School to Prison Pipeline for Youth and Equality, Oppression and Meritocracy in Society

School to Prison Pipeline for Youth
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School to Prison Pipeline for Youth
Equality and equity are both majorly discussed topics around the world. Many organizations work to fight for minorities, give them their rights and maintain an equilibrium in society. Besides the relentless efforts of numerous social workers and influential personalities, discrimination based on color, race, and religion still exists in the minds of many. On the one hand, Canada claims to be a country of diversity and multiculturalism but, on the other, also entails discriminative patterns, especially on the basis of color. Many organizations only have a few employees who are Black, contributing to a minimal White to Black ratio. Similarly, schools are basic institutions where the lives of children and their future are greatly shaped. It is then that discrimination may sprout, leaving a long-term mark on particular children.
Equality, Oppression and Meritocracy in Society
The United Nations Act (1990) put forward multiple clauses that ensured children's rights, including the right to be treated equally. Article 2 of the act states that each child has his/her own identity and should not be judged, maltreated and left deprived based on their color, race, ethnicity, religion, language, nationality, disability or gender. It is for the legislative authorities to regulate that these kinds of discrimination are actively removed, and appropriate punishments are allocated if any such activity occurs.
Societies claim to practice meritocracy among their nation, which provides opportunities and resources based on how hard a person works. Based on merit, the individuals would be selected according to their skills, abilities, intelligence, or talent. While a merit-based system may work if individuals are leveled based on their histories, meritocracy creates fundamental issues when certain people start a harder life than others. For example, some people would have more resources and support to help in their education, while others would have less. It will ultimately lead the latter to struggle more to achieve the same goal, which the former individual has to work less for (Daniel, 2016). For example, a child from a wealthy family can attend school without worrying about his fee or other finances. In contrast, a child from a family who has limited resources might have to struggle to earn for his fee or may cut short on many of the other resources needed to get promoted.
Oppression is precisely these practices that lead individuals to be treated with limitation by giving full access to some while constraining same form others. The happenings of such oppressive acts then give rise to dominant and submissive groups (Moore, 2003), which also later develop into stereotypes about a certain class or race (Daniel, 2016). Even in schools, children are treated differently based on their race or color, ultimately resulting in derogatory comments impacting the entire lives of the oppressed population.
Cradle to Prison Pipeline Campaign
The campaign was started with an attempt to create awareness regarding how the oppressed groups of children such as the Black and Latino community face a challenge to become productive adults with limited resources, finances and support. Unfortunately, it is the schools and incompetent practices which can make the child go from the cradle to prison.
Schools have a direct impact on the early years of a child but also indirectly have a huge impact on their later life. The majority of teachers in Canada claim that they may be colour-blind towards their students. Still, the deeply rooted discrimination embedded in the subconscious and unconscious of the society has proved the existence of a biased attitude towards Black children (Daniel, 2016). For example, research shows how Black students are more likely to get reprimanded and suspended than White children. Similarly, children report in research shows how daycare staff spend considerable more time with White babies than Black babies (as cited in Daniel, 2016). Children, too, have been noticed to recognize racial differences at the age of 3 years, which implies that any discriminatory behaviour done by the teachers can easily be programmed to ...