Unpolicing Childhood

• In Event: Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in Education: Policing

Abstract

The symbolic social contract between society and school has reinforced childism--prejudice against some children on the grounds that they are incorrigible and should be controlled. Childism is evidenced by the disproportionate use of zero tolerance, surveillance and punishment against Black children, boys, and those with special needs. In this paper, we examine childism and share cultural approaches to behavior utilized by three Black educators who seek to protect the humanity of Black children in their classrooms despite school-wide mandates to adhere to policing and punishment.

Author

• Marquita Delorse Foster, Baylor University