There’s a popular saying about art imitating life, and nowhere does it show up more than in television shows and the ridiculous barrage of media showing Black women incessantly fighting each other. Life has become art, and we find some Black girls in school systems responding to online conflicts with in-person violence, leading to growing rates of suspension and sometimes criminal charges.
Fordham University law professor Leah A. Hill acknowledged in the report “Disturbing Disparities: Black Girls and the School-to-Prison Pipeline” that Black girls are the fastest growing demographic when it comes to arrest and incarceration.” Couple that with the fact that Black girls receive out-of-school suspension and expulsion at a rate seven times higher than their counterparts and you have a threat in plain sight society is neglecting.
Many Black girls, who bear the weight of disparate trauma, poverty, and peer pressure, often find themselves seeking professional help, in or out of school, to quell conflict, only to find themselves shuffled into the criminal justice system and alternative school setting when fights occur. One instance, in particular, occurred in Richland County, South Carolina, where a senior student Cierra Patterson, found herself sent to an alternative school after a fight, despite her academic record and lack of disciplinary infractions.
As an administrator and teacher, I feel conflicted. On one hand, there is an obvious need for more mental health personnel and mentors who can establish mentoring clubs for girls and serve as positive role models for them. But as a society, we have allowed ourselves to be conditioned to accept violence as a solution to any disagreement; and in our haste to ensure we consider the plight of Black boys and men, too often we forget the Black women who face these same demons and cry out for help.
We must educate ourselves on more restorative school practices such as bringing in peer mediators to defuse brooding clashes. Another effective tactic is the use of student “restorative circles” where trained school facilitators pool together the student(s) whose actions have harmed or affected others and the people directly harmed or affected by what happened. A well-facilitated circle also includes additional participants acting as student supporters.
Rather than berate the person(s) who instigated the disruptive event, discussion in a restorative circle offers the opportunity for the actor to discuss the reasons behind her behavior. This could uncover school-related stress factors or issues in the neighborhood or at home. The restorative circle also gives those who have been hurt a safe space to tell the person who caused harm how their actions affected them, as well as the opportunity to share how the person who caused harm can undo the damage.
Restorative circles always conclude with “terms of agreement,” which all participants must accept before ending the meeting. And it is not uncommon for circles to lead to additional follow-up or some form of intervention by staff, tutors, counselors or other third parties. These third parties should never be representatives of law enforcement or reform schools.
The effective methods I’ve suggested require professionals trained to facilitate them, however. Teachers must teach. They don’t have the resources to serve as full-time mediators and facilitators or as part-time therapists and counselors. The non-teaching professionals who are so pivotal to de-escalation and healthier, happier students cost money, of course, and hiring them requires effectively advocating for adequate funds.
Nevertheless, these often overlooked methods are necessary to help students finally acknowledge and surmount whatever personal challenges they have leading them to disruptive behavior. As outside shareholders, it is our job to work with schools so we can better understand the policies and procedures that work and advocate for more of them within the community.
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