Push to end suspensions disservice to kids trying

The recently released report on school discipline by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, reported in this newspaper, has nothing good to say about suspending students. Predictably, these advocates did not say that suspending students is an act of kindness to teachers and fairness to students who behave and are trying to learn.

Kids who misbehave — and these days that word is inadequate — keep other kids from learning. It changes the learning atmosphere for the whole school when you remove disrespectful, disruptive students from the classroom. Teachers dread having suspended students return. Arkansas Advocates don’t know this, but the kids who behave and are learning aren’t clamoring to have them back, either. Unlike Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, kids and teachers don’t think suspensions are a bad idea.

When was the last time an Advocate got called the word that rhymes with witch, and worse, for politely asking a girl for the third time to put away her cellphone? If suspensions ever go away, that decision will be made by administrators and Arkansas Advocates, not teachers.

Kids who chronically misbehave are often neurotically self-centered. Narcissistic from permissive parenting, they don’t care if they are keeping the other kids from learning.

Arkansas Advocates think these kids are struggling. They aren’t struggling. Struggling implies effort.

Kids who are trying hard and making passing grades don’t get in trouble much. Lots of kids who are passing have little academic ability and have tough home lives. They work hard and succeed anyway. These kids are the ones who are struggling. It is a rare teacher who will fail a kid who is trying to succeed. To repeat: Kids who are failing and are chronically in trouble are usually not struggling. There are kids in public schools who won’t write their names on an assignment, for credit, much less do the work. They get suspended more than the kids who do their homework and study for tests. Yes, they’ve been talked to, reasoned with, warned, counseled, praised and encouraged.

Principals should not hesitate to send them to the in-school suspension room with their assignments where they can’t be the center of attention, so the kids who are trying to learn can learn and teachers can teach. Parents should insist on it. JOHN CASEY Fort Smith