6/12 Preface + Introduction- from Shalaby,TroubleMakers,

 

Preface + Introduction- from Shalaby,TroubleMakers, 

TALKING POINTS:

"When a child is singing loudly--and sometimes more and more loudly, despite our requests for silence--we might hear that song as a signal that someone is refusing to hear her voice."

Children who are labeled "troublemakers" are simply children with needs that haven't been met. Disruptive behavior in the classroom can take many forms. It could be an unconscious bias that the teacher has and doesn't realize they are projecting onto the child. It could be an undiagnosed child trying to be seen and heard, or it could be a troublemaker in the class, and both can be true. I don't believe in labeling children as "bad kids " or "troublemakers." Children need a chance in life without all the labels and negativity that they receive.

"Still, the problem is the poison--not the living thing struggling to survive despite breathing it."

Coal miners listened to the canary in the coal mine when it dropped from the toxins in the air. Educators need to listen to the cries of children disguised as behaviors, like the child who suffered from a mood disorder. A diagnosed illness or disease can sometimes cause the child to be viewed as the problem, rather than the diagnosis or disease itself. I know many youth who struggle with ADHD and other diagnoses. I can agree that it is hard to see the good in the child through the destructive behaviors that they may display, but we have to keep trying. We can't blame a child for something that they can't control, but in America, that's what we seem to do.

 

"Zero tolerance" policies reign supreme, imposing immediate

and automatic punishments for lapses in student conduct, while

the use of suspension and expulsion is reaching epidemic propor-

tions despite their well-documented ineffectiveness in curbing in-

cidences of misconduct.

It is counterproductive to suspend students for not attending school. Why punish the student for not attending school by taking them out of school? Additionally, if suspension and expulsion aren't effective, it may be time to consider alternative approaches to addressing the behaviors in line with the "zero tolerance" policy.

Argument: I agree with Aaron's interpretation of Shalaby's argument, that "Carla Shalaby argues that children labeled as “troublemakers” aren’t broken or bad; they are resisting systems that were never designed with their full humanity in mind. Instead of seeing misbehavior as something to control, she asks us to consider it a form of communication, even protest. These students are giving us clues about what’s not working in school." We must fix what's broken in our school systems to help our children thrive.