More than Good Intentions- Preventing Violence and the Quest for Equity in Education

The chapter on violence was shocking, scary, and sad.  It is hard to imagine either teachers or students wanting to even be at heartbreaking to envision schools with metal detectors, barbed-wire fences, armed guards and police, and even principals carrying baseball bats through the halls.   It makes me wonder what the primary roles these principals play, and what their goals for their schools are.  It also makes me wonder if these precautions give students ideas or act as a challenge to students who would never have thought to bring weapons into school.  As Noguera explains on page 89, “And while most students whom I have spoken to during my visits to schools realize that a student who wants to bring a weapon to school can get it into a building without being discovered by a metal detector or that it is highly unlikely that any principal will hit a student with a baseball bat, the symbols persist, masking the truth that those responsible for school safety really don’t have a clue about what to do to stem the tide of violence.”  It also made me wonder if there have been any cases of a principal hitting a student with a baseball bat, and it so, what became of both the student and the principal?  If I attended one of these prison-like schools I can imagine that I would just bide my time to either finish or drop out of school, because I would not feel safe their.  It seems like waiting for a prison sentence to send. 

The less punitive approaches Noguera suggests to reduce the incidence of violence in schools seemed superior: conflict resolution programs, mentoring programs, curricula on avoiding violent situations, exploring ethical and moral issues to violent behavior, and counseling programs.  These seem like they would work significantly better over time than the more violent and punitive approaches.  One thing that jumped out in my mind when I read this was money.  I think it would cost more money initially to implement these programs.  Many districts may not want to spend the money initially.  I do think that ultimately these measures would be way more economical over time.  I believe police, metal detectors, jails, and the cost of destruction are ultimately more expensive, and finances aside, are detrimental to the students.  It reminds me of the resistance of many big companies have of changing practices to be environmentally friendly.  Noguera goes on to explain on page 110 that “The urban schools that I know that feel safe to those who spend their time there don’t have metal detectors or armed security guards, and their principals don’t carry baseball bats.  What these schools do have is a strong sense of community and collective responsibility.”  This gave me hope for the future.  Hopefully one day, this will be the norm!

As Noguera explained that the inequality occurs between races or even the same socioeconomic class on page 131, the readings by Ogbu came to mind right away.  It was not much of a surprise that Ogbu was cited on the next page!  One concept that Noguera spoke of is eliminating or reducing tracking.  I believe that tracking can really limit a student potential and also serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy and can create stigma.  I thought it was interesting that the white parents at a high school Noguera examined,  Berkley High School, were very proud of the fact that it is a diverse school, but inside the school there was total separation of the students.  The extracurricular activities were predominately white, as were the advanced and honors classes.  During social times during, before and after school, the different race groups stuck together.  Reflecting on my time in high school, I most socialized with other students that either played on the tennis team with me or had classes with me.  If the classes and extracurricular were restricted, it seems to make sense that friendships would be too. Noguera  gives home when he explains that we need to “move beyond a search for blame to a search for concrete solutions, the possibility for genuine progress in raising student achievement can be significantly increased” (p.158).  I do believe more and teachers are taking classes such as this one to educate themselves about changes that need to be made.  Hopefully we can all work together to make a change in the education system.