Children Caught in America’s Prison System

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Working with Students Who Have Emotional and Behavioral Disturbances




           Educators have a huge obligation to provide a safe learning environment for students in the classroom. This can be a very difficult task when highly volatile students are placed in general education settings without the proper academic support in place. Students come from different backgrounds and each classroom dynamic is affected by the emotional state of each child. The majority of students in classrooms across the country are traditional learners who understand and follow classroom procedures, meeting the behavioral expectations established by the teacher, but a growing rate of students who display “high rates of disruptive and aggressive behavior” (Gunter, 2014) are also present.    

Exceptional students who have emotional disabilities are not always identified by their academic institutions. Under Federal guidelines outlined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students who are identified to qualify for Special Education services are protected under the law, but in many cases many students who have emotional disabilities are not properly assessed and end up struggling in school because they do not have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  Oftentimes these students become frustrated when they are presented with course work that is above their cognitive capability level. As a result the frustration builds up and can cause the student to act out.

Exceptional students who have a difficult time dealing with their emotions are classified under IDEA as Emotionally Disabled, this might also include students who are unable to control their behavior. Phillip Gunter is the author of an educational journal article entitled: Effects of Challenging Behaviors of Students with EBD on Teacher Instructional Behavior.  In this article, Gunter shares insight on the importance of positive teacher interactions with students who have adverse reactions to traditional consequences. He also suggests how to effectively deal with students who are unable to self-regulate their emotions and their behavior without escalating the situation. This is very important because research documented in the article implies that negative behaviors actually tend to increase when teachers take strictly punitive approaches when dealing with “problem” students. These situations tend to escalate overtime and can even lead to violent outbursts displayed by the student with EBD. The following expert from the article contains data related to Gunter’s analysis which states:

The results of the research, thus far, indicate that interactions between teachers and students who display aggressive behavior are seldom positive. In fact, in the latest study, we found that negative interactions--i.e., interactions involving disruptive, aggressive, negative verbal/gestural, or negative consequences but no positive behaviors--between teachers and students occurred 22% of the time spent in the classroom. In contrast, positive interactions--i.e., interactions involving praise or positive consequences and no negative behaviors--occurred only 3% of the time. When the sequence of negative interactions was broken down, negative interactions were typically started by the students engaging in a disruptive act, which was followed by the teacher telling the students to do an academic task or "talking" to the students. Negative interactions often ended in students engaging in additional disruptive behaviors. However, students seldom received positive consequences such as praise or positive physical contact, even when they engaged in appropriate behavior such as complying with teacher requests. These results led us to hypothesize that many of the students' undesirable behaviors might serve the function of escape or avoidance from aversive stimuli in the classroom, that in fact, many students' socially inappropriate actions may be taken in order to terminate events in the educational environment that the students find unpleasant.

            In order for students who have EBD to fully engage in the learning process, it is crucial that teachers are aware of the interactions, dynamics, and relationships that are established which promote student successes. Some major topics brought up in the article include: 1) making sure that students are presented with well planned activities, assessments, and curriculum materials that are not “too difficult nor too easy” for the student; (2) implementing classroom management strategies that focus on the “use of positive reinforcement” as a means of motivation; (3) “increasing positive interactions between teachers and students” by ensuring that positive praise and encouragement from the teacher includes everyone in the class; and (4) making sure that lessons are relevant, well thought out, and presented in a way that promotes student engagement. The author includes the following sentiments: “Although these guidelines are incorporated in teacher training programs, it appears that they are often not used by teachers in classrooms.” (Gunter, 2014)

             Gunter goes on to state that teacher reactions to class disruptions and adverse behaviors are not the primary initiating factors causing students' “inappropriate or aggressive behaviors.” It is noted that “home conditions, gang membership, drug/alcohol abuse, and other disrupting environmental and personal events increase the probability of emotional and behavioral disorders among students.“
 (Gunter, 2014) These external forces are “beyond the control of teachers,” but in order for students to gain a positive outlook on their academic progress and achievement, it is critical that classroom teachers remain neutral and maintain an appropriate level of rigor, respect, and responsibility to every individual student in the class. When these steps are taken a child is less likely to display undesired behaviors and emotions in the classroom.      

 

Gunter , P. (2014). Effects of challenging behaviors of students with EBD on teacher instructional

                behavior. Preventing School Failure, Vol. 38(Issue 3.), Retrieved from  


                vid=12&sid=8c2c01c2-93a8-455d-b48f-    


 
 

 

           

Juvenile Violent Crime Statistics

Statistic Verification
Source: Juvenile violent crime statistics. (2013, 04 28). Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/youth-violent-crime-statistics/
Date Verified: 4.28.2013


Year
Murder
Forcible Rape
Robbery
Assault
Total
2008
974
2,505
27,522
42,969
73,970
2007
1,011
2,633
26,324
43,459
73,427
2006
956
2,519
26,092
44,424
73,991
2005
929
2,888
21,515
45,150
70,482
2004
1,065
3,038
18,554
43,611
66,268
2003
783
2,966
17,900
43,150
64,799
2002
806
2,937
18,288
43,879
65,910
2001
957
3,119
18,111
44,815
67,002
2000
806
2,937
18,288
43,879
65,910
1999
919
3,182
18,735
45,080
67,916
1998
1,470
3,769
23,400
51,360
79,999

De-escalation Strategies for Volatile Students

The following are de-escalation strategies that teachers can utilize in dangerous situations in order to prevent violence between students.

·         Confronting an angry, potentially aggressive student can increase or decrease the potential for problems. Develop de-escalation procedures, such as the following, with your staff members and practice them through role-play:

·         Reduce the student’s potential to engage in face-saving aggression by removing any peer spectators.  

·         Take a nonthreatening stance with your body at an angle to the student and your empty hands at your sides in plain sight.

·         Walkie-talkie can look weapon-like in the hand of a staff member and may seem threatening to an emotionally upset student.

·         Maintain a calm demeanor and steady, level voice, even in the face of intense verbal disrespect or threats from the student.

·         Acknowledge the student’s emotional condition empathetically—for ex- ample, “you’re really angry, and I want to understand why.”

·         Control the interaction by setting limits—such as, “I want you to sit down before we continue” or “We can talk, but only if you stop swearing.”

·         Provide problem-solving counseling with a school psychologist or counselor at the earliest opportunity.

 
Larson, J. (2008, January 1). Knowing how to prevent and respond to student anger and aggression

 is important to maintaining order in school. Retrieved August 8, 2014.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Illiteracy: A Major Problem Contributing to Juvenile Delinquency


 
Students who struggle in school have been found to have higher incidents of contact with the police and the juvenile court system. In some cases students are able to get the support they need from school officials by participating in Special Education programs that address specific needs the child has in areas of concern, but there are many students who have learning disabilities who are not formally assessed. These students are fall through the cracks and end up getting labeled by their educators as  “dumb,” “immature,“ “emotionally disturbed,” and “lazy,” but the labels do not help eradicate the problem at all. Instead students start to believe what they hear and end up suffering from low self-esteem, frustration, depression and low motivation.
According to Peter Wright, an attorney and advocate of exceptional students, issues related to low literacy rates have the most profound impact on statistics related to juvenile delinquency. In his article entitled Reading Problems and Juvenile Delinquency, Wright gives a personal account of being labeled and hating school because he could not perform and excel in school at the same paces compared to his peers. Luckily, in his experience, he was able to get specialized help to address his specific learning dilatability after being professionally diagnosed with “strephosymbolia” (dyslexia) when he was in the third grade. Unfortunately, many students who suffer from learning disabilities that prevent fluent literacy never get the academic support they need to be successful in school. This can cause a student to lose hope and choose a path of self-destruction. Issues of defiance, acting out, truancy and substance abuse are common ways high risk youth deal with their feelings of failure and frustration. These and similar issues are the very reasons they are removed from traditional academic settings and placed in locked facilities under the supervision of the Juvenile Court System.
Wright believes that a major problem contributing to juvenile delinquency is that “schools and courts help children with learning disabilities learn criminal behavior” by failing to properly address and diagnose health issues related to psychiatric, psychological, and neurological functions that greatly impact a student’s ability to learn. The article contains “extensive research on the low reading grade levels of delinquents, and the relationship between learning disabilities delinquent behavior. He makes specific references to a study that was conducted by the North Carolina Crime Study Commission and quotes their key finding using bolded font that says, “Reading failure is the single most significant factor in those forms of delinquency which can be described as anti-socially aggressive.” He then goes on to provide the insight of a colleague by the name of Milton Brutten, who states:  
"If we can learn to identify these learning disabled adolescents they will not retreat because of their sense of worthlessness, to apathy, lethargy, passivity. They will not on the other hand vent their fury at the humiliations they experienced all through their life in anti-social behavior. They can be trained."
 Brutten’s point of view goes back to the issue of early identification of exceptional students who have learning disabilities, but what happens to students when their “school fails” to diagnose the real issue? Wright suggests that early signs of delinquency involve appropriately dealing with truancy issues because once the student refuses to attend school; it becomes an issue for the courts to deal with. The student then gets thrust into a cyclical pattern. Wright states:
The techniques used to improve school attendance are coercive in nature. Under these circumstances and pressures, the undiagnosed LD child is destined to fail. As frustrations, tensions, and pressures increase, the child develops hostility. He often escapes by using drugs, running away behavior, and delinquent acts.
This article also discussed specific areas impacted by the unsuccessful resolution issues related to undiagnosed learning disabled students. Some of the major points discussed where: 1) Parents of children with learning disabilities are negatively impacted economically. 2) Undiagnosed learning disabled student are placed in classroom settings where a lot of seat time is wasted. 3) It costs the justice system, on average, $10,000 a year to incarcerate one adolescent. 4) Crime victims are negatively impacted by economic and emotional losses.  5) The amount of suffering endured by the undiagnosed LD child cannot be “measured in dollars and cents.”
Students who struggle to read are not predestined for failure, but it is important that they receive the academic support necessary to find success in school. Educators, school officials, family members and community figures can all help contribute to a student’s success. This article made connections between the data related to delinquency and the importance of literacy in helping to shape a student’s outlook on their education. When all of these pieces come students are more likely to find success. I come away from this research being mindful to motivate students and help them build self confidence in their academic abilities, with hopes that they will enjoy learning and make a genuine effort to set goals and reach them.
Wright, P. (2007). Reading problems and juvenile delinquency. Retrieved from http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/jj.delinq.read.probs.htm
 
 

Statistics Related to Exceptional Students and Delinquency


The amount of research related to crime, incarceration and primary contributing factors is endless, but the findings tend to point in the same direction. Some consistent commonalities, among incarcerated adults, include 1) deprived socio-economic status, (2) unemployment, (3) poor school performance (especially at it pertains to low literacy rates), (4) broken homes and (5) mental illness. This information applies to juvenile offenders and/or their family members also.

The statistics contained in the information below were published by Pamela Wright, who is an attorney who specializes in the advocacy of students with special needs. She included the following data in an article titled From Emotions to Advocacy: The Parents' Journey. This article describes the frustration and feelings of inadequacy that many parents face when dealing with the issues related to special education and advocating for their children. Write states:

Researchers have found that most special education programs fail to confer adequate educational benefit to many of the youngsters they are designed to serve. The statistics are sobering:

  • 74% of children who are unsuccessful readers in the third grade are still unsuccessful readers in the ninth grade. (Journal of Child Neurology, January, 1995)

  • Only 52% of students identified with learning disabilities will actually graduate with a high school diploma. Learning disabled students drop out of high school at more than twice the rate of their non-disabled peers. (Congressional Quarterly Researcher, December, 1993)
  • At least 50% of juvenile delinquents have undiagnosed, untreated learning disabilities. (National Center for State Courts and the Educational Testing Service, 1977)
  • 31% of adolescents with learning disabilities will be arrested within five years of leaving high school. (National Transition Longitudinal Study, 1991)
  • Up to 60% of adolescents who receive treatment for substance abuse disorders have learning disabilities (Hazelden Foundation, Minnesota, 1992)
  • 62% of learning disabled students were unemployed one year after graduation. (National Longitudinal Transition Study, 1991)

A meaningful education will help turn these figures around.

One of the biggest risks that exceptional students face is becoming just another statistic related to juvenile incarceration. Unfortunately, educational institutions are unable to keep up with the demands within the current system. This is why it is so important for teachers, parents and other members of the educational team to be proactive in supporting students to achieve success in school and in their personal lives.

Wright, P. (2008, 11 22). From Emotions to Advocacy: The Parents' Journey. Retrieved from http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/Emotions.html

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Two Specific Categories Under IDEA Legislation Most Present in the Juvenile Justice System

        There is a plethora of research suggesting juvenile delinquency leads to adult crime. Unfortunately, there is another critical issue that directly impacts the high incarceration rate of adolescents in the United States. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) there is a growing rate of juvenile offenders that are being detained unjustly, because this population have disabilities that make them eligible for Special Education Services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA). OJJDP published the following information in an article entitled, Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System. It states: 

Disabilities that are frequently encountered among delinquents include emotional disturbance, specific learning disability, mental retardation, other health impairment, and speech or language impairment. The two most common disabilities found in the juvenile justice system are specific learning disability and emotional disturbances. (Burrell & Warboys, 2000)

High risk youth act out at school for many different reasons, but oftentimes the real issue is attributed to the student having poor social skills, emotional disturbances, and learning disabilities, or sometimes even a combination of these factors. It is very common that this specific student population is not able to access the proper services under IDEA in their schools, and in turn end up facing consequences through police contact and court involvement. Educational administrators and school districts are forced to contact the authorities and get them involved because there is limited access to behavioral health services and community outreach programs that support mental health issues.

In 2005, the Louisiana Department of Education was scrutinized after a complaint and investigation was held to identify if students with specific behavioral issues in the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Junior High School were being treated unjustly under strict federal legislation outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. After a yearlong investigation the allegations were verified, and action was taken to resolve the issues. 

The following information is an excerpt from an article entitled, Stopping the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Pipeline by Enforcing Federal Special Education Law, published by a Louisiana law firm who advocates for juvenile offenders. It provides insight on what services were provided to students involved in this monumental case. Direct action was taken by:

 Significantly increasing the frequency and duration of social work, psychological and counseling services provided to emotionally disturbed students; implementing district-wide use of positive behavioral interventions and supports; improving their academic progress at all grade levels; eliminating many harsh and illegal disciplinary practices and policies; significantly increasing their access to less restrictive general education environments; and significantly expanding their access to vocational training.(Comstock-Galagan & Brownstein, 2014)

The efforts put forth by the agencies who participated in addressing the true issues of these special needs students serves as proof that public awareness plays a key role in making strides toward a brighter future for students who do not deserve to be incarcerated.

Acknowledgements:
Burrell, S., & Warboys , L. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. (2000). Special education and the juvenile justice system. Retrieved from website: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/179359.pdf
Comstock-Galagan, J., & Brownstein, R. (2014). Stopping the schoolhouse to jailhouse pipeline by enforcing federal special education law. Southern Disability Law Center | Southern Poverty Law Center, Retrieved from http://legacysplc.wwwsplcenter.org/legal/schoolhouse.jspU.S. Department of Justice

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

When I grow up...

 I have always said that I did not choose my career; instead it chose me. My first experience as an educator was offered to me by the Director of a residential treatment center where I worked as a behavioral health technician. A 1:6 staff youth ratio was strictly enforced in each locked wing of the facility due to the volatile nature of the resident population.  There were always three or four other staff members on the floor at any given time providing supervision, but for some reason the students preferred to come to me for help with their high school math questions.

I usually worked afternoon swing shifts and would spend a good amount of time, before and after dinner, helping the kids with their geometry homework. The facility director approached me one day and asked if I would prefer a job within the Charter School located on site. I hesitated because I did not have any formal college training related to math instruction, nor did I have any teaching experience. He reassured me that the educational team noticed immediately that I worked very well with the students, and felt I would be an asset to the school. I felt like it was the chance of a lifetime and excitedly accepted the position.

The Charter School made it possible for me to work in the morning and attend college classes in the afternoon. I worked as a paraprofessional for the first two years, and as I became more confident with my instruction, I began teaching accelerated math to the higher functioning groups. I experienced so much professional growth during this time, because most of my learning took place in the classroom right alongside my students. I understood they had been referred to the residential treatment to fulfill court ordered sentences as a result of committing crimes, but I also put that detail aside in order to see their true character. It was my responsibility to be, not only a good role model, but an educational ally to each individual student. I was trusted and given the chance to help adolescents change their perspective and reshape their lives. It was during this time that I also found myself. I knew I wanted to be a teacher when "I grew up."

Almost ten years later, I am working on my M. Ed. Program at the University of Arizona. I can finally say that I feel like I am almost a grown up, but understand I still have a lot to learn. I have decided that through my journey I will make a conscious effort to see my students for who they really are and not be judgmental or unfair. I learned this valuable lesson in my first five years of teaching the high risk youth who lived and attended school in that locked behavioral health treatment center where I worked. The residents I came in contact with were good kids who just needed direction, consistency, empathy and positive re-enforcement, muck like the students in the public school where I work now.

I dedicate this blog to all of the students who have helped me become the teacher I am today.

Female Adolescents Locked Up

Female Adolescents Locked Up