Article

The term "alternative school" too often has become a euphemism for warehousing students whose behavior is deemed inappropriate for mainstream schools. In this article, Assistant Professor Christopher Dunbar, Jr., focused on the disproportionately large population of African American males relegated to these alternative schools, not for the most part as a choice by the student or parent, but as a form of exclusion to weed out the "bad apples" from the good. Dunbar draws on his experience as an alternative school teacher, his research in a Midwest alternative school, and other supporting data.

Discussion

In recent years there have been a proliferation of alternative schools whose primary purpose has been to house students with behavior found to be unacceptable in mainstream schools. Dunbar argued the point that these students are forced into educational dead ends. Curriculum at these schools is more likely to be remedial, with rote memory instruction and few opportunities for students to read "real" books, write, discuss or develop problem-solving skills. Because these students are labeled "disruptive," public schools have justification for removing them. The problem is defined as an individual one, not one of a larger pattern of behavior. Once in an alternative school, students lack role models and see themselves further removed from "good" students, and get caught up in outdoing each other by being "bad." Dunbar also pointed out that because a disproportionate number of African American male students are placed in alternative schools (two to one compared to white males) they become more racially isolated. Dunbar also found that during interviews with these students, many expressed concern that they weren't in "a real school" and described it not as a school of choice, but one for "bad" kids.  Dunbar concluded that by keeping these "disruptive" students out of mainstream schools, these students don't simply disappear, and neither do their problems. On the contrary, for students in alternative schools, the problems usually get much worse. They know the schools have given up on them and they "experience a deep sense of hopelessness."

What It Means to You

Finding a way to provide help for at-risk students is a challenge all educators face. For some, the quick fix is to send them away from the mainstream. The real answer is much more difficult to address and will take parents, teachers, administrators and students themselves to work toward a truly better "alternative."

For More Information

Dunbar, C. (1999). African American males and participation: promising inclusion, practicing exclusion. Theory into Practice, 38(4), 3-8.

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