“There is a culture of acceptance towards violence in the city’s public schools. Administrators, faculty, and staff shake their heads in disbelief, but do nothing to change the broader picture,” writes former Baltimore middle school teacher Julia A. Gumminger in a piece on the Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel’s web site. “Staff members look the other way when violent incidents such as rioting and fighting happen. ‘It’s just the way things are’ is a common phrase spoken in the hallways. Student-on-student fights happen daily, and now student-on-teacher assaults are happening more often.”
Gumminger writes about her experience in Baltimore, but it will sound familiar to any teacher at a failing city school. When I was punched by a 4th grade boy last year, the consequence was to be screamed at by the AP about the need to be more understanding. At least that was my consequence. The student was sent back to his classroom. Gumminger goes on at dispiriting length describing conditions in her school. It’s not pleasant reading, but it’s important.
“These are our schools, where our children go to learn. How can any child learn in an environment like this?!” she asks. “How can we sit by, and let an entire city’s population of children go uneducated? How can we accept this culture of violence as “just the way it is”? We need to collectively decide that enough is enough, and make a conscious effort to stop accepting this. Until we do, our city (and others) will continue to lose great teachers, and our children will continue to be on the receiving end of the biggest injustice in this nation.”
You’ve heard it before? You can’t hear it enough.
The “culture of acceptance” is so entrenched that even “punishments” reward the kids for their behavior.
Many schools (including mine) have an in-house suspension room. Kids like being sent to “in-house”–there’s a kind of status that goes with it, and they can see their buddies there. It’s supposed to be a grim place (you can’t talk–you have to work) but apparently for the kids it’s not so grim.
One of my students walked into “in-house” and gave a fake name to the teacher on duty–just so she could spend the day there with her misbehaving friends.