Unit: Social Justice for Students in the School to Prison Pipeline
Unit Relevance
Students will explore current school polices, practices within public school systems that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, factors that compel students towards the school-to-prison pipeline, and ways to bring social justice for students in the school-to-prison pipeline
Essential Questions
- What is the school-to-prison pipeline?
- How does school-to-prison pipeline influence the student’s lives?
- What is the zero tolerance policy?
- How can schools, students, and the community help to keep schools safe?
- How can social justice curb the flow of the school-to-prison pipeline?
Essential Threads
Culture
Gender
Land/Geography
Oppression
Resources
Resistance
Gender
Land/Geography
Oppression
Resources
Resistance
Other Understandings Students Will Gain
Local: Current and/or Historical Understandings
- Crime rate in the local area
- What measures are being taken to solve the problem of zero policy tolerance
- School policies and practices present in urban schools
- Urban Educational Systems in North Carolina, New York, and Texas schools
- Lack of better education
Main Texts
Article: “The Failure of Zero Tolerance” by Russell J. Skiba
https://reclaimingjournal.com/sites/default/files/journal-article-pdfs/22_4_Skiba.pdf
Article: "The School-to-Prison: Time to Shut It Down"
http://neatoday.org/2015/01/05/school-prison-pipeline-time-shut/
Book: The Outsiders by Susan Eloise Hinton
Article: "The School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Nationwide Problem for Equal Rights" by Molly Knefel (2013)
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-school-to-prison-pipeline-a-nationwide-problem-for-equal-rights-20131107#ixzz3Xj6hMRIj
Article: "For More Teens, Arrests by Police Replace School Discipline" by Gary Fields and John R. Emshwiller (2014)
http://on.wsj.com/1zBbeeF
Film: Breaking the Pipeline (2010)
http://vimeo.com/11171893
Movie: "Stand and Deliver" (1988)
Movie: “The Breakfast Club” (1985)
Article: “Stepping Back From Zero Tolerance" by Judith Browne-Dianis
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.rwlib.neiu.edu:2048/ehost/detail/detail?sid=d2118633-e6af-4254-9612-62660969ce9f%40sessionmgr4003&vid=3&hid=4209&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCx1aWQmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=65235662
https://reclaimingjournal.com/sites/default/files/journal-article-pdfs/22_4_Skiba.pdf
Article: "The School-to-Prison: Time to Shut It Down"
http://neatoday.org/2015/01/05/school-prison-pipeline-time-shut/
Book: The Outsiders by Susan Eloise Hinton
Article: "The School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Nationwide Problem for Equal Rights" by Molly Knefel (2013)
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-school-to-prison-pipeline-a-nationwide-problem-for-equal-rights-20131107#ixzz3Xj6hMRIj
Article: "For More Teens, Arrests by Police Replace School Discipline" by Gary Fields and John R. Emshwiller (2014)
http://on.wsj.com/1zBbeeF
Film: Breaking the Pipeline (2010)
http://vimeo.com/11171893
Movie: "Stand and Deliver" (1988)
Movie: “The Breakfast Club” (1985)
Article: “Stepping Back From Zero Tolerance" by Judith Browne-Dianis
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.rwlib.neiu.edu:2048/ehost/detail/detail?sid=d2118633-e6af-4254-9612-62660969ce9f%40sessionmgr4003&vid=3&hid=4209&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCx1aWQmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=65235662
Key Critical Vocabulary
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Primary Instructional Approaches
- Group discussions
- Group readings
- Group researches
- Persuasive essay
- Close reading and annotations on text(s)
- Compare/Contrast
- Math skills
- Problem solving
Culminating Learning Action / Product / Assessment
- Learning Product/Lesson Plan #1:
English - Introduction to school-to-prison pipeline; Discuss how school-to-prison pipeline began - What is school-to-prison pipeline?; Break into groups and read article “The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Time to Shut It Down”; Discuss essential questions in groups; Begin reading of The Outsiders for homework and ask students find instances about school-to-prison pipeline in the story of how the character get criminalized and ways in which they can avoid being marginalized into a school to prison pipeline. Teacher will ask students to fill out a one sentence exit slip about what they learned in class.
Learning Product/Lesson Plan #2:
English - Introduction to Zero Tolerance - Students will break into 2 groups and utilize “The Failure of Zero Tolerance” by Russell J. Skiba and "Stepping Back from Zero Tolerance" to argue whether zero tolerance is important or should they follow other rules that are not implemented to promote safety.
English - Persuasive Essay: Write an essay arguing why changes developed by students are necessary to reduce school to prison pipeline for the community.
Learning Product/Lesson Plan #3:
Math- Introduction to Collecting data and Creating Graphs-Read the articles “The School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Nationwide Problem for Equal Rights” by Molly Knefel, “For more teens, arrests by police replace school discipline” by Gary Fields and John R. Emshwiller. Have students watch "The Breakfast Club." Students will research and collect data of crimes committed in the neighborhood and of school detentions, suspensions, expulsions, and arrest during a school year. Students will create tables, graphs, and charts to model data college. Students will also review disciplinary policy and use collected data to propose revisions in the school's disciplinary policy.
- Culminating/Final Action Project:
The Culminating Project will consist of two projects, a mural and letter. The purpose of the mural is to bring awareness of the student body and school to prison pipeline present in the community. The purpose of the letter is to push for reform in the school's disciplinary policy. This project will apply mathematical research and the literacy practices learned in the previous lessons.
Applicable Disciplines and Specific Standards
Mathematics
English
English
Key Common Core Standards / ISBE
Common Core Standards
English CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1.B Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1.D Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3.A Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its significance, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events. Math CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.ID.A.1 Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box plots). CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.ID.A.3 Interpret differences in shape, center, and spread in the context of the data sets, accounting for possible effects of extreme data points (outliers). CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.ID.B.6 Represent data on two quantitative variables on a scatter plot, and describe how the variables are related. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.MD.B.7 Analyze decisions and strategies using probability concepts (e.g., product testing, medical testing, pulling a hockey goalie at the end of a game). CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.MD.B.5 Weigh the possible outcomes of a decision by assigning probabilities to payoff values and finding expected values. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.MD.B.6 Use probabilities to make fair decisions (e.g., drawing by lots, using a random number generator). CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.IC.A.1 Understand statistics as a process for making inferences about population parameters based on a random sample from that population. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.IC.B.6 Evaluate reports based on data. |
Illinois Standards for Board of Education
English 1.A.5a Identify and analyze new terminology applying knowledge of word origins and derivations in a variety of practical settings. 1.A.5b Analyze the meaning of abstract concepts and the effects of particular word and phrase choices. 1.B.5a Relate reading to prior knowledge and experience and make connections to related information. 1.B.5b Analyze the defining characteristics and structures of a variety of complex literary genres and describe how genre affects the meaning and function of the texts. 1.B.5c Evaluate a variety of compositions for purpose, structure, content and details for use in school or at work. 1.B.5d Read age- appropriate material with fluency and accuracy. 1.C.5b Analyze and defend an interpretation of text. 1.C.5c Critically evaluate information from multiple sources. 3.A.5 Produce grammatically correct documents using standard manuscript specifications for a variety of purposes and audiences. 3.B.5 Using contemporary tech- nology, produce documents of publication quality for specific purposes and audiences; exhibit clarity of focus, logic of organization, appropri- ate elaboration and support and overall coherence. 3.C.5a Communicate information and ideas in narrative, informative and persuasive writing with clarity and effectiveness in a variety of written forms using appropriate traditional and/or electronic formats; adapt content, vocabulary, voice and tone to the audience, purpose and situation. Math 6.A.5 Perform addition, subtraction and multiplication of complex numbers and graph the results in the complex plane. 8.A.5 Solve mathematical problems involving recursive patterns and use models that employ such relationships. 8.D.5 Formulate and solve nonlinear equations and systems including problems involving inverse variation and exponential and logarithmic growth and decay. 9.C.5b Apply physical models, graphs, coordinate systems, networks and vectors to develop solutions in applied contexts (e.g.,bus routing, areas of irregular shapes,describing forces and other physical quantities). 10.A.5 Construct a statistics-base presentation, individually and as members of a team, to communicate and justify the results of a project. |
Field Trips / Speakers / Events/Multimedia
Events:
- Students will attend the screening of FruitVale Station (Why do young Black men in the Chicago Public School system get suspended disproportionately at 11 times the expulsion rate of district schools within charter schools? How do racially unjust police practices play out in the school system and what can we do about it?) Students will have a “Stop the School to Prison Pipeline” conversation in partnership with Chicago Teachers Union, Teachers for Social Justice, and the Social Justice initiative.
- Students will join www.suspensionstories.com and contribute a video, audio, or written stories about the impact that harsh disciplinary policies has had on students, teachers, and school culture.
- Students will go to a workshop titled “Understanding the Illinois Juvenile Justice System: the Basics.” This introductory workshop will provide basic information about the points of contact for youth with the juvenile justice system. It will also provide information about rights that young people have in the system. This event will occur Saturday, March 28 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event is located at 300 West Superior Street, Suite 203.
- Students will also go on a field trip to local police station to find more information about neighborhood crime statistics.
- Invite Anton Miglietta from CGCT to speak to students about social justice that can be achieved from within the classroom regarding zero tolerance policy and school-to-prison pipeline
- Invite Mariame Kaba from Project Nia to talk about The Chicago Youth Justice Data Project.
- http://grassrootscurriculum.org/
- http://project-nia.org/
- http://byp100.org/about
- http://jjustice.org/
- http://www.chicagoyouthjustice.com/Project_NIA_Arrests_page_v2.htm