Learning
The Untolerated

What happens to students who run afoul of strict discipline rules?

To a Michigan honor student named Alex, it was only a joke, a parody he wrote to poke fun at his high school's new tardy policy and the administrators who designed it. Never did he think the spoof, read to friends at the cafeteria table, would get his name added to the growing list of "good" kids suspended or expelled nationwide under so-called zero-tolerance (ZT) policies.

Enacted in the wake of tragic school shootings and a spike in violent juvenile crime in the mid-90s, these policies first targeted guns and drugs. But according to a study by The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, well-intentioned efforts have "spun totally out of control," expanding to include automatic or exceedingly harsh punishments for minor infractions that pose little or no threat to school safety.

In 1998, more than 3.1 million children in the United States were suspended and another 87,000 expelled. Although record-keeping is inadequate, Harvard says there's evidence these numbers are on the rise. The availability and quality of support services and alternative schools vary from district to district, so these students are often home alone, bored, or even engaging in daytime crime.

Federal law mandates support for special education students, but only after the first suspension of more than 10 days.

Now a freshman at Michigan State, Alex says the October 2000 incident drove him to tears. "I saw everything I had worked for about to be devastated." In his case, the charge requiring suspension was "verbal assault," a term so broad the American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the policy in federal court on First Amendment grounds.

"For most of us, when we break a law, we know it. In this case, I had no idea," explains Alex. Taken out of class by an armed liaison officer, he ended up with an eight-day suspension. It's a blot on his record that plagued him during his college application process and has followed him into the job market.

"I've had to explain that verbal assault is not a violent crime," he says. The incident showed up on a police background check when he applied for the cadet program in a Michigan police department, delaying his application for about four months.

A study released in February by Building Blocks for Youth, a coalition of groups focusing on juvenile justice issues, calls the number of students suspended since the surge in ZT policies "staggering." Data from Kentucky, the focus of the study, show suspension rates 2 to 17 times greater for African-Americans than for Caucasians.

Other studies have found similar results for minorities nationwide. "Suspension may be a quick fix, but it contributes to the achievement gap and starts the chain of events that leads to kids dropping out," says David Richart, one of the Building Blocks study authors and executive director of the National Institute on Children, Youth and Families at Spalding University in Louisville.

In many states, offenses related to classroom behavior now merit a call to police and a trip to juvenile court.

Richart sympathizes with educators who advocate ZT policies in response to school environments with few resources, overcrowded classrooms, and volatile populations. He advocates increased student services and better staff training.

For Howard Hastings, there's no question his son Karel broke the law in eighth grade when he brought a marijuana cigarette to his Northern Virginia school and gave it to a friend. Expelled for the 2000-01 school year for this first offense, Karel was placed in an alternative program with older, more troubled youths.

"We were losing him," says Hastings, who eventually sent his son to Hardin, Montana, to live with grandparents and finish ninth grade. Karel wrestled, was drug-free, and did well academically in Hardin, where a similar offense would garner a three-day suspension and enrollment in a drug-education program.

"What happened to Karel was pretty harsh," says Scott Brokaw, a Hardin High School teacher and wrestling coach who met the teenager when he joined the junior varsity team. "I've never heard of anything like that here. We work on a case-by-case basis."

Some of the 450 high schoolers carry pocketknives, Brokaw says. One left a hunting rifle in his pick-up in the school lot. Those infractions may merit in-school suspension or, in the gun case, three days out of school. "It's our culture," he says. "Kids may be out hunting before school. I've never seen any weapon-related violence."

ZT punishes students too severely for "stupid teenage mistakes," says Shelli Weisberg, school board member in Birmingham, Michigan. She cites the case of an 18-year-old star wrestler expelled for his senior year for committing a felony on school grounds. (He had sex on campus with his underage girlfriend during summer vacation.)

"He never knew he was breaking the law," she says. "He had a full scholarship to Michigan State. He lost it all and it's really thrown him. I'll break the law before I vote to do something like that again. We failed this kid and his family."

After two years working in an alternative junior and senior high school in Shelby County, Tennessee, high school special education teacher Connice Ross is still undecided about ZT. "I think the rationale behind it was good, but I don't know how effective the implementation has been."

She remembers one student who didn't seem bitter about his year's suspension for bringing a souvenir knife to school just to show around. He actually "matured" under the alternative school's strict structure, she says.

"In our zeal to make schools safer we try a lot of things. I lean toward making case-by-case decisions," says Ross. "ZT may appease the public rather than help students. If we're going to have it, we'd better have good alternative schools for kids to fall back on."

--Mary Anne Hess

For more: Visit www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/ and www.ztnightmares.com.

[Dilemma]
How do you help kids cope with test-taking anxiety?

On test days, I wear my Elmo slippers to class. We turn down the lights and listen to a piece of classical music. Then we get serious and take the test. I have no real data to prove the students score better, but I do know the funny slippers and the calming music take their minds off of their fear.

Paula Throckmorton
Fifth-grade teacher
Petersburg, Illinois

I tell my students to:

1) Study actively and daily.

2) Mental vomit. That means, when you receive the test paper, write down everything you recall on the topic before beginning the test. The term appeals to middle schoolers. Writing everything in advance helps jump-start their memories.

3) Read the paper through first. The emphasis is on reading to locate the hidden treasure (answers buried elsewhere within the test) and to cue their memories.

Noreen McAloon
Middle school reading specialist
Bedford, New Hampshire

All through my own schooling, the word "test" struck me with debilitating fear. When I became a teacher, I realized there were many kids with the same fear, so I don't use the word "test" in my classroom. I use the word "Zimbabwe." You can use any cool-sounding word.

Kathleen O'Daniel
Fourth-grade teacher
Juneau, Alaska

I teach AP English to seniors and these students tend to be very anxious about doing well on tests. I use chocolates--little individual wrapped ones--and give them out before tests. I do this to help students relax, take a moment to enjoy something nice, and get focused. It takes some of the stress out of the whole process.

Julianne Mach
High school English teacher
Marysville, Washington

I use three techniques. The first is positive visualization. Students close their eyes, take a deep breath, and visualize themselves sitting at their desks taking the test feeling confident and relaxed. It's very important that they "see" minor details in the room such as a scratch on the desk. They do this every night for a week before the exam.

I also teach them yoga breathing techniques--breathe out, inhale (count to seven), and then exhale to the silent count of seven.

The third technique is to create a positive affirmation such as "I am confident and relaxed when I take a test." They repeat this daily.

Have students choose the technique that works for them and watch the test scores soar.

Michele Krouse
Middle school guidance counselor
Boynton Beach, Florida

One of my favorite techniques is "rotate and shake." The kids start from the bottom and work their way up, rotating ankles, shaking legs, rotating their torsos around their hips, shaking their arms, rotating their hands around their wrists, and then gently bending their heads from side to side and front and back. I emphasize breathing and getting the blood circulating, bringing oxygen to their brains.

For kids who are too shy to get up and move, I teach "circular breathing." Pinch one nostril closed and breathe in and out slowly and deeply through the other. Then do the same on the other side. Switch back and forth. This calms them down and enriches the blood with oxygen.

Nicole Baker-Foresta
Dramatic arts teacher
Holyoke, Massachusetts

Got an answer?

When you work with a small group, how do you keep the rest of your class engaged?
E-mail your answer to dilemma2@list.nea.org. Or send by regular mail, or fax to 202/822-7206. Include your name, city, state, and job title. If published, you will receive an NEA Today mug!