Cultures in Conflict: Eliminating Racial Profiling in School Discipline.According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a variety of data, African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. students, particularly males, receive a disproportionate amount of school disciplinary actions and referrals. African American students also have less access to gifted programs and advanced placement classes than their numbers warrant, according to the author of Cultures in Conflict: Eliminating Racial Profiling The consideration of race, ethnicity, or national origin by an officer of the law in deciding when and how to intervene in an enforcement capacity. Police officers often profile certain types of individuals who are more likely to perpetrate crimes. in School Discipline. Martha R. Bireda, the race and gender coordinator for the Southeastern Equity Center in Miami, Fla., has assembled human and statistical evidence that suggests nearly 50 years since the Brown vs. Board of Education Brown vs. Board of Education landmark Supreme Court decision barring segregation of schools (1954). [Am. Hist.: Van Doren, 544] See : Justice of Topeka, Kan. decision, much racial inequity still exists in public education. Not much has changed in this regard. In 1974, the Children's Defense Fund The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a national organization that is committed to the social Welfare of children. Founded in 1973, the nonprofit group uses its annual $9 million budget to lobby legislators and to speak out publicly on a broad array of issues on the law, the family, and pointed out that minority students were suspended from school at younger ages than white students and blacks were more likely to be suspended. Bireda believes school-related factors such as educators' beliefs and attitudes contribute to interpersonal misunderstandings and conflict in schools. She cites a 1989 study by the Joint Center for Political Studies that reports that schools institutionalize in·sti·tu·tion·a·lize v. To place a person in the care of an institution, especially one providing care for the disabled or mentally ill. in social inequities through the gross stereotyping of black children. These stereotypes influence the behavior and beliefs of teachers and administrators, she contends. They have an impact on the interactions students have with educators and influence the outcomes of students. To change a school's climate, the author thinks the principal must take responsibility for creating and maintaining a "culturally sensitive school environment." The principal, she contends, should work to eliminate any school-related factors that place African American students at risk for disciplinary problems. Bireda offers a number of suggestions for ensuring all students have similar in-school learning opportunities. The book might be a valuable tool to improve race relations in public education. (Cultures in Conflict: Eliminating Racial Profiling in School Discipline by Martha R. Bireda, Scarecrow Scarecrow goes to Wizard of Oz to get brains. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] See : Ignorance Scarecrow can’t live up to his name. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Am. Press, Lanham, Md., 2002, 128 pp., $18.95 softcover) William James Leary Professor of Education, Lynn University, Boca Raton, Fla. |
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