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[NEW YORK, 27 October 2008] - Teachers in New York City public schools say that punitive approaches toward children, such as aggressive policing, suspensions and other reactive strategies, undermine the human right to education by failing to address the causes of conflict and criminalising the school environment, according to a report by Teachers Unite and the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI). In the report, “Teachers Talk: School Culture, Safety and Human Rights,” teachers call for preventive and constructive approaches to discipline that create positive school cultures, teach behavior skills and use conflict resolution. Among the largest threats to safety in schools, teachers cited overcrowding, lack of quality training for teachers, inadequate numbers of guidance counselors and social workers, and the lack of opportunities for teachers, students and parents to influence discipline policies. Sally Lee, Executive Director of Teachers Unite, said: "The observations shared by these teachers are powerful arguments for a new vision of safety in the schools where they work, and powerful indictments of the city's approach to education in general. Youth of colour in particular, who make up over 85 per cent of the student population in New York City, are criminalised in schools and denied their right to education by the lack of resources.” Based on surveys of more than 300 middle and high school teachers in over 136 public schools across the city, as well as focus groups with more than a dozen teachers, the report finds that: “Teachers Talk” proposes a human rights framework as an approach to reforming discipline and improving school climate. The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises discipline as part of an educational process to develop the social skills of students, encourage learning, increase school attendance, and protect the dignity and safety of the child. In surveys and focus groups, New York City teachers call for policies and practices that protect these basic human rights standards and reflect a holistic approach to improving safety. Teachers call for smaller classes, more engaging curriculum, more access to guidance counselors and social workers, classroom management and conflict resolution training, mediation programs and restorative practices. The report highlights positive models being used in three New York City public schools – Eastside Community High School in Manhattan, Banana Kelly High School in the Bronx and the James Baldwin School in Manhattan. At Eastside Community High School, for example, the 100% RESPECT Campaign involves students and staff in a process to discuss and define what respect means in their community. Six months after the campaign was implemented in the middle school grades, suspensions dropped by 45 per cent. Eastside Community High School was in the news a year ago when an incident between a student and a School Safety Agent escalated, resulting in the arrests of both the student and the principal who tried to prevent police from taking the student out the front door in handcuffs. In many schools in New York City that are working to create positive climates, the aggressive presence of police is undermining their efforts. “The Department of Education needs to support every school in New York City in developing their own positive approach to discipline. New York City has fallen behind other major school districts, like Chicago and Los Angeles, which have embraced proactive citywide frameworks for discipline, like restorative justice and Positive Behavior Supports, that guarantee students’ human right to education and dignity in school,” says Elizabeth Sullivan, Human Right to Education Programme Director at the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI). Further information
pdf: http://www.crin.org/docs/Teachers_Talk[1].pdf