ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to untangle how aggressive school discipline policies unintentionally impact the college aspirations of Latino males through the mislabeling and removal of students from the classroom. To help us make sense of this, we examine the experiences of Mateo, a composite student within the Rock County School District, a large urban school district located in the western United States. We juxtapose Mateo’s narrative about his experiences as a “habitual discipline problem” with the district’s stated disciplinary policy in hopes of better understanding how such policy seeks to create an orderly learning environment while simultaneously thwarting the learning of those disciplined. We use Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of cultural field and policy implementation theory to make sense of how policies like these result in seemingly contradictory effects. Among our recommendations, we stress the importance of examining the students’ individual context and life experiences prior to enforcing intransigent policies that undermine future ambitions and goals.
