Tuesday, July 3, 2018

The Myth of School Chaos

By Jeff Simpson



In 2011, President Obama's Administration wrote what is known as a "Dear Colleague" letter.  This letter was by no means a guideline but was a well thought out and researched memo to help America's public schools address the opportunity gap and work on ending systemic racism. 

The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice (Departments) are issuing this guidance to assist public elementary and secondary schools in meeting their obligations under Federal law to administer student discipline without discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The Departments recognize the commitment and effort of educators across the United States to provide their students with an excellent education. The Departments believe that guidance on how to identify, avoid, and remedy discriminatory discipline will assist schools in providing all students with equal educational opportunities.1
The Departments strongly support schools in their efforts to create and maintain safe and orderly educational environments that allow our nation’s students to learn and thrive. Many schools have adopted comprehensive, appropriate, and effective programs demonstrated to: (1) reduce disruption and misconduct; (2) support and reinforce positive behavior and character development; and (3) help students succeed. Successful programs may incorporate a wide range of strategies to reduce misbehavior and maintain a safe learning environment, including conflict resolution, restorative practices, counseling, and structured systems of positive interventions. The Departments recognize that schools may use disciplinary measures as part of a program to promote safe and orderly educational environments.
This was a letter that was jointly drafted by the US Department of Education and the US Department of Justice.  It was a well documented, and well thought out response for a very real problem in America....a huge racial disparity and opportunity gap in our schools. 

There is a problem with the letter though, it came from President Obama(we are in an era where the number one priority of the Donald and the hard core far right, is erasing anything that President Obama might have done to create a legacy).  Secondly, this guideline, is meant to help address racial disparities, another taboo issue for what passes as conservatives these days.  In their mind, there is no problem and people of color get in more trouble and have lower grades because they get the grades and punishment they deserve.

See it is important to trust the teachers and the schools when punishing kids of colors, but if they have any other complaints or questions about their working conditions - they need to "shut up and teach" and " stop indoctrinating " our children.

Now that we have established what our friends on the right are so upset about, and the pure hypocrisy of it, lets dig a little deeper into their complaints.

Recently, a group of people on the far right drafted a letter and sent it to Secretary of Education Betsy "Amway" DeVos.   The main signator on this letter, was Rick Esenberg, the face of the Bradley Foundation's Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty(WILL). 

There were others who signed, but it really is just a formality.   The group think of worker drones for the monied interests of the far right, is as indistinguishable as a harem of seals on the shore. 

Let's take a quick peek at the letter:

The baseless demands of the Dear Colleague letter are having real world consequences throughout the nation. Milwaukee is a case in point. The Resolution Agreement requires MPS to “assess whether [it] is implementing its student discipline policies, practices and procedures in a non-discriminatory manner” by collecting “data regarding referrals for student discipline and the imposition of disciplinary sanctions at all District schools” and evaluating, among other things, “whether black students are receiving more removals, referrals or discipline than students of other races,” “whether black students are receiving more expulsions than students of other races,” “whether certain teachers and administrators refer disproportionately high numbers of students of a particular race for discipline,” and “whether black students are disproportionately referred for offenses in which subjective judgment is exercised.”  MPS must provide these evaluations to OCR along with “a description of actions it proposes to take in response to these evaluations.”21 If the data “suggests . . . disproportion,” in other words, MPS must “explore possible causes for the disproportion and consider steps that can be taken to eliminate the disproportion to the maximum extent possible.”22 
Esenberg, is arguing here that it puts a burden on the school systems to try and figure out why, and eliminate the disproportionality in discipline for the students of color. 

Esenberg and friends understand why the kids of color have more discipline problems and lower GPA's, etc... They are not white.   They are telling Ms. DeVos, that the problem is solved, there is no fixing it and it is time to focus on the white kids. 

Of course the red polo/khaki crowd eats this stuff up.  To perpetuate the myth that our public schools are failing, that the inner city (larger population of minorities) are out of control and they are interfering with the white kids who want to learn. 

It does not take a field full of tiki torches to see it!

Just check out some of the bit players in the right wing echo chamber:

Dave Blaska for instance:
The greater irony is that it was President Barack Obama’s administration that forced districts to set what amounts to racial quotas in school discipline. Thankfully, a Wisconsin-based conservative action group is moving to restore order in the classroom so that children of all colors can succeed.
The National Review weighed in:
As a policy matter, there is overwhelming evidence that Obama-era policies culminating in this “Dear Colleague” letter pushed schools to avoid disciplining students who needed to be disciplined. It made avoiding politically incorrect numbers more important than maintaining school safety.
Actually that is ridiculous, there is zero evidence that the "guidelines" (not regulations), pushed anyone into anything and in no place in America have they "avoided disciplining students who need disciplining"(that distinction is aimed for the Walker Admin who thanks to the far right activist judges, have made sure there is no disciplining of people who need it - but that is another post).

The Moonie publication Washington Times even weighed in via Marco Rubio:
Mr. Rubio said the guidance should be revised “to ensure that schools appropriately report violence and dangerous actions to local law enforcement,” while others have encouraged Mrs. DeVos to repeal it outright.   In the tragic aftermath of the murders in Florida, which were preventable, we simply cannot take the chance that other school districts, in response to a Dear Colleague letter issued in 2014 by the Obama administration, will continue to enforce or will implement the disastrous race-based, discipline-free program put in place in December of 2013 by Broward County,” William Perry Pendley, president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, said Friday in a letter to Mrs. DeVos.  
Now that we see how shallow the echo chamber is in Wisconsin, let us take a quick look at actual reality.

1.  The Dear Colleague letter was a guideline, not a regulation.   There as no - do this or else attached. 

2.    Yes there is an imperative to look at discipline in our schools along with the opportunity gap.  It does not make logical sense, that children of color are the ones causing disruptions or are incredibly more of a discipline problem, than the white kids.  Anymore than it makes logical sense that there are more unarmed black men who get shot by police than any other race.  Yet the results speak for themselves. 

Should we accept institutional racism?  Or should we just not be surprised that a subsection of people who have waged a war on science would also have no interest in logic?

3.  The only people in Wisconsin who have been advocating for a "consequence-free environment" are the people knee deep in Walkergate and the John Doe investigation, and while that turned into a consequence free work place for our Governor and it only cost $1,000,000,000 in legal fees for Mr. Walker.   

4.   Unfortunately, the students in Wisconsin face consequences every single day.   When Scott Walker and his crew in Fitzwalkerstan, cut almost $2 Billion dollars from public education, the children have faced daily consequences.   The consequences from a massive teacher exodus of veteran teachers, who took not only years and years of institutional knowledge with them but also the ability to mentor younger teachers on the finer points of the job that they do not get in college.   

Our children have faced the consequences of a poorly funded public education system that hurts children in terms of higher class sizes, less Educational Assistants, less professional development, fewer of our best and brightest college students majoring in education, crumbling buildings and longer bus rides, among other things.   

Our children also have had to suffer the consequences of less needed services in the community, their parents being forced to work more than one job and spending less time with the kids, the increased cost of and lack of healthcare causing more stress and worse sickness and disease amongst families.   

5. I am not blind, I understand when our friends on the right talk about children needing "discipline" they mean punish the kids of color.   However, for most of us, "discipline" means -

training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character
Training, not punitive punishment, is how you make long term change.   It is why the recidivism rate in our prisons is almost 70%.    The days of the old wild west are gone for a reason.

6.  Finally, and this is the biggest, is that ACT10 absolutely plays a big part on the chaos in the schools now.  As Dave Zweifel says, it absolutely IS the issue.   

The far right Walkerites, first order of business when they were elected was to make sure that their biggest opposition, the public workers unions, and more specifically the teacher's unions.  So they had to be punished. 

Act10 was secretly forced upon us as a way to make sure that the teachers had no say in their workplace.   If they made less money, they would have less money to send to the Democrats running for election, which would in turn help the Republicans stay in office. 

However, the biggest problem is that Republicans have no idea what unions actually do.  Whole they for sure do help their members to have a fair wage, they also advocate for better working conditions, safer classrooms, well being and safety of members, the rights of students, especially individual students and those who need more advocacy, because they spend every day with the kids. 

When Scott Walker forced a pay cut on the teachers, he also silenced their voice in every aspect of the school system. 

Now it is more than ironic that they are trying to tell everyone that we should listen to the teachers, they know what is best in the classrooms. 

#7 - Extra Credit - There will be talk that restorative justice was the reason a teenager was killed in a school in New York, based on a "report" by some right wing extremist group T74.   There is no more casual relationship between this death and Restorative Justice as there is between this death and algebra. 

I am not here to say that our public school system is perfect with no room for improvement.   That is not realistic, nor is it a prevailing thought anywhere. 

However, our public school system is the best thing we have, is the one equalizer in our society and has proven it not only works, but it works well. 

It just needs to be fully funded and tweeked. 

The best first step for that would be to realize that the WILL's, Blaska's, National Review's, Betsy DeVos's of the world have no interest in anything but their own bank account and ruining public education. 

They are on the wrong side of America and the wrong side of history. 

Vote PUBLIC EDUCATION in November! 


17 comments:

  1. For anyone gulled by Jeff Simpson's self-serving claim that many public schools are not in chaos, read 17-year veteran Madison middle school teacher Karen Vieth's expose that led to the resignation of the school principal. This honored teacher uses the word "chaos" several times. Here 'tis: http://www.runningreflectionswi.com/2018/06/11/closing-the-door-on-the-madison-metropolitan-school-district/

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    1. yes there was some chaos in Karens schools. Leadership matters and if only teachers unions had more bargaining power, they could have stepped in made a difference like they always used to.

      However that does not mean all public schools are out of control. Leadership matters a poor principle will make more chaos at a school. The same way failed leadership in WI government has led us to perform solidly in the mid 40s in pretty much all economic indicators.

      Delete
    2. My reply above was a reply to David Blaska NOT Jeff Simpson.

      Delete
  2. I was referred by a friend this blog this morning.

    I'm not in the City of Madison but I'm in a neighboring community and what happens in Madison always seems to roll over into neighboring Dane County communities.

    After reading the blog this morning I couldn't help but notice how the author is trying to use the implications contained within the "Dear Colleague" letter to try and support his titled claim that school chaos is a myth. The Dear Colleague letter was literally trying to change what the Obama administration saw as the possibility of racism in our schools otherwise there would have been no need for the letter in the first place; racism creates chaos. Also, the letter shows that there are actually continuing problems requiring continued discipline in our schools which also is a direct implication of some level of chaos in our schools otherwise the letter would not have been necessary. In my opinion using the Dear Colleague letter that actually implies that chaos exists to try and prove that there is no chaos in our schools is a foolish errand.

    Why a lot of people perceive our public schools to be in chaos is because the constant need for schools to discipline an increasing number of students for either violent or constantly disruptive behaviors in school and yet the discipline methods that are being applied to those violent and/or disruptive students is ineffective at changing the behaviors. The objective of discipline is to actually change behavior; when schools continue to apply ineffective methods of discipline expecting different results it's not logical or even reasonable and it in-turn creates a new level of chaos.

    Where the line dividing chaos and general civility exist might be different for each individual based on their opinion but YES a level of chaos does appear to exist in our public schools and denying that fact is an ideological barrier that prevents an effective solution. I don;t know the solution, but continuing to do what is not effective and expecting different results is what some people call insanity.

    Friendly note to the author; when you choose to personally attack those you oppose because you disagree with their opinion and you don't actually address their opinion instead you just demonize it, it's called an ad hominem argument which is a fallacious argumentative strategy and you've shown that you've already lost your argument. My understanding is that you are an elected official; in my opinion, you really shouldn't be stooping to such methods of argumentation regardless of what others do or say.

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    1. Jeff,
      I just read a hand full of your other blogs and you personally attacking and smearing those you oppose because you disagree with their opinions seems to be exactly what you choose to do. Parroting the echo chamber of hate, that's what political hacks do.

      Why in the world would any reasonable voter choose to vote for someone that behaves like you do?

      Delete
  3. Jeff,
    I think you could benefit from reading and conversing with others at Ethics Alarms.

    https://ethicsalarms.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. There is some chaos in our schools, there always has been and there always will be. Put a 600-1600 kids in a confined space all day and what will you get? Heck have a birthday party with 10 kids and there will be chaos.

    The problem is, and you can deny it, but the dog whistles are obvious, is that people like Blaska and Esenberg are pointing out that the problem is we are not using corporal punishment on the kids of color enough so they are running wild in the schools. Not true.

    as the possibility of racism in our schools --- Our schools and all of society are full of institutional racism. Yet no one wants to get down and dirty and fix that, we just want to make sure the kids who we arent reaching and cause some disruption in the classroom pay with a pound of flesh.

    * Why a lot of people perceive our public schools to be in chaos is --- simple sillyness like Blaskas Blog and Esenbergs letter. Yet i doubt either one has ever stepped a foot in a classroom for years.

    * The objective of discipline is to actually change behavior; when schools continue to apply ineffective methods of discipline expecting different results it's not logical or even reasonable --- Here we agree, which is why things like the BEP in Madison are so important to help change behavior, instead of suspensions/expulsions. The problem of course is that schools no longer have the resources to truly do this kind of work. Not sure if you saw the paper but Madison alone is losing millions in state aid this year.

    If you want to truly work with kids to change behavior then fully fund public education its that simple, which means electing new reps who support public education.

    I don;t know the solution, - We do because luckily there is actual data we can study and we know what makes a difference and what doesnt.

    Finally, not sure what you consider an ad hominem attack, but my blogs are based on actual facts and data. Why i get elected because I speak truth to power and am 100% honest open and transparent. I have been elected to my local school board three times now.


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    1. "...people like Blaska and Esenberg are pointing out that the problem is we are not using corporal punishment on the kids of color enough so they are running wild in the schools."

      WHAT?

      Where did you get that shit from, it's not in anything you quoted in this blog.

      Did you just make that up to smear them?

      Delete
    2. Jeff said, "...my blogs are based on actual facts and data."

      Ok Jeff, where is your facts and data to support these statements...

      (my comments are in parenthesis like this)

      "...the number one priority of the Donald... is erasing anything that President Obama might have done to create a legacy."

      "...the number one priority of the... hard core far right, is erasing anything that President Obama might have done to create a legacy."

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion, prove it)

      " racial disparities, another taboo issue for what passes as conservatives these days."

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion, prove it)

      "...In their mind [Conservatives], there is no problem and people of color get in more trouble and have lower grades because they get the grades and punishment they deserve."

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion)

      "...it is important to trust the teachers and the schools when punishing kids of colors, but if they have any other complaints or questions about their working conditions - they need to "shut up and teach" and " stop indoctrinating " our children."

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion, prove it)

      (The very point of the "Dear Colleague" letter was that they [teachers & schools] were actually not punishing kids of color equally but yet somehow they are supposed to be trusted? Your logic is running thin Jeff.)


      Continued...

      Delete
    3. "Now that we have established what our friends on the right are so upset about..."

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion)

      "The group think of worker drones for the monied interests of the far right, is as indistinguishable as a harem of seals on the shore."

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion,prove it)

      "Esenberg and friends understand why the kids of color have more discipline problems and lower GPA's, etc... They are not white."

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion, prove it)

      "...it is time to focus on the white kids."

      (prove it)

      "To perpetuate the myth that our public schools are failing, that the inner city (larger population of minorities) are out of control and they are interfering with the WHITE kids who want to learn."

      (my emphasis on WHITE)

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion, prove it)

      "...in no place in America have they 'avoided disciplining students who need disciplining'"

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion, prove it)

      "Now that we see how shallow the echo chamber is in Wisconsin"

      (that's not a fact, that's an opinion)

      "The Dear Colleague letter was a guideline, not a regulation."

      (It was an implied regulation, did you bother to read the entire thing or just what you cherry picked to post in your blog?)

      "Yes there is an imperative to look at discipline in our schools along with the opportunity gap."

      (No they are not charged to look at discipline based on opportunity gap, they are charged to look at discipline based on race.)

      Continued...

      Delete
    4. "It does not make logical sense, that children of color are the ones causing disruptions or are incredibly more of a discipline problem, than the white kids."

      (That's an opinion based on an assumption, prove it.)

      "Should we accept institutional racism?"

      (That opinion implies that institutional racism exists outside of Affirmative Action, prove it exists.)

      "Or should we just not be surprised that a subsection of people who have waged a war on science..."

      (What are you talking about? Whatever it is, prove it)

      "The only people in Wisconsin who have been advocating for a "consequence-free environment" are the people knee deep in Walkergate and the John Doe investigation"

      (That's an opinion not fact, prove it)

      "The consequences from a massive teacher exodus of veteran teachers..."

      (Massive? That's opinion not fact. Cite the actual number that goes beyond normal attrition due to retirement)

      "...the increased cost of and lack of healthcare"

      (Isn't that due to the Affordable Care Act not cutting costs as promised - yes, that's an opinion)

      "I am not blind, I understand when our friends on the right talk about children needing "discipline" they mean punish the kids of color."

      (That's race baiting crap, but go ahead and try to prove it with your plethora of facts and data)

      "Training, not punitive punishment, is how you make long term change."

      (That's opinion not fact. When you ignore/prevent the option of punitive punishment as being a valid part of discipline you enable the bad behavior you are trying to change from those that do not change their behavior using other methods.)

      "It is why the recidivism rate in our prisons is almost 70%"

      (Go ahead and try to prove that that's the reason.)

      "ACT10 absolutely plays a big part on the chaos in the schools now."

      (Prove it and using Dave Zweifel as proof is not appropriate)

      "...the public workers unions, and more specifically the teacher's unions. So they had to be punished."

      (Punished? That's opinion not fact.
      Act 10 wasn't a punishment it was putting some decisions back in the hands of voters)

      "When Scott Walker forced a pay cut on the teachers, he also silenced their voice in every aspect of the school system."

      (That's an opinion. Pay cut? Every aspect of the school system? Prove it.)

      Continued...

      Delete
  5. "There will be talk that restorative justice was the reason a teenager was killed in a school in New York"

    (That's not fact, that's opinion)

    "It just needs to be fully funded and tweeked."

    (That's opinion not fact. So far it seems like you are defining those along partisan lines so how about you define fully funded and tweeked.)

    "The best first step for that would be to realize that the WILL's, Blaska's, National Review's, Betsy DeVos's of the world have no interest in anything but their own bank account and ruining public education."

    (This is partisan bunk but go ahead and provide your plethora of facts and data to prove it.)

    "They are on the wrong side of America and the wrong side of history."

    That is nothing but opinion and an opinion that cannot be supported by fact.

    In Conclusion
    Above you stated "...my blogs are based on actual facts and data."

    I just went through your blog top to bottom and picked out some of your "facts and data", now support each of those things with real “facts and data”.

    Complete

    ReplyDelete
  6. First Jeff tries to tell us that chaos in schools is a myth, then he uses things that imply there IS chaos in schools to try and prove that there isn't chaos in schools, then he returns and acknowledges that there is chaos in schools and immediately deflects to Walker, then he again acknowledges that there is chaos in schools and immediately uses a blatantly unethical rationalization that chaos should be expected when you get a group of kids together. The blog and replies are full of hate-filled baseless accusations, parroting of partisan propaganda, and completely ridiculous claims that Jeff calls "facts and data".

    Here is one of Jeff's most ridiculous claims that can be traced back to anti-Conservative rhetoric, "If you want to truly work with kids to change behavior then fully fund public education its that simple." Interestingly enough, I properly disciplined all my children free of charge and they all turned into responsible adults who are productive members of society. Why oh why would Jeff make such a ridiculous claim that it requires MORE money to implement an effective discipline policy?

    Here's something to think about Jeff; the school board sets forth the policies regarding discipline within their school system - the board is paid; the school principles ensure that the school board policies are enacted in the schools - the principles are paid; the teachers work with the principles to discipline children according to the policy set forth by the school board - the teachers are paid. Answer this if you can Jeff, where is this perceived lack of being "fully funded" that actually detracts from an effective discipline policy being implemented in a manner that actually changes the behavior of the students being disciplined?

    I've raised a lot of points about what was written in this blog and some of Jeff's comments associated with this blog and I've asked some reasonably fair questions regarding things Jeff has written. How long will it take for Jeff to intelligently reply to each of my inquiries without his usual hate-filled baseless accusations, parroting of partisan propaganda, and completely ridiculous claims?

    I await with bated breath.

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    1. I think Jeff has checked out of his own blog and he's ignoring my points, too bad, it could have been a good debate.

      If Jeff does nothing else; I'd sure like him to answer this question that I asked back on July 5th:

      "...where is this perceived lack of being "fully funded" that actually detracts from an effective discipline policy being implemented in a manner that actually changes the behavior of the students being disciplined?"

      Delete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. When teachers have to spend their own money on supplies and class sizes are too big, it is difficult. Modifications are made for many students in every class—even more difficult. Parents and students having more stressors, adds to the problem. It does come down to a basic premise: you get out if it what you put into it whether it’s elementary, middle, high school, a trade school, community college, or Yale. Teachers are working their butts off and DeVos is clueless, along with the chaos in Washington. Students are way more respectful in class and work harder without entitlements than the untruthful cheater in office showing all of our children how “not to act”—selfishly, irresponsibly, and disrespectfully. Our schools model our democracy and country better than Washington DC, “that” is problematic. It is way, way past time to have the real experts, the teachers working hard in the trenches, be invited to a seat at the table of discussion. The horses are tired of pushing the cart of out-of-touch and on-the-take politicians.

    ReplyDelete