{"id":9158,"date":"2017-05-13T02:39:34","date_gmt":"2017-05-13T02:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=9158"},"modified":"2017-05-14T02:49:26","modified_gmt":"2017-05-14T02:49:26","slug":"moonlight-schooled-hollywood-on-race-can-it-take-on-school-discipline-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/moonlight-schooled-hollywood-on-race-can-it-take-on-school-discipline-too\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Moonlight&#8217; schooled Hollywood on race. Can it take on school discipline, too?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/derek-black-350179\">Derek Black<\/a>, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-south-carolina-1755\">University of South Carolina<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s Academy Award winner for best picture tackles a difficult topic in the education world today: school discipline. In \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/moonlight.movie\/\">Moonlight<\/a>,\u201d high school boys taunt the main character, Chiron, with homophobic slurs before beating him. The next day, Chiron shatters a chair across the back of the ringleader. Chiron is handcuffed and sent to an alternative school, setting him on the path toward dealing drugs. <img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.edu.au\/content\/75972\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>While Chiron does become the aggressor, he is ultimately the victim and suffers an utterly cruel punishment for his revenge.<\/p>\n<p>This dichotomy captures the major insight of <a href=\"https:\/\/nyupress.org\/books\/9781479877027\/\">my recent research on school discipline<\/a>: that suspensions and expulsions frequently ignore the causes of student misbehavior.<\/p>\n<figure>\n            <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yVaUq98qWGE?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">In a scene from \u2018Moonlight,\u2019 Chiron takes revenge after being bullied and beaten.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Why do kids misbehave?<\/h2>\n<p>Normal human development can explain a lot of misbehavior. Younger children, for instance, lack the capacity to always behave; no matter the rules, elementary school students occasionally talk out of turn, push each other and disrupt class. Older students sometimes push boundaries in other, more serious, ways. Making and learning from these mistakes is simply <a href=\"http:\/\/greatergood.berkeley.edu\/article\/item\/the_misunderstood_middle_schooler\">part of growing up<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Disabilities, academic struggles, poverty, homelessness and family crises can also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cmu.edu\/teaching\/designteach\/teach\/problemstudent.html\">affect behavior<\/a>. For students in these situations, misbehavior is often a sign of unmet needs \u2013 not a character flaw.<\/p>\n<p>The school environment adds another complicating layer. Educators make choices about how they discipline students, which can influence <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indiana.edu\/%7Eatlantic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Academic-Cost-of-School-Discipline.pdf\">classroom culture, student behavior and academic achievement<\/a>. Research has shown that punitive approaches create environments that actually <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0742-051X(00)00059-7\">make misbehavior more likely<\/a>. As one group of scholars <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/BF02171974\">concluded<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201c[Students] interested in reducing their chances of being suspended\u2026 [would] be better off by transferring to a school with a lower suspension rate rather than by improving their attitudes or reducing their misbehavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.theconversation.com\/files\/168632\/area14mp\/file-20170509-11042-15e1r18.jpg\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theconversation.com\/files\/168632\/width754\/file-20170509-11042-15e1r18.jpg\"><\/a><figcaption>\n              <span class=\"caption\">Student misbehavior and the pushing of boundaries are a natural part of child development.<\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/students-passing-notes-class-99626366?src=kOYDkr78f7f7Jz1cx3TF8w-1-4\">Blend Images \/ Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Understanding Chiron<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cMoonlight\u201d brings all these interconnected factors together to help the audience understand student behavior. Chiron breached an obvious boundary that cannot be condoned. Yet, his punishment seems unjust because the audience sympathizes with his struggle: His mother is a drug addict. He suffers harassment for his sexual identity. His first lover turned against him.<\/p>\n<p>But rather than protect him, the school leaves Chiron to deal with these challenges alone. None of this excuses Chiron\u2019s act, but it likely deflates the audience\u2019s urge to label Chiron as a violent student who deserves expulsion or jail.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.theconversation.com\/files\/168646\/area14mp\/file-20170509-11015-lr1pxx.jpg\"><img alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.theconversation.com\/files\/168646\/width754\/file-20170509-11015-lr1pxx.jpg\"><\/a><figcaption>\n              <span class=\"caption\">Chiron\u2019s misbehavior in the film is portrayed in the context of his difficult life experiences.<\/span><br \/>\n              <span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"http:\/\/moonlight.movie\/\">A24 Films<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Current discipline trends<\/h2>\n<p>Public schools suspend or expel <a href=\"http:\/\/ocrdata.ed.gov\/Downloads\/CRDC-School-Discipline-Snapshot.pdf\">three million students<\/a> a year \u2013 often with no attention to context. (Thirty-four to 42 percent of those students are African-American.) The vast majority of suspensions and expulsions are for behavior less serious than Chiron\u2019s. In Connecticut, for instance, only about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sde.ct.gov\/sde\/lib\/sde\/pdf\/deps\/sctg\/suspensions_and_expulsions_2015.pdf\">10 percent<\/a> of suspensions and expulsions are for weapons, violence or drug-related behavior. Most are for everyday misbehavior.<\/p>\n<p>Like Chiron, the data also show that a single suspension increases the chances of a <a href=\"http:\/\/b.3cdn.net\/advancement\/d05cb2181a4545db07_r2im6caqe.pdf\">cascade effect<\/a>: subsequent suspension and expulsion, academic failure, dropping out and incarceration. With so much at stake, I believe schools owe students a far more thoughtful discipline system.<\/p>\n<p>When school discipline responds to students\u2019 needs, it produces <a href=\"https:\/\/ssrn.com\/abstract=2756497\">better behavior and academic achievement<\/a> for all students \u2013 not just struggling students. Schools with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/289687063_The_Punishment_Gap_School_Suspension_and_Racial_Disparities_in_Achievement\">the highest achievement<\/a> are those that deal with misbehavior through means other than just <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indiana.edu\/%7Eatlantic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Academic-Cost-of-School-Discipline.pdf\">suspension, expulsion and law enforcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These successful schools offer counseling, academic services and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu\/resources\/projects\/center-for-civil-rights-remedies\/school-to-prison-folder\/federal-reports\/are-we-closing-the-school-discipline-gap\/AreWeClosingTheSchoolDisciplineGap_FINAL221.pdf\">other programs<\/a> to help students work through their problems and to reinforce good behavior. When misbehavior inevitably occurs, it becomes a learning opportunity for students and teachers.<\/p>\n<p>This kind of approach, like \u201cMoonlight,\u201d humanizes student behavior.<\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/derek-black-350179\">Derek Black<\/a>, Professor of Law, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-south-carolina-1755\">University of South Carolina<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This article was originally published on <a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a>. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/moonlight-schooled-hollywood-on-race-can-it-take-on-school-discipline-too-75972\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Derek Black, University of South Carolina This year\u2019s Academy Award winner for best picture tackles a difficult topic in the education world today: school discipline. In \u201cMoonlight,\u201d high school boys taunt the main character, Chiron, with homophobic slurs before beating him. The next day, Chiron shatters a chair across the back of the ringleader. Chiron [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":9160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[292],"tags":[2352,2355,335,865,2353,2357,2197,2354,2356],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9161,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9158\/revisions\/9161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}