Success an option for all students

According to the Sept. 6 article 'Discipline disparity in C.R. under investigation,” black students account for 18.6 percent of the Cedar Rapids School District enrollment, but 46.5 percent of suspensions. At the high school level, black students make up 18.7 percent of the enrollment and 41 percent of referrals.

Having spent years as a teacher/coach and a volunteer instructor in middle and high school levels, I'm surprised that the suspension percentage is not higher for African-American students because that's where the highest rate of unwarranted disruption, distraction, poor attention and confrontation to teaching originates.

The one, and only, exception to this classroom experience occurred when I taught classes to African American prisoners in penal institutions (jails). The prisoners were eager to learn and earn their G.E.D. in hopes of achieving a productive way of life and never returning to incarceration. There were no verbal or behavioral distractions, only serious questions about what would help them improve their lives once they were released. If any prisoner disrupted a classroom he was returned to his cell and dismissed from all future classes. However, this rarely occurred, and teaching these men was the most satisfying instructional period of my life.

I have delighted in having many exceptional African American students who have become successful in numerous ways, and not all attended schools of higher learning. They did not disrupt, but set forth questions related to their curiosity for learning so as to earn, and enjoy, a productive life.

Marion