School to Prison Pipeline
School-to-Prison Pipeline:
Does the Current Educational System Demonize or Criminalize Our Youth? In today’s society our children go down one of two paths: become successful or become criminals. The question then must be asked: have we allowed our children to be tracked down such opposite paths by using discipline as an excuse? There may well be an argument that ultimately the school and prison system have nothing to do with one another; however, I believe they have become one in the same. When a child can be suspended from school for bringing a plastic knife to cut his banana or a child can be expelled after two incidents of misbehavior, I think we have a problem. Where is the compassion and understanding that our education system was built on, particularly in cases of low income, urban or under-resourced communities? Our society casts off our urban youth as misfits and criminals, yet I feel our children can be saved: all we need is more education and a hard lesson on reality. In 2001, then-president George Bush sought to save the children and reverse poor educational trajectories with what seemed to be a well thought out plan. The ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act would save our youth and close the gap between urban youth and wealthy children and the way they are taught from birth to college. This act would allow all children to receive the education they deserved no matter their race, gender, social class, or US citizenship. Through a standardized test based curriculum, these children would, in theory, have equal opportunity to receive top-notch education by highly qualified teachers in great schools. Higher test scores would lead to increased funding and more resources, thus perpetuating a cycle of change for the better. The very name was held up as an emblem of equality and hope for many poor, immigrant urban or otherwise marginalized children and families, who without this act would be left to fend for themselves in a failing system. No Child Left
Does the Current Educational System Demonize or Criminalize Our Youth? In today’s society our children go down one of two paths: become successful or become criminals. The question then must be asked: have we allowed our children to be tracked down such opposite paths by using discipline as an excuse? There may well be an argument that ultimately the school and prison system have nothing to do with one another; however, I believe they have become one in the same. When a child can be suspended from school for bringing a plastic knife to cut his banana or a child can be expelled after two incidents of misbehavior, I think we have a problem. Where is the compassion and understanding that our education system was built on, particularly in cases of low income, urban or under-resourced communities? Our society casts off our urban youth as misfits and criminals, yet I feel our children can be saved: all we need is more education and a hard lesson on reality. In 2001, then-president George Bush sought to save the children and reverse poor educational trajectories with what seemed to be a well thought out plan. The ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act would save our youth and close the gap between urban youth and wealthy children and the way they are taught from birth to college. This act would allow all children to receive the education they deserved no matter their race, gender, social class, or US citizenship. Through a standardized test based curriculum, these children would, in theory, have equal opportunity to receive top-notch education by highly qualified teachers in great schools. Higher test scores would lead to increased funding and more resources, thus perpetuating a cycle of change for the better. The very name was held up as an emblem of equality and hope for many poor, immigrant urban or otherwise marginalized children and families, who without this act would be left to fend for themselves in a failing system. No Child Left