text: October 9, 2019 • 9:41AM
  It was early in his 20-year career when John Howard found at the start of one school year that black male students—many with behavior challenges—filled most of the seats in his tenth-grade classroom.
  'I Don't Want Our Students to Think That's All I Am Here For'
  "Having been one of the only teachers of color in a building, I denitely have experienced being asked to support students of color," says Gina Harris, a member of the NEA Board of Directors and the culture and climate coach at Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park, Ill.
  "But as the only brown-skinned person in the building, I also want my students to know that I am here for them. If I am continually placed in a position to be 'the disciplinarian,'my ability to be supportive is inhibited—and the students miss out on that relationship building, too."
  Experts also say it benefits students to experience working with all types of adults in various situations, including in disciplinary action.
  These assignments are stressful, Howard notes, because the affected teachers have a strong natural urge to help students, especially those who perhaps face circumstances like theirs. But he says like all busy teachers they often don't have the extra time or energy, a problem former Education Secretary John King in 2016 called "an invisible tax".
  And Ramos points out that often colleagues expect different or harsher treatment than he might think is most effective for a student with complex issues.
  "There is sometimes this feeling that there is something magical about these teachers," Bristol says. "But if educators were more closely paying attention to what they are doing with these students, they could have more success with them … because they understand the range of needs of these
  "The question I would ask the person seeking me out as a disciplinarian in these circumstances would be 'Why have you asked me to do this?' and I'd follow up with 'Who are some other individuals that can help us with this?' is is not a one-issue x. Institutionalized and structural racism is multi-faceted, and we need to be looking at all of the ways of changing our procedures and relationship-building strategies to break it down from the root."