By: Paige Adams
Is there some truth behind the theory that our public schools are nothing more than pipelines to prison? The thought is, the pipeline is similar to the underground railroad, but in reverse. Where the underground railroad was an intricate system of people who, by covert measures, helped slaves escape from bondage to freedom, the school to prison pipeline is quite the opposite. The open and visible public school disguises the means to education in a manner that mimics the penal system.
During the 1980’s there was a crime explosion because of the increase of drugs on the streets. As a result, many schools around the nation armed themselves with extra security guards and metal detectors. Sometime during the 1990’s many schools began employing police officers and gave them the title, “School Resource Officer.” Exactly whose safety are they protecting? With all of these changes no longer can students enter and make a beeline to their locker before going to class. They must first be searched before entering to learn. These tactics create a space where a child is more vulnerable to being treated like a prisoner instead of a student.
The question is then raised, “How else are we to protect the education process?” Such a loaded question sparks varied responses, many of which have nothing to do with school. This is because the school system is one of the pillars of the community. As we have seen with covid-19, if you infect a community with a toxic disease, that includes poor housing, food deserts, poor medical care, lack of resources, high unemployment, under-paid jobs, and drugs, it will spread. Sure, on an immediate level the current measures protect students and faculty from outside intruders. What it does not address, is how a community disease can metastasize within the walls of our schools. Therefore, the same solutions that fill prisons are in turn the problems that empty the halls of our schools, whether intentional or not.
There are other aspects of the pipeline that are less discussed but also mirror the prison style treatment. In some prisons, yard time is restricted to one hour. One of the biggest complaints in recent years is the reduction of playtime for elementary school and gym classes for secondary school. Additionally, mealtime in prison is set to a stringent structure. If the rules are not followed you will not eat. Similarly, I have witnessed first-hand where a teacher threw away a middle school student’s food because he ran out of time to eat. This was after his class arrived late to the cafeteria for disciplinary measures.
When it comes to classroom size in comparison to prison overcrowding, the prison has received more attention. Over the past twenty years there has been a push to build more prisons to handle the overflow of prisoners. To the contrary, very little attention or funding has been used to correct classroom overcrowding. Quite naturally with the students sitting on top of each other there will be more behavioral problems that could possibly be a gateway to prison.
Finally, prison is supposed to be a means for rehabilitation. At one time a prisoner could obtain his GED, get licensed in a trade, and possibly acquire a college degree. Other than the college degree, the same held true for many school systems across the nation. For example, during the 1950’s and 1960’s, New York City was one of the highest-ranking school systems in the nation. Known for their specialized trade schools in multiple disciplines like nursing, mechanics, welding, and cosmetology, students graduated with certificates enabling them to begin working immediately in these areas. Somewhere along the line funding was cut and many of these disciplines no longer exist. Now, many of our students graduate without any direction like non-rehabilitated prisoners.
These are just a few similarities that have been discussed ad nauseum by educators, scholars, and politicians. Yet, there are many more issues flowing through the pipeline that have not been addressed. If the system continues in its present form, it is almost certain that the subtleties and covert practices will all be erased only to yield no distinction between the school and prison.
A Paige from my Book 