Eggheads and public officials alike are still trying to answer the seemingly age-old question of why black students are suspended at higher rates than white students in North Carolina public schools:
Scott Baker, an associate professor of education at Wake Forest University, said the report “is disturbing, but it’s not new news.”
“This has been a really serious problem. I think the real question here is, ‘Why is this happening?'” Baker said. “One perspective says this is really a family problem and families and communities need to do a better job of instilling respect in children. Another perspective says that this is a school problem, that schools treat African-Americans differently.”
Forsyth County Commissioner Walter Marshall weighs in on the reflective disparity in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools:
Marshall, a retired teacher and former school-board member, has long pushed for school officials to examine racial disparity in disciplinary action. He said that school officials are less tolerant of behavior that might be common among black students.
“For instance, blacks are vocal,” he said. “My whole thing is that you have to treat all people with the same amount of respect and have the same expectations for all students.
“Everybody can see the difference, things are just not right and you can see it.”
When are schools going to figure out that discipline is discipline, period?
