Race, Class, and Punishment

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 18.01.07

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Demographics
  3. Enduring Understanding
  4. Objectives
  5. Rationale
  6. Content Background
  7. Trayvon Martin Suspended for 10 Days
  8. What are Restorative Practices?
  9. Peace Talking Circles
  10. Teaching Strategies
  11. Norms
  12. Prompts for Restorative Circle Dialogues
  13. Bibliography
  14. Student Reading List
  15. Appendix A: Implementing Standards/Common Core/State Standards
  16. Anchor Standards

This is America: Restorative Peace Circles and the decline of Suspensions and Expulsions

Sharon Monique Ponder

Published September 2018

Tools for this Unit:

Bibliography

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: The New Press, 2011.  This is a powerful and poignant text focused on the poor and vulnerable in American Society. This is compelling narrative of the brutal control of African Americans and the new Jim Crow being Mass Incarceration.

Anderson, Curt and Schneider, Mike, eds “Trayvon Martin was suspended from school at time of Death, Report Says.” (The Christian Science Monitor March 26, 2012), Accessed August 6, 2018.https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0326/Trayvon-Martin-was-suspended-from-school-at-time-of-death-report-says /

APMReports. “Spare the Rod:Admid evidence that Zero Tolerance doesn’t work, school reverse themselves.” Apmreports.org. Accessed July 16, 2018.

https://www.apmreports.org/story/2016/08/25/reforming-school-discipline

Burke, Beth NBCT.  “A Close look at Close Reading Close Reading Strategies,” International Reading Association San Antonio April 2013, Accessed August 8, 2018.

https://nieonline.com/tbtimes/downloads/CCSS_reading.pdf

Burton, Sue and Lynn, Cari. Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women. New York: The New Press, 2017.  Sue Burton’s life and work is a true testament to the power of second chances. An inspiration to start Restorative Peace Circles Immediately.

Chicago Public Schools. “Janice K. Jackson Vision Statement” Modified June 2018, Accessed July 8, 2018.

https://cps.edu/Leadership/pages/janicejackson.aspx

“Common Core Standards: English Language Arts Standards Reading Informational Text, Grade 5.” State Standards Initiative Accessed June 22, 2018.

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy  

Forman Jr. James. Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017. Award Winning Law Professor James Forman explores the unfortunate reality of how so many African American citizens were locked up under the watch of African American judges, lawyers, police chiefs and officers. Just when black folks began to get excited about seeing black people in positions of power it seems as if black folks became powerless.

“Handouts to Support Peace Circles.” Restorative Practice Continuum (Graves, Cheryl) Jefferson County Public Schools Louisville Kentucky 2014, Accessed June 24, 2018.

https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/sites/default/files/Restorative%20Practice%20Handouts.pdf

Kotlowitz, Alex. There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up In The Other America. New York: Anchor Books, 1991. This book is still a classic although written in 1991 the concepts of inequity in education, housing and employment still resonates in Chicago and other urban cities across America.

Krone, Emily. Suspension Rates Drop in Chicago but Remain High for Most Vulnerable Students. University of Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, March 19, 2015, Accessed July 16, 2018.

https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/press-releases/UChicagoCCSR%20Discipline%20Trends%20Press%20Release.pdf

Morris, W. Monique. Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools. New York: The New Press, 2015. This is a powerful book that describes policies and practices that criminalize and dehumanize black girls in America. This book will propel you to encourage and motivate every black girl to find their magic.

Nelson, Libby and Lind, Dara, eds.“The School to Prison Pipeline Explained “Justice Policy Institute, February 24, 2015, Accessed August 3, 2018.

file:///C:/Users/Smponder/Documents/SRO.html

Peterson, Reece, O’Connor, Ann and Moss, Emily,eds.”Restorative Practice Strategy Brief” Building and Sustaining Student Engagement, 2013. Accessed July 9, 2018.

https://k12engagement.unl.edu/strategy-briefs/Restorative%20Practices%208-28-2015.pdf

Pranis, Kay, Stuart, Barry and Wedge, Mark. Peacemaking Circles: From Crime to Community. St. Paul, Minnesota: Living Justice Press, 2003.  This book is an excellent guide for beginning restorative practices. It explains the peace making circles in such an accessible style.

“Restorative Justice Training: Peace Circles” Student Peace Alliance. Washington DC, 2014, Accessed July 1, 2018.

http://www.studentpeacealliance.org/uploads/2/9/4/4/29446231/peace_circles-3.pdf

“Restorative Practice Guide and Toolkit.” (Chicago Public Schools, 2014), Accessed June 18, 2018.  

https://blog.cps.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CPS_RP_Booklet.pdf/

“Restorative Practice in Schools”, Justice Council: Oval London, 2015, Accessed August 2, 2018.

https://restorativejustice.org.uk/restorative-practice-schools

“School to Prison Pipeline.” The American Civil Liberties Union, last modified August 2009, Accessed July 16, 2018.  

https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice/race-and-inequality-education/school-prison-pipeline/

Webb, Dr. Norman, Webbs Depth of Knowledge (September 5, 2016), Accessed July 12, 2018.

http://www.aps.edu/sapr/documents/resources/Webbs_DOK_Guide.pdf

WTTW Chicago Tonight. “Vision Janice Jackson CEO of Chicago Public Schools”: January 3, 2018, Accessed July 18, 2018.

https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2018/01/03/janice-jackson-shares-her-vision-chicago-public-schools

Comments:

Reginald Ponder

June 29, 2019 at 5:17 pm

The Impact of Restorative Practices

I really like the entire concept. This put part of the educational responsibility on the students. They learn to express themselves, to listen, to develop ownership for their actions and how to resolve conflict in a productive way. The exercises are exciting as they use material young people are paying attention to today while connecting it to some of our literal greats. An ingenious way to insert literal exploration into the restorative justice process. I think the entire school will need to be trained on this to minimize \\"back-sliding\\" into initial reactions. Lets say the janitor feels disrespected but is not aware of the Restorative Justice approach, he/she will lash out and may do harm to the process and the sessions we are trying to teach. Therefore we all need to be part of the process. I also think there should be strong emphasis on the fact that this is not a \\"feel good thing to do\\" but rather something that not only stops bullying but improves the learning process in so many tangible and intangible way. Finally, I love this practice but administrators must also take into account age appropriate behavior BEFORE we even get to this point. There is mush evidence that children of color are punished for age appropriate behavior when there should be no punishment at all. Many times there is no need for a circle but rather better judgment by teachers and administrators. I love this unit and can see it being effective on many fronts and can even see some expansion opportunities.

Rhinold Ponder

June 29, 2019 at 6:49 pm

Restorative Justice Moving Foward

This is a wonderful program as restorative justice practices are essential for reforming the educational environment and prospects fr children of color and children with disabilities.The implementation of Peace Circles is the beginning of cultural changes that will encourage adults to treat kids of color like learning community members as opposed to criminals. The dismantling of the school-to-prison pipeline can begin here.

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