Reviews for Discipline, Achievement, and Race: Is Zero Tolerance the Answer?

The average rating for Discipline, Achievement, and Race: Is Zero Tolerance the Answer? based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-06-04 00:00:00 Dean Mottershead So much of what makes this book relevant are the "good intentions" of people who run some of the "best" schools in the country. Ayers is a refreshing look at the practice of "no excuses" that has become so pervasive in many low-income and urban, metropolitan schools. What is remarkable, as Ayers, lays out, is the manner in which these zero tolerance schools so often mimic the very systems at play in U.S. prisons and mental facilities. These practices are often heralded as necessary and critical tot he function of a well-organized/structured school for students of color. However, their suburban counterparts need far less "punishment" and are able to thrive in an environment that fosters and applauds their creativity not create a sense of "other." Ayers makes salient points regarding the difference between punishment and consequences. No school can exist without consequences, and every child and individual wants clear boundaries in almost every aspect of their life. The difference between engaging in a power dynamic in high school with young adults is that far too often, these dynamics are not biologically appropriate and serve more to create a manner of compliance for the sake of compliance with no real root in sound pedagogical practices. Finally, I recommend this book for any teacher struggling to differentiate between the academic and behavioral expectations of their students. The misguided thought that teachers can only instruct when their students are quietly in their desks serving a ready recipients/vessels of knowledge to be dispensed by the teacher further points to problems not only in the expectations of specific teacher's rooms, but also in the manner in which we choose to educate our nation's students who need it the most. Ayers would speak even to the special education classification that has become pervasive as well. For rural, urban and mostly low socio-economic areas and districts in the U.S., issues labeling of students who need special services is often done too quickly and with little to no thought for context of the student; however, in more affluent communities, these are often overlooked and not done as a way to avoid stigmatizing students. Such practices serve as yet another way in which the need for constant punishment rather than effective feedback and growth has rendered schools helpless in truly educating students, predominately minorities.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-12-15 00:00:00 Frances Drzewicki An interesting look into the zero-tolerance policy that has been implented in our school system. I found the book to be very eye-opening as a parent.