This framework of effective elements represents key findings from research done in 2012 and outlines effective features of middle school discipline policy practiced by effective middle school teachers in Oakland CA

1. Elements of Effective Discipline
with Black Male Students
Using the CRT lens to view how teachers effectively address
disproportionality of suspension of black males at the classroom level
EXPANSIVE VIEW EMOTIONAL BELIEFS
“If they fail, I failed.” FLEXIBILITY INFORMING
“I’m not mad. I’m the PRACTICE
Learning Focused: adult.” “Our job is to
“You can talk as long as it’s
about the work!” override oppression.”
Emotional
Academic engagement is Attunement: Background
prioritized over rule “I’m going to give you a little
compliance. space before you tear up this Beliefs:
place.” “When I learned about
inequity and the achievement
In Class Responding to emotional gap, I couldn’t ignore race.”
Flexibility: behavior of students, not just
verbal & physical behavior. Personal experience and
“I can’t go home so you’re understanding of institutional
not going home either!” racism and oppression of
Channel Anger:
black male students.
Discipline strategies that use “If you was poor and black,
multiple in class strategies you’d be angry too!”
with opportunities for Personal Charge:
atonement. Accepting and channeling “I love my students!”
student anger & frustration
into effective resistance. Commitment to and love of
Student Centered students and teaching.
Discipline Policy: Struggle with
“If they fail, I failed.” Practice: Override
“They do better when I get Oppression:
Policies that focus on building better.”
“And our job is to override
student capacity to follow oppression.”
them. Teacher struggles with their
own developing practice &
Conscious effort to address
experiences negative emotion
institutional racism toward
as a temporary loss of
black males.
perspective.

2. Elements
of
Effective
Discipline
with
Black
Male
Students
Critical
Race
framing
of
teacher
practice
that
keeps
black
males
in
the
classroom.
Effective
Element
Description
of
Element
1.
‘Expansive
View’
discipline
strategy
Equity
for
black
males
in
discipline
as
an
outcome,
not
a
process
(Crenshaw,
1995).
2.
Emotional
flexibility
Able
to
respond
to
negative
black
male
student
emotions
without
taking
offense.
3.
Beliefs
informing
practice
Responding
to
institutional
racism
toward
black
males
at
the
classroom
level.
Social
justice
belief
framework.
‘Expansive
View’
Discipline
Practices:
“If
they
fail,
I
failed”
Equity
for
black
males
in
discipline
as
an
outcome,
not
a
process.
Effective
Practices
Ineffective
Practices
1.
Learning
Focused:
Academic
1.
Compliance
Focused:
Following
rules
&
engagement
is
prioritized
over
rule
teacher
direction
creates
power
struggles
compliance.
where
learning
gets
lost.
2.
In
Class
Flexibility:
Discipline
2.
‘Out
the
door’
Policies:
Discipline
that
strategies
that
use
multiple
in
class
relies
heavily
on
threats
and
‘cumulative
strategies
with
opportunities
for
intolerance’
of
‘frequent
flyers’
atonement.
3.
Student
Centered
Discipline
Policy:
3.
‘Set
Up
To
Fail’
Discipline
Policy:
Rigid,
Policies
that
focus
on
building
student
one-­‐way
discipline
policies
that
set
capacity
to
follow
them.
students
up
to
fail.
Emotional
Flexibility
Able
to
respond
to
negative
black
male
student
emotions
without
taking
offense.
Effective
Practice
Ineffective
Practice
1.
Emotional
Attunement:
Responding
1.
Emotionally
Tone
Deaf:
Teacher
to
emotional
behavior
of
students,
not
misreads
or
is
unresponsive
to
student
just
verbal
&
physical
behavior.
emotional
cues.
2.
Channel
Anger:
Accepting
and
2.
Punish
Anger:
Teacher
sees
student
channeling
student
anger
&
frustration
expression
of
anger
&
frustration
as
into
learning
as
an
effective
form
of
disrespect
and
punishes
it.
resistance
(Akom).
3.
Emotionally
Struggle
with
Practice:
3.
Blame
Students:
Teacher
sees
student
Teacher
struggles
with
their
own
behavior
patterns
as
the
source
of
their
developing
practice
&
experiences
negative
emotions
and
thus
out
of
their
negative
emotion
as
a
temporary
loss
of
own
control.
perspective
(“Remember,
it’s
not
about
me.”).

3. Beliefs
Informing
Practice
Responding
to
Institutional
Racism
toward
black
male
students
at
the
classroom
level.
Effective
Practice
Prior
Research
Reference
1.
Background
Beliefs:
Teacher
has
1.
Addresses
Teacher
Bias:
Teacher
personal
experience
and
understanding
rejects
colorblind
myth
and
accepts
the
of
institutional
racism
and
oppression
of
reality
of
race
based
inequity
for
black
black
male
students.
males
in
education.
2.
Personal
Charge:
commitment
to
and
2.
Addresses
Cultural
Mismatch:
love
of
students
and
teaching.
Teacher
loves
and
appreciates
the
cultural
and
racial
identity
of
students
as
important
and
is
personally
committed
to
making
the
educational
setting
culturally
compatible
to
them.
3.
Override
Oppression:
Explicit
3.
Addresses
Institutional
Racism:
mission
of
addressing
institutional
racism
Teacher
educates
for
a
higher
purpose
of
toward
black
males.
supporting
black
male
students
to
overcome
institutional
racism.
The
catch
22
about
referrals
When
you
need
to
send
a
student
out,
it
is
urgent
and
typically
emotionally
charged.
This
is
not
the
ideal
circumstance
to
write
a
detailed
referral
that
gives
the
principal
adequate
background,
context
and
sequence
of
facts
that
any
reasonable
parent
would
require
the
principal
to
provide
if
called
and
notified
that
their
child
was
coming
home.
So
what
usually
happens
is
a
student
is
sent
without
a
referral
but
a
promise
of
one
at
a
later
time
and
the
student
is
expected
to
simply
remain
in
the
office
until
that
time,
creating
a
“cue”
for
the
principal.
But
even
if
the
teacher
manages
to
scrawl
some
“highlights”
and
send
the
student,
the
student
is
able
to
“spin”
the
whole
situation.
This
is
where
the
student
can
offer
information
about
the
teachers
chief
weaknesses
that
the
student
may
knowingly
or
unknowingly
feed
into
the
principals
existing
concerns
about
that
teacher,
no
matter
how
small
they
are.