of the teacher's job. It examines the question of whether students are disciplined differently because of their ethnicity and looks at the role of discipline within the classroom. Educators agree that discipline is essential to the learning process, but debate rages about the extent and nature of discipline necessary to effective learning. In addition, since many educators would argue that students learn differently and that some of those differences can be attributed to their backgrounds, does it then follow that discipline must also be applied in different ways to different students, in part according to their backgrounds? This paper will argue that ethnicity is, in fact, a component of the contemporary classroom; therefore, teachers must take care not to be influenced negatively by their prejudices, especially regarding the administration of discipline.

Educational consultant JoAnn Miller argues, "Classroom management is essential to a successful educational environment" (Mathews, 2000, December 19, p. A19). Without control of the classroom, teachers cannot effectively control the learning process. Yet keeping the upper hand is a delicate process. Ann Gazin (1999, August) observes that teachers "must maintain control in the classroom yet still give children the freedom to explore, create, and experiment" (p. 28). In the ideal c

Related Essays

SCHOOL DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS .... Regarding discipline problems, Kunjufu feels that several .... to examine for the relationship of motivational .... males looking for relationships between the following .... (2864 11 )

Adolescent Violence by Race-Ethnicity .... Race of victim led to contradictory findings. .... statistically examined the relationship between marital conflict .... 56, specifically, harsh discipline and parental .... (9472 38 )

Relationship Between Absenteeism & Graduation .... authors reported that a relationship between these variables .... be due to increased discipline, greater emphasis .... be considered such as race, socioeconomic status .... (2513 10 )

Athletic Participation and Growth .... athletics demonstrate fewer discipline problems and .... 3. Does ethnicity/race affect academic .... a positive significant relationship between athletic participation .... (1860 7 )

Race .... and both helped establish it as a discipline in its .... the content of his research on race, a very .... the possibility of a strong relationship between northern Asian .... (3929 16 )

" (p. A08). Zero tolerance policies are more likely to exist in school districts with predominantly black and Hispanic populations, which may skew the statistics. Nonetheless, enough evidence exists to suggest that minority students either tend to cause more discipline problems or tend to be punished more severely when they do misbehave. Wright (1997, May 19) argues that this behavioral pattern may, in fact, be based on an increased likelihood of outside stresses on minority students. She observes, "Family breakups, conflicting value systems and exposure to violence all have a role in children's behavior" (p. C05), and minority students may be more subject to the kinds of personal situations that encourage, if not violent behavior, at least behavior that prompts the need for disciplinary measures. If nothing else, communicating a common set of expected behaviors has become a more complex job in the modern classroom. Wright (1997, May 19) points out, "Today's teachers can be in more diverse, multicultural classrooms where not everyone may speak the same language" (p. C05). This inability to communicate can even occur when all parties are actually fluent in English. Joel Stein (1997, December 15) notes that the fight that

Category: Psychology - R