School to Prison Pipeline: The Issue Society tends to not Talk About

                                        School to Prison Pipeline 

    The school to prison pipeline is a discussion that does not seem to get as much publicity as other topics that we constantly hear on the news. I would take it even farther and say that most people do not even know what the school to prison pipeline is. It is not something that is discussed nearly as much as it should be. Due to this, I thought it would be a good idea to first explain what the school to prison pipeline actually is.

                                         What is it anyway?

    The school to prison pipeline in short terms is when schools make a conscious decision to allow police officers to take the role of administration when it comes to disciplinary protocol. This then leads to police officers abusing their power, and sending children to juvenile detention centers for minor behavior problems. This can range from a child writing on a desk, to a non-violent confrontation amongst two children or adolescences. You may wonder why I am mentioning children. The school to prison pipeline starts as early as preschool, and becomes more prevalent in the 2nd grade, and continues up to the high school years. That means children as young as 4 and 5 years of age are either being suspended, expelled, or being taken to juvenile detention centers for offenses that should not result in these forms of punishment. You may be wondering now, how did the school to prison pipeline even start? I am happy you asked. Let me start off by giving a brief history as to where this horrible system originated from. 

            

                How did the School to Prison Pipeline come about?

      In the early 1970's, you would rarely hear about students of any color being punished by not being able to come to school as a disciplinary action. Schools usually would look at other alternatives to discipline students that did not result in suspensions or explosions. This trend did not last very long. According to the article: The School to Prison Pipeline Explained by Libby Nelson and Dara Lind, it states "The Gun-Free Schools Act passed in 1994, and mandated a year-long out-of-school suspension for any student caught bringing a weapon to school. And as states began adopting these zero-tolerance policies, the number of suspensions and expulsions increased...Zero-tolerance policies have been widely criticized because schools have interpreted "weapons" very broadly, expelling students for making guns with fingers or chewing a pop-tart into a gun-shape". Having zero tolerance policies in schools not only criminalize students at a young age through having them view themselves as criminals by unfair disciplinary actions, but it also usually targets Black and Hispanic students more than their White counterparts. There have been numerous children who have been introduced to the juvenile system at a very young age for behavior issues that could have been dealt with by administration like a principal for an example. Ask yourself this simple question. Should a child as young as 7 years old be introduced to a juvenile system for writing on a desk, having an argument with another student, or pretending to shoot someone with their hands? We also have to take into consideration that most of these zero-tolerance policies in schools where police officers take the place of administration for disciplinary issues are usually in urban lower income areas. It has been shown time and time again that these areas have high crime rates, and people being killed for various reasons unfortunately becomes the norm. Due to this, though we do not want children to be products of their environments, they usually tend to become just that if they do not have proper guidance in their life. With this in mind, more workshops and resources should be given to children who constantly deal with some type of trauma outside of school. Let's make this the norm, instead of spending funds on more police presence in certain schools.

  What does the School to Prison Pipeline do to Children both Mentally and Emotionally?

    As mentioned earlier, the school to prison pipeline seems to be more geared too negatively effecting the lives of Black and Hispanic children. Black students are three times more likely to be expelled or suspended than White children for the same offense. Though this is very disheartening news, this is still only scrapping the surface when it comes to the injustices in the education system for black and brown students. The school to prison pipeline did not just come about by coincidence, there are several strategic systemic moving pieces that makes this specific industry strive. One of the biggest pieces is how the teachers (who are usually White) view the black and brown children in their classroom. It is nearly impossible for White teachers to have unbiased views on these children, when the majority of the time, they know very little about their culture and background experiences that have shaped who they are and their behaviors. Think about it, if you are a White person who lived in a rural area all of your life, how do you think that you could relate to a child who came from an urban poverty stricken area? It is two completely different worlds and lifestyles. In order for this to work, White teachers have to make it their business to intentionally find ways to build background in their classroom, and create meaningful relationships with the parents so that they can fully immerse themselves in their culture to better understand their students. This will only add more value to the education system, and ensure that children are not being punished harshly because they were already viewed as "bad" or "not learning material". 

According to the article, We Must End the School to Prison Pipeline: Opinion: Let's Never see Another First-Grader in Handcuffs by Shantell Meek and Roy Austin, it states, "Kicking pre-schoolers out of school does the exact opposite of what early education purports to do: Prepare children for school. The federal government and states should get serious about funding interventions that support social and emotional development, like early childhood mental-health consultation and positive behavioral interventions and supports". As a preschool educator myself, I am appalled to know that students who's brains has not fully developed yet to fully understand right from wrong can even be punished to the point that they are expelled from school. Also at this age, when children act out it is usually because something traumatic is happening in their lives that they are unable to express correctly because they are so young. Communication is something that is learned, not something that just happens. When children ate dealing with not seeing daddy or mommy because they are in a single household, or being raised by their siblings and not getting the love and nurturing they need from their parents because they are trying to work to keep the lights on, they will tend to act out to express what they are feeling, because at this age they do not know any other way to express their painful experiences. This is why it is so crucial for preschool teachers like myself to implement social-emotional practices in their classroom, where they are teaching children how to communicate in healthy effective ways. In doing this, you help children to succeed in all areas of life. This is much better than criminalizing children, and having them think they are problem children with no future ahead of them because they are being thrown into the unfair politics of society at such young ages. I want to end this blog with a quote from Langston Hughes: