The School-to-Prison Pipeline Essay Example
The School-to-Prison Pipeline Essay Example

The School-to-Prison Pipeline Essay Example

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  • Pages: 6 (1542 words)
  • Published: January 26, 2022
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Today, various schools across the country have adopted discipline methods that have encouraged the school-to-prison pipeline. The purpose of school should be to instill values to students that will help them develop and become responsible members of the society. However, the use of overzealous discipline policies seems to be doing the exact opposite of the school’s purpose.

The legislation of the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 encouraged the use of zero tolerance policies in ensuring discipline in schools (Cerrone, K.M. 1999). Following the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, more school administrators readily embraced the draconian policies in a bid to promote safety in their schools. The adoption of these policies saw a tremendous increase of suspensions and expulsions of long periods for students. The deployment of School Resources Officers (SROs) in schools further fuelled the school-to-prison

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pipeline. Ironically, these officers who were supposed to protect the students have instead arrested them in large numbers even for misdemeanors that should be dealt with the school administration. Various schools also adopted broken windows theory which was meant to curb small offenses before they escalated to serious ones (Teske, S.C. 2011). This meant even more students were suspended for unwarranted actions. All these discipline policies are turning students to the prison system and denying them a chance at meaningful education. Critics have discredited the policies and even exposing the disparities which lead to minority students, such as African Americans and those with disabilities being punished more often than their white counterparts (Gonzalez. T,2012). They are being used to propagate racism and inequality among students at a young age. These students end up staying out of school and engaging

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in illegal activities which lead to incarceration. Is the system punishing the students who need guidance and counseling in directing them to the right path?

There needs to be immediate intervention in our discipline policies if we want to save our youth who are our future leaders. School administrators are the custodians of all the students that parents entrust in their care. It is thus important that they take the necessary steps to ensure that discipline and safety in schools is maintained while prioritizing the interests and rights of all students. The following steps are key in developing and implementing an authentic learning culture. The first step should be to revise the school mission statement. The mission statement elaborates the goals, values, ethics and culture that the school follows and believes in. Thus, this statement should reflect a school which values its students and wants the best future for them. The mission should be geared towards instilling discipline in ways that are not destructive to the students. The school should aim at protecting rather than condemning its students.

Secondly, the existing school staff should be vetted. Teachers are the role models of students and are mandated to guide them. They spend a considerable amount of time with the students and are able to know the character of each of them. Under qualified and unethical teachers are not able to deal with students and they result to using discipline policies that only serve to punish them more. There have been several cases of teachers and educators participating in racist and derogatory remarks to minority students. This affects a student emotionally and may result to violent behavior as a

form of self protection. It is thus very important to ensure that all teachers and educators are passed through a vetting process to ensure only the qualified teachers are allowed to deal with students. Apart from vetting, they should be trained on how to deal with different indiscipline cases. The culture and values of our society are very dynamic and continuously evolving thus young people are being exposed to social evils at an early age. It is therefore important for refresher courses to be offered frequently to enable them know how to deal with emerging issues. Training will also equip teachers with the necessary skills for handling students with special needs.

Thirdly, the school curriculum should be revised to accommodate all students. Today’s curriculum is geared towards academic scores rather than holistic development. This setting has laid down rules that only advocate for highest academic performances in class. Students who do not perform are considered as trouble makers and more likely to engage in unruly behavior. Many students who find do not meet performance expectations of their teachers in class are usually talented in sports, music and other extracurricular activities. Unfortunately, they are rarely given the platform to exploit their talents, and instead subjected to a harsh scripted curriculum which punishes even the slightest misdemeanor harshly. Thus, as a school administrator, it is important to engage all the concerned stakeholders to ensure that the curriculum is revised for the betterment of students. This will promote cohesion and improve student-teacher relationships enabling the students to have a sense of belonging to the school community.

Many students with disruptive and unruly behavior come from broken and dysfunctional homes. They

often seek safe havens from school and have emotional and anger issues to deal with. These students need a strong support system if they are to overcome the problems they encounter at home and be productive students. Therefore, it is important to invest in strong support systems that will guide and support such students. The school should source for more funds from shareholders, the government, donors and well wishers to help it employ experts that deal with children welfare. Services such as mentoring, guidance and counseling should be readily accessible by students early enough before minor anger issues escalate to criminal behavior.

One of the mandates of a school administrator is disciplining. While it is inevitable to have undisciplined students in the school, the manner in which we deal with them is the most crucial. Restorative discipline policies should be adopted rather than zero tolerance policies. Restorative practices advocate for teachers to get to the reason behind indiscipline behavior by a student. Through conversation and meaningful interrogation, the teacher is able to solve an indiscipline case and prevent repeat cases as the student is forced to take responsibility for their action and the effect on others. Zero tolerance policies do not bother to find the reason for indiscipline but rather deal with the indiscipline case head on by suspension or expulsion. However, a suspended student will come back to class when the punishment is over and is more likely to repeat the same offense again. This shows that the zero tolerance policies do not solve any problems in the long term (Daniel, Y., & Bondy, K. 2008)

It is also important to ensure that disparities in disciplining

students are completely eradicated. Structural racism where black and Hispanic students are more likely to be punished harshly for the same indiscipline case as the white students should be shunned( Kim, C.Y., Losen, D.J., & Hewitt, D.T. 2010). Any teacher found to be practicing such unethical behavior should have a disciplinary case to answer. This will create a conducive environment for learning and no student will feel victimized due to their color. This will ensure the barriers created by the system among students are broken thus achieving peace and harmony. Gang fights will reduce and consequently reducing suspension and expulsion cases.

The introduction of social programs and activities that bring together teachers and students will also be instrumental in eradicating the school-to-prison pipeline. Students regard teachers’ only authoritative figures due to class interactions. However, social interactions will enable them view their teachers as friendly, approachable elders who are ready to help and listen to them. Teachers will also be able to learn and understand their students at a personal level.

Lastly, it is important to teach and instill core values in our students from a tender age. Values such as responsibility, integrity, community, and respect form the basis of moral and ethical character of the student. When students have these values, they are able to know and practice what is right for them and others. Instilling values in students is a long term solution in dealing with cases of indiscipline. We should be focused in ensuring that we release our students to the world as responsible citizens who will add value to the society. Our society is rotting and the number of young people in prisons continuing

to rise every day. We are responsible of molding our students to be the leaders and drivers of our nation tomorrow. Rather than pushing them to the prison system and denying them a bright future, let us protect, educate and instill values that will be passed on to the next generation.

References

  1. Cerrone, K.M. (1999) Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994: Zero Tolerance Takes Aim at Procedural Due Process.
  2. Daniel, Y., & Bondy, K. (2008). Safe Schools and Zero Tolerance: Policy, Program and Practice in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy.
  3. Kim, C.Y., Losen, D.J., & Hewitt, D.T. (2010). The School-to –prison pipeline: Structuring legal reform. NYU Press.
  4. Gonzalez, T., (2012). “Keeping Kids in Schools: Restorative Justice, Punitive Discpline , and the School to Prison Pipeline”. Journal of Law and Education.
  5. Teske, S.C. (2011). A study of zero tolerance policies in schools: A multi-intergrated systems approach to improve outcomes for adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing.
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