Essay On Teenage Wasteland

The School to Prison Pipeline was chosen as a topic because it is relevant, controversial and dramatically affecting the nation’s youth. The school to prison pipeline proposes youth to choose between an education and jail, though the decision has often already been decided for them. A child should never be pushed away from education for any reason. School is the one place society depends on to guarantee that youth discover world of knowledge, their identity and a safe haven away from home. This issue is no secret as it is very obvious to see in almost any school district that the pipeline is an ongoing practice. The author takes an interest in this topic being a strong advocate of academics. The author disapproves of the pipeline effect as it shows detrimental damages to educational systems and young children across the nation. From the earliest school age to the last, youth are being stripped of their educational privileges due to an unfair system.

In Anne Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland,” the reader is given insight into the difficulty of parenting through Daisy’s desperate attempt to stop her son from his seemingly uncontrollable downward spiral. The paranoia of her “perfect” parenting techniques leads to the tainting of Donny’s innocence over time and eventually his mysterious disappearance at the end of the story. Through symbols of innocence and corruption, Tyler demonstrates the importance of keeping one’s head clear and focused while parenting, and that using common sense and logic is far more effective than relying on idealism and hope.

2. Kupchik suggests that there are three ways in which a child’s introduction to the system can take place. The first being, it is the first setting in which a “child’s deficits become apparent,” which increase their risk of school failure and incarceration (94). Secondly, he insists that students who underperform, academically, are more likely not to graduate. Thus, without a basic education, these underperforming students are likely to pursue illegitimate activity/careers that lead to incarceration (94). Finally, Kupchik explains that the way a school reacts to a child’s bad behavior is important. He argues that a school’s disciplinary process does not curb a student’s future involvement with the criminal justice system, but can potentially catalyze their involvement with the criminal justice system (94).

Anne Tyler’s “Teenage Wasteland” is a story about a modern day family of four and the relationship issues they experienced with each other. The story is presented in third person limited; however, the reader is shown much about how the mother of the family feels and the troubles she experiences in her relationships with her husband and children, primarily her son Donny. Daisy is portrayed as a mother who worries that she had failed Donny because of his continual disobedience toward the authority figures in his life. Donny is a teen who constantly misbehaves in school and in the story is described as “noisy, lazy, and disruptive; always fooling around with his friends, and would not respond in class.” (188). These behaviors lead Donny to

“Teenage Wasteland” is a short story written by Anne Tyler that focuses on the relationship between teens and parents. Many times it seems like they live in completely different worlds but they just have a different understanding of what they both want from each other. The story focuses on the two main characters Donny and Daisy. Donny is a teenage boy who isn’t the best student and doesn’t necessarily follow the rules or obey what his parents say. Daisy is a stay at home mom to her two children. And she doesn’t seem too motivated on helping her children but just focused on pointing out all the bad things that Donny does.

Out of school suspensions (OSS) are often enforced with the assumption that students receiving the suspension are less likely to repeat the problem behavior in the future. However, this has been proven to be false. Suspending a student for engaging in a certain behavior does not in fact serve as a deterrent from the behavior but as a deterrent from attending school instead. In actuality, receiving just a single suspension can increase the probability of a student experiencing academic failure, school dropout, and involvement in the juvenile justice system. Knowing this, some educators still believe that for many students, suspension can serve as an effective lesson. One of the greatest concerns that educators and administrators face is the matter of classroom management. It is part of their job to ensure a safe, productive and supportive classroom allowing students to learn and grow to their greatest potential. Though there are several strategies gauged towards managing a classroom, the most severe offences often lead to either in or out of school suspension. Some of the largest concerns faced with out of school suspensions is that they are often ineptly applied, used unfairly against students of color and seemingly ineffective at producing better behavior. Also known as exclusionary discipline, the majority of offenses that led to OSS have not been centered around violence but instead emphasised issues of classroom insubordination and defiance. In some rather extreme cases

Adolescence is a difficult time for both parents and the teenagers. And the pressure can be overwhelming. Due to poor teen-parent relationship teenagers faces failure in life. This issue is very common in our society. Anne Tyler and Joyce carol have written short stories in which similar scenario is depicted. Anne Tyler’s focus in this story is the gradual disintegration of the relationship between a teenage boy and his parents.

Kupchik suggests that there are three ways in which a child’s introduction to the system can take place. The first being, it is the first setting in which a “child’s deficits become apparent,” which increase their risk of school failure and incarceration (94). Secondly, he insists that students who underperform, academically, are more likely not to graduate. Thus without a basic education these underperforming students are likely to pursue illegitimate activity/careers that lead to incarceration(94). Finally, Kupchik explains that the way a school reacts to a child’s bad behavior is important. He argues that a school’s disciplinary process does not curb a student’s future involvement with the criminal justice system, but can potentially catalyze their involvement with the criminal justice system (94).

We’ve all seen it at least once. We’ve all passed by a middle or a high school and seen a police car on campus. Sometimes we even happen to see a teen in handcuffs getting detained. When you see things like this happen do you ever just stop and think whether students that are detained or incarcerated get the education they need? There are few experiences in the lives of children as critical as education. While all children learn directly and indirectly from their families, neighbors, and peers, formal education and school experiences provide the foundation and establish the trajectory for post-secondary education, employment, and wellbeing in adulthood. Historically, one group of students in the United States has received grossly inadequate education: children in juvenile correctional facilities. Little to nothing is known about educational programs in juvenile detention centers. Limited information is available on best practices for educating youth in the juvenile justice system whether committed or detained. Koyama cites that existing empirically based educational practices do not readily transfer to the unique environment of a secure setting or adequately address the intense needs of court-involved youth (ctd. in Koyama 36).

The School-to-Prison Pipeline presents the intersection of a K-12 educational system and a juvenile system, which too often fails to serve our nations at risk youth. For most students, the pipeline begins with inadequate resources in public schools. Overcrowded classrooms, a lack of qualified teachers, and insufficient funding for "extras" such as counselors, special education services, even textbooks, lock students into second-rate educational environments. This failure to meet educational needs increases disengagement and dropouts, increasing the risk of later court involvement (Bennett-Haron, Fasching-Varner, Martin, & Mitchell 2014). Even worse, schools may actually encourage dropouts in response to pressures from test-based accountability regimes such as the No Child Left Behind Act, which create incentives to push out low-performing students to boost overall test scores (Cramer, Gonzales, & Lafont-Pellegrini 2014). Lacking resources, facing incentives to push out low-performing students, and responding to a handful of highly-publicized school shootings, schools have embraced zero-tolerance policies that automatically impose severe punishment regardless of circumstances. Under these policies, students have been expelled for bringing nail clippers or scissors to school (Christle, Jolivette, & Nelson 2005). Rates of suspension have increased dramatically in recent years from 1.7 million in 1998 to 3.1 million in 2010

The ever-growing problem that is occurring in public schools around the country is the school to prison pipeline epidemic. The school to prison pipeline is a term used to describe how students are being pushed out of public school and into the criminal justice system. This epidemic is a result of the education system’s zero tolerance policy that enforces harsh punishments for misbehaving students. Although its goal was to eliminate misbehavior, studies have shown that the increased disciplinary actions have resulted in a modified school environment, police in school

As detailed by the American Civil Liberties Union (2013), the circumstances and policies contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline include: 1) failing public schools, in which inadequate resources in public schools create second-rate educational environments, thus decreasing engagement and increase dropout, 2) zero tolerance and other school ‘discipline’ policies impose unnecessarily harsh punishments, which leave students unsupervised and more likely to fall behind in school work, and which most dramatically impact children of color, 3) high-stakes testing creates a less engaging student environment and creates incentives for schools to push out low preforming students, 4) disciplinary alternative education programs for suspended or expelled students lack accountability, quality services, and leave students struggling to return to their regular schools, and 5) despite decreased resources, there has been an increased reliance on police who increase school-based arrests.

When children dread going to school, do you ever question why the child has already lost their eagerness for learning? In Chicago, Illinois, and numerous other places in the US, you can come across kids walking with their heads down and hands behind their backs in a single file line as if they are inmates. You’ll also discover that the cafeteria is dead silent to avoid the “overwhelming noise” of children enjoying their food and friends. With all of this being said, these schools sound more like boot camps than a place of learning. In the article, “Why some schools feel like prisons?” the writer, Samina Hadi-Tabassum, begins with a brilliant introduction, provides outstanding personal stories, and detailed examples to support their claim. The

For reasons unknown, some students simply cannot or choose not to behave during class. Caroleo opens her article, “An Examination of the Risks and Benefits of Alternative Education”, with the claim, “One size education does not fit for all children and youth” (35). It is true that blanket instruction does not work for most at-risk students. A specialized educational setting results in an increase in supervision and guidance. Specialized settings lower the possibility of frequent outbursts; therefore, placement into a smaller class would benefit the disruptive student. In most alternative classrooms, the student-teacher ratio is low. In a local alternative school hosted by New Brockton High School, the class roster rarely reaches above ten students. Smaller settings allow teachers the chance to minimize down time and focus on individuals. Increased one on one time allows students to find more productive outlets for their excess energy. In addition to being beneficial for the troublesome student, alternative schooling would allow other members of the class a productive environment in which to learn. Students’ outbursts are detrimental to not only the other students’ education but also the education of the delinquent as well. Placement into an alternative school will allow typical students to attend class uninterrupted and encourage the cause of distraction to focus on continuing their education. If the disruptive student is removed from the classroom, then it is likely that all students’ grades will flourish accordingly in the now positive

People who are nostalgic about childhood, were obviously never children. Few people can remember the truth about adolescence. Their minds "censor" their memories; and have them believe that being a teenager was was one big party, free of cares and responsibilities. Well let me say this, you couldnOt be more wrong if you had a lobotomy. There aren't that many adults around who realise what adolescence was really like. The anguish, the fear, the anxiety, the stress. People don't remember those problems because they want to forget them.