School To Prison Pipeline Essay
The school to prison pipeline is a term that Is used to describe the recent trend of adolescences having an early exposure to the criminal justice system as a result of the recent practices that have been put in place by school systems (Heitzeg). Academic failure, zero tolerance policies as well as police enforcement being present in educational institutions have all played key roles to this term becoming a hot topic when discussing factors that contribute to delinquent youth in today’s society.
A theory that will best fit hand in hand with this recent issue is the labeling theory. When a label is placed on an individual many believe that it defines who he or she is as a person. Some human beings often build their sense of self by relying …show more content…
on what others tell them about themselves. Such as, what he or she is good or bad at, and how they behave, this is most commonly seen in young children and teenagers.
The labeling of a child can have a long-term impact over their life span, rather the label is positive or negative.
Positive labels such as being called smart and or athletic. While negative labels being that of children who have been diagnosed with behavior or mental disorders such as ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome, or Oppositional Defiant Disorder. This also wraps into the school to prison pipeline because according to the book The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Structuring Legal Reform “children who are diagnosed with special learning or emotional needs are much more likely to be pushed out of mainstream schools and into the juvenile justice system.” (Kim, 2010) . Also, the book states that up to 85 percent of children who have been placed in juvenile detention facilities have disabilities that would place them under eligibility for special education services, yet only 37 percent of these children are actually receiving the services needed in their school. (Kim, 2010). Commonly, there becomes a drastic change in the child’s behavior because he or she has been deemed to act a certain way. Not because there is anything wrong with the child but because they have been told something is wrong with them causing them to act out resulting in teachers taking drastic measures to have them removed from classrooms. Many even begin to think that he or she is not able to function without their “medicine”. Once a child is deemed as hyper active and or “bad” he or she begins to actually believe this label. This then leads the child to involve themselves in situations that reflect the label of “bad” that has been placed upon them. Which brings up the term of criminality is something that is learned instead of born
with.
Across the country, in most cases, public schools have been safe places for teachers to teach and parents to send their child to learn. But what is a parent to do when the school system is now one of the contributing factors that is pushing their child off the path of success and into the prison yards.
The school to prison pipeline begins once a punishment is given to a child that removes he or she from the classrooms. In 1974 the number of out of school suspensions was only 1.7 million compared to that of 3.1 million in 2001 as a result of zero-tolerance policies being enforced. (Poe-Yamagata). The zero-tolerance policies also can lead to expulsion, when expulsion occurs it is “long-term removal from the school district or, in some cases, permanent removal from the school district.” Offenses that were once seen as common school misbehavior and minor offenses such as class disruption have now become criminalized. (Fowler, 2011) In the pass, these offenses meant a trip to the principle office but in recent times with police being present in school houses, this means a trip to the court house. Students who are that of color in urban areas have been the most vulnerable when it comes to the push out trends and excessive disciplinary actions of the school to prison pipeline. (Poe-Yamagata & Jones, 2007) After these children have been removed from school many turn to that of the street life which is another entry way of the school to prison pipeline.
A theory that will best fit hand in hand with this recent issue is the labeling theory. When a label is placed on an individual many believe that it defines who he or she is as a person. Some human beings often build their sense of self by relying …show more content…
on what others tell them about themselves. Such as, what he or she is good or bad at, and how they behave, this is most commonly seen in young children and teenagers.
The labeling of a child can have a long-term impact over their life span, rather the label is positive or negative.
Positive labels such as being called smart and or athletic. While negative labels being that of children who have been diagnosed with behavior or mental disorders such as ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome, or Oppositional Defiant Disorder. This also wraps into the school to prison pipeline because according to the book The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Structuring Legal Reform “children who are diagnosed with special learning or emotional needs are much more likely to be pushed out of mainstream schools and into the juvenile justice system.” (Kim, 2010) . Also, the book states that up to 85 percent of children who have been placed in juvenile detention facilities have disabilities that would place them under eligibility for special education services, yet only 37 percent of these children are actually receiving the services needed in their school. (Kim, 2010). Commonly, there becomes a drastic change in the child’s behavior because he or she has been deemed to act a certain way. Not because there is anything wrong with the child but because they have been told something is wrong with them causing them to act out resulting in teachers taking drastic measures to have them removed from classrooms. Many even begin to think that he or she is not able to function without their “medicine”. Once a child is deemed as hyper active and or “bad” he or she begins to actually believe this label. This then leads the child to involve themselves in situations that reflect the label of “bad” that has been placed upon them. Which brings up the term of criminality is something that is learned instead of born
with.
Across the country, in most cases, public schools have been safe places for teachers to teach and parents to send their child to learn. But what is a parent to do when the school system is now one of the contributing factors that is pushing their child off the path of success and into the prison yards.
The school to prison pipeline begins once a punishment is given to a child that removes he or she from the classrooms. In 1974 the number of out of school suspensions was only 1.7 million compared to that of 3.1 million in 2001 as a result of zero-tolerance policies being enforced. (Poe-Yamagata). The zero-tolerance policies also can lead to expulsion, when expulsion occurs it is “long-term removal from the school district or, in some cases, permanent removal from the school district.” Offenses that were once seen as common school misbehavior and minor offenses such as class disruption have now become criminalized. (Fowler, 2011) In the pass, these offenses meant a trip to the principle office but in recent times with police being present in school houses, this means a trip to the court house. Students who are that of color in urban areas have been the most vulnerable when it comes to the push out trends and excessive disciplinary actions of the school to prison pipeline. (Poe-Yamagata & Jones, 2007) After these children have been removed from school many turn to that of the street life which is another entry way of the school to prison pipeline.