Racial disparities hit four-year-olds in preschool

Racial disparities in punishments for schoolchildren begin early—appallingly early:

More than 8,000 toddlers in the U.S. were suspended from preschool at least once during the 2011 school year, new data from the U.S. Department of Education show — a small but significant number, experts say, because preschool students shouldn’t be sent home from school at all. [...]

Gaping disparities in how school discipline has been meted out has long been a department focus, but the new data show that those racial gaps start early: Black children constitute 18 percent of all kids attending preschool but account for 48 percent of all students suspended more than once, the new data show.

Here's what that looks like:

These are toddlers, practically, and instead of preschool teaching them how to share and take turns and follow instructions, some children—black children—are being taught that the world is punitive and they don't get second chances or the benefit of the doubt. It's an enraging story, but it's a terribly sad one, too. No matter how disinclined you are to see racism at work when you look at the world, this is a hard one to deny.