children out of school in america - University of Tennessee Digital ...

turned if he even opened his mouth he got booked
again. "82 A Springfield attorney commented that the
Office of Pupil Services used to label all kids who
were suspended as in need of psychiatric care and
used this as a rationalization for keeping kids out
because the system did not have adequate psychiatric
care. 8S
Not only are children hurt in the present by suspensions,
the permanent record of suspension is a
time bomb that can explode at unexpected times, in
unexpected places. School records are usually available
to the police and they are extremely accessible
to potential employers and admissions officers of
other academic programs. 8 •
Encouragement of Juvenile Delinquency
No one has been able to identify the precise
causes of juvenile delinquency. Most social scientists
agree that the factors contributing to it are many
and interrelated. School problems - whether they
cause delinquency, are cause\i by delinquency, or are
caused by some other factors that also cause delinquency
- are highly correlated with more serious
offenses. Officials in Massachusetts detention and
other youth facilities whom we interviewed said:
"98 percent of [our] children have been involved
in school problems."85
82 Interview with Barbara Jackson, Education Director and
Donna Scholee, Psychologist, Neighborhood Youth Corps,
Springfield, Massachusetts, 12/5/73.
8S Interview with Bill Malloy, Housing Allowance Program.
Springfield, Massachusetts, 8/17/73.
81 We wrote to personnel directors of America's 500 largest
industrial corporations. Of the companies responding to
our query, 51.7 percent stated that they sought access to
a job applicant's public school records. 91.1 percent of
those seeking access reported that they were generally
allowed to see school records. 73.3 percent indicated that
poor grades, high absenteeism, or a history of discipline
problems appearing on the records were likely to count
against the applicant. Companies characterized people
with records of suspension as "poor job prospects," who
would receive "negative consideration."
85 Interview with lim McGuinness, Regional Director. Region
VI, Department of Youth Services, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, 8/28/73.
138
"Everyone has come in with some particular
school problem."8G
"Nearly all have had trouble in school."87
"You name it, they've had it. Some have been tutored
at home; others are put in special classes or
given social promotions. One girl never spent a
full year in school before coming here."88
The delinquent child can pose special problems
for a school. A teacher who must orchestrate the
learning of 30 or more students does not need extra
discipline responsibilities that interfere with smooth
class functioning. As many administrators see the
public schools as serving the majority of children,
they encourage non-conforming children to go somewhere
else.
Children under the supervision of the Department
of Youth Services in Massachusetts whom we interviewed
revealed that over 80 percent of them had
been expelled or suspended, many of them repeatedly80
Two of them said:
"I forgot how many times I was suspended in the
7th and 8th grades. They'd ask for my story
but they'd always believe the teacher. They'd say,
'take a few days vacation.' "
"The principal said 'don't bring him back, we
don't want him here.' They didn't give any reasons
whatsoever. They said 'we'll say we caught
you with marijuana.' I continuously called the
school asking if I was terminated and if so, requesting
that my records be sent to Worcester.
They kept telling me to call back next week-that
went on until December. They were playing a
game and T lost a year of my life academically as
a result."
A highly placed Department of Youth Services
official remarked:
"The good schools don't like our kids, and the
bad ones we don't like. We find that if we take
our kids and place them in Boston public schools
if we leave them off at 8:00, they're expelled by
8: 30, before school even starts."90
86 Interview with Paul Carlburg, Staff, Anker House,
Worcester, Massachusetts, 9/ t t/73.
87 Interview with Dr. Jerry Cowan, Director, Liherty House,
Danvers, Massachusetts, 9/t7/73.
8d Interview with Tony Teso, Educational Director, Protestant
Youth Center, Baldwinville, Massachusetts. 9/20/73.
80 Of the 46 children interviewed, 37 had been either suspended
or expelled from schoQl at least once. Most had
been suspended repeatedly.