I volunteer with kids on a weekly basis, some are at risk. My aim is to see that kids have a voice, that they know that they are important to society. It is breaking my heart to see that our country is in this perpetual never ending desire to punish people. Rather than punish, can't we just take time to spend with kids and let them know we care? That they are valued? That what they have to offer is of value? I am starting to believe that the kids that cause the most trouble, who have a disregard of the rules do this because nobody has told them there is a way out, that there is something for them on the other side of graduation. I actually believe that we need these kids. They could very well be the next Cesar Chavez or Martin Luther King ... or they could be the next Einstein... a future president or founder of the answer to world hunger. I know that in the classroom I am currently working in, one of the girls stands on furniture and causes great disruption to the class.... but I have actually learned to love her... just the way she is. I love her spirit and I don't want to kill it. I want instead to foster it into the beautiful person she is to become one day. Strong.
"Most of the children were arrested and jailed simply for violating school rules, often for trivial offenses."
"One 15-year-old girl, for example, was suspended and sent to the Lauderdale County Juvenile Detention Center for a dress code violation. Her jacket was the wrong shade of blue. A boy served a suspension in the juvenile lock-up for passing gas in the classroom. Another landed behind bars because he walked to the alternative school instead of taking the bus."
Private Prisons Pushing To Increase Profits
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