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:

Student Reading List

Angelou, Maya. Still I Rise. New York: Random House Press 1978, Accessed July 28, 2018.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise

Drake, Aubry Graham. God’s Plan. OVO Sound Production 2017, Accessed August 8, 2018.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/lyrics/8095260/drake-gods-plan-lyrics

Davis, Dr. Sampson, Jenkins, Dr. George and Hunt, Dr. Rameck. We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact Lead To Success. New York: Puffin Books, 2005 Rameck, George, and Sampson could have followed their childhood friends into troubled lifestyles. But something happened in their life to steer them in the medical and dental professions. This is an inspiring story of how they form a pact to become doctors.

Flake, Sharon. The Skin I’m In. New York: First Jump at the Sun, 1998. This is another great classic whereas Maleeka Madison a good student finally gets fed up with being teased about her dark black skin and her homemade clothes. This is a great book to help springboard conversations inside the peace circles about bullying and self-esteem.  

Jones, Lealan and Newman, Lloyd. Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago. New York: Pocket Books, 1997. This book evokes the unforgiving world of two teenage boys with a gift for clean-cut journalism. What’s even more appealing is their unrelenting resilience to make sure the entire community survives.

Myers, Walter. Monster New York: Harper Collins, 1999. This novel begins with 16 year old Steve Harmon writing in his diary awaiting his trial for murder. Reflecting on his time in prison, he decides to record his experience in the form of a movie screenplay.  

Neri, G.  Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty. New York: Lee and Low Books Inc. 2010. This graphic novel is a gripping true story about a young man that went through the foster care system and got shuffled around from house to house but to him the streets felt more like home.

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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