29. Why Do We Suspend Misbehaving Students?

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2013/03/why_do_we_suspend_children_from_school.html

Brian Palmer is the author of "Why Do We Suspend Misbehaving Students?" The attention catching introduction alludes to the recent Sandy Hook shooting case and compares it to another similar case in Maryland, explaining that many have been suspended due to inappropriate jokes related to guns. The next sentence provides the article's main discussion - why suspending students is a common punishment. The author informs that though it is "familiar, cheap, and convenient," it is also proven to be innefective for its "deterrent value is low." To support this assertion, the author includes evidence from a 2011 study performed in Texas and its statistics. He concludes by also stating that schools do not benefit from suspending their students and that some city schools, such as one in Baltimore, have taken measures to decrease suspension as a means of punishment. In the next paragraph, Palmer introduces the reader to a contrast of people who do support suspension despite what he has previously stated. Including parents, principals, and administrators, the author reveals each people's view of suspension and explains that those who are more likely to "dropout" do so because it is more of a "push out." The next paragraphs talked about the role of suspension during the 1960's and 1970's and how it differs from today. The final paragraph of the article suggests many others' and most likely the author's view and alternative solutions for punishment other than suspension. Palmer briefly explains each one and how effective it could be.

Palmer's purpose in writing the article "Why Do We Suspend Misbehaving Students?" is to inform, most likely parents, students, and education related adults about the effects of punishing students with suspension. He also seems to persuade his audience into considering other means of punishment. The author uses different patterns of development to achieve his purpose. He compares and contrasts different eras in history in which suspension used to be effective, but today it is not; he reveals the cause and effects of suspending students (which did not reveal positive results, but rather effects that only leads to deterring students' educational lives). Palmer also uses persuasion in his writing, revealing the negatives of suspension and later providing an alternative solution and its possible effects in the final paragraph. The author's tone is fomal and conversational; his stand in the issue seems to be favoring other means of punishment which is explicitly evident in the final paragraph. Throughout the article, Palmer alludes to several cases, laws, and other examples (such as evidence from surveys) to support his arguments. The final paragraph was effective in the way that it not only presented another way of punishing students, but also explained its effects and how they would help students to do better.