Concrete school discipline differences reveal unequal freedom and expectations by race

Evidence

A colleague of mine once visited a museum in Philadelphia and noticed three different classes of young children. One was from a Quaker school, and the children laughed and ran, shouting and expressing themselves. Another was from a predominantly white suburban school. The children talked and laughed as they moved about the museum. The other was from a black charter school. The children stood in line with military precision and were repeatedly reprimanded for talking. The teachers, of course, meant well, but the differences in treatment, in expectations, in freedom, were startling. — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 543

Categorization

• SHARE: Good anecdote to share with a teacher friend or education-policy person — vivid illustration of discipline inequality tied to race and class.
• XREF: connects to: Racial bias distorts early childhood schooling outcomes for children of color — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed:…, 261; Schools apply different sanctions by class, race, and gender. — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America:…, 514