Classroom as hostile territory: Stopping school “push out”

12-09-2009

By Michelle Chen/Race Wire

Schools are supposed to offer children in struggling communities a pathway to better prospects, but they’re increasingly becoming instruments of exclusion. A coalition civil rights and community groups has launched a national campaign against school “push out.” It’s a different spin on the dropout epidemic: activists are calling attention to harsh, discriminatory institutional policies that marginalize and exclude students from the education system. Various issues lead to children getting pushed out, but a common factor is a disciplinary approach that criminalizes kids for being, well, kids. It’s hard to focus on learning when rampant suspensions, expulsions, arrests, and police presence make school grounds feel like a combat zone. The so-called school-to-prison pipeline, which substitutes the criminal justice system for educators and supportive peers, draws poor children of color onto a bleak trajectory from the moment they set foot in the classroom. (more...)

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Classroom as hostile territory: Stopping school “push out”

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