Keeping it in perspective

Here's another great post from TMAO that made me pause. I've written about the need for more action on truancy, in support of keeping police on campus at SFUSD schools, generally supporting the side that says "Order in the schools!". This powerfully written story challenges the assumptions behind that point of view and makes it clear why there needs to be a clear dividing line that keeps the school a haven from the harsh hard edge of the world outside the school doors.

Teaching in the 408: The Criminalization Of Misconduct:

This isn't even about the absurd rate of suspension, the removal of dignity in discipline situations, or just the daily unpleasantness that has arisen on campus. This is about how the police have been used to undermine and chip away at the very core of what it was that made our school a successful and special place.

This year, officers have been brought into discipline scenarios time and time again in defiance of our norms, understandings, and wishes, but apparently in compliance with the wishes of district leadership. The inclusion of police represents a continued gross escalation and over-reaction. We're not talking about a kid selling drugs or using a weapon in an assault. Those are crimes. Our kids are being put into the system, cited and arrested over actions that, while unacceptable, are nevertheless not criminal.

Make you go, hmmmm.... Read the whole thing.