Chapter 6: The Consciousness Gap: White Teachers at the Crossroads of Gifted Education and Discipline Disproportionality

Ms. Baker handed over her keys to a uniformed officer and walked through the secured doorway into the Juvenile Detention Center. Joshua was waiting in a small conference room; his biology textbook lay open on the table in front of him. Time passed quickly as Ms. Baker reviewed content from earlier in the semester and introduced new material, concepts the student appearedto grasp easily. After an hour, she paused. “We’ve covered three chapters already, Joshua. Would you like to take an assessment over what we’ve discussed?” The tall, lanky, Black adolescent smiled, saying, “Yes ma’am. I think I’m ready,” as she handed him a unit test. Forty- five minutes later, Joshua put down his pencil. Ms. Baker looked over the test and congratulated him on a job well done. Preparing to leave, she reminded Joshua that she looked forward to seeing him in class soon. Driving home, Ms. Baker wondered why this advanced student had been assigned to a non-Honors Biology class and if he would be willing to take the advanced course next year Unfortunately, she never had the opportunity to explore that possibility. Although Joshua was released from Juvenile Detention two weeks later, the talented student never returned to school.