Archived: The Educational System in the United States: Case Study Findings

Discipline
The lack of discipline in the home was a major concern of teachers in inner-city
schools and a theme that came up again and again in our research. A Park Elemen-
tary fourth-grade teacher said that he had kids whose immigrant parents had never
been to school themselves, so he wondered if they knew how to prepare their
kids for school and tell them what to expect and how to behave. One science
teacher at Metropolitan School in Metro City linked family disintegration in the
inner city to the discipline problems she was having with her students. This
teacher stated her belief that many inner-city parents do not teach their children
how to sit still in class and listen to the teacher’s instructions. Hence, she feels
that she must spend most of her time disciplining students rather than teaching
them.
The following exchange between this science teacher and a student occurred
shortly after an interview. The observation involved an honors student in a
science class at Metropolitan School.
A student who wants to work with Jeff on a project for class is assigned by
the teacher to another student named Jose. The student begins working with
Jeff anyway.
Teacher: ‘‘Not with Jeff. Find someone else.’’
Student: ‘‘What difference does it make?’’
Teacher: ‘‘It makes a difference to me. Why don’t you take Jose.’’
Student [walking away]: ‘‘Cause I don’t want to.’’
Teacher: ‘‘Excuse me? Why don’t you take Jose.’’
Turning to the researcher, the teacher explained, ‘‘This is what I deal with
every day, a total lack of respect and discipline.’’
One way that this teacher dealt with such disruptive classrooms is through tough
standards of behavior. Metropolitan School supported teachers such as this one
in their efforts to maintain discipline in the classroom. In fact, a mother had her
daughter transferred to Metropolitan School because of its reputation for dis-
cipline:
My daughter was really getting out of control. So what I was trying to do was
to talk to youth officers and social workers to try to keep from losing my
daughter to the streets. Because she tried to come in when she felt like it,
and I don’t want her coming in like that. If you don’t rule your kids, they
gonna rule you. They gonna disrespect you.

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Discipline was also emphasized at Hamilton High School, a predominantly upper-
middle-class high school. However, the large working class minority population
tended to be the target of the disciplinary measures. One such measure was the
school detention center. Students at Hamilton High School who had misbehaved
in class were sent to a detention center in the school. On any given day a dozen
or so students were detained at the center. The detention center was meant to
be an austere experience, and during the winter months, the large classroom was
heated by a tiny space heater. Students had to wear jackets to keep warm.