Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Wednesday Words ~ nexus

Nexus = a connected group or series; 
a connection or series of connections
linking two or more things.

Someone on Facebook suggested we should stop talking about a school to prison pipeline and talk about "a school and prison nexus."  Students wear uniforms, are often treated like criminals or thugs, and don't receive the resources they need, she says.  Teachers in Oklahoma have been documenting the need for books and supplies.  Above is my "favorite" photo of crumbling textbooks.

In this eighth grade history book, which is being used in 2018, George W. Bush is still president of the United States.  Even with uninviting books like this one, there are not enough to go around to all the students.

But back to "nexus" as used to link two or more things.  Someone pointed out that the news reports use prison language when they say schools are on "lockdown."  School resource officers (SROs) have not stopped a single mass shooting that I'm aware of, but they have sometimes been shown to treat the children like thugs or criminals.  And the SROs make more money than the teachers, according to Wikipedia.

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