It is disturbing that elementary children are criminalized and unsurprising that it happens to children with disabilities and children of Color at much higher rates. There should be no policing in schools and absolutely none for young children.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-arrest-children-new-data/
@AlliFlowers @edutooters you think arresting them and sending them to juvi is the answer then?
I am not advocating for anarchy, but criminalizing disability is problematic, maybe we disagree on this point.
@ZingerLearns What do you recommend for a child who is larger and outweighs most of the teachers and cannot be physically restrained? @edutooters
@AlliFlowers @edutooters I think it would depend on the disability and setting. If someone is severely ED and poses a danger to other students there are alternatives to gen ed that are not being criminalized. I have worked with schools that specifically support these students.
@ZingerLearns This was in the district’s alternative middle school. @edutooters
@AlliFlowers @edutooters is alternative the same as specific for disabilities or the school that the "bad kids go to?
@ZingerLearns 70% of the population was IEP. The remaining 30 probably should have been. The 30 wasn’t ever the problem though. @edutooters
@AlliFlowers @edutooters and there were people and resources to support the severe ED cases for example?
@ZingerLearns To be frank, I thought our entire sp’ed team and the LEA were worthless, but the faculty did wonders with them, and if we could get them before things escalated, they were sent to me to chill. But you know how quickly an ED child can go off. I’m going to do a quick photo edit masking the child’s face and dm you a pic. @edutooters
@AlliFlowers @edutooters I am glad that you were able to manage with what you had, but it sounds like there were not adequate resources. I appreciate the picture for perspective, and it reminds me of some settings I have seen.
@edutooters @ZingerLearns Related… The Kids of Rutherford County
“For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two lawyers, former juvenile delinquents themselves, who try to do something about it.”
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-kids-of-rutherford-county/id1707247008
@ZingerLearns @edutooters When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
America is addicted to policing as a solution to all social problems. Not enough housing? Sic the police on the homeless people! Inadequate mental health care? Sic the police on the psychotic and depressed! Not enough resources to handle disabled children? Sic the police on the kids!
@mjausson @edutooters I think it goes a little deeper and it's about criminalizing children of Color and those with disabilities. I don't see this happening in white suburban schools. Those families have the resources to shut this down quick.
@ZingerLearns @edutooters
These are actions right out of the 1800's. And to which I attribute to the far right's unspoken but actually intended aim to lower the age to hire workers. Young workers are easily manipulated and cheap to hire.
@ZingerLearns @edutooters Local cop shot a kid in a road rage incident. Defense pointed to his work as a school "safety" officer. "Treated those kids like his own children." Turns out he had domestic violence record as well.
@jhavok @edutooters this is an important part of the big picture. There are over 40,000 "safety" officers in schools last I checked. They have never stopped a school shooting, but they do a lot of criminalizing of children, and if we didn't use the money for them, we could use it for teachers, aids, social workers, advocates, community outreach, etc ..
@ZingerLearns Having dealt with a 6 foot tall 7th grader with an IEP, I am going to disagree. @edutooters