The following is a workshop template for making use of the resources provided by Suspension Stories. This workshop will provide an opportunity for facilitators to lead youth and/or adults in discussions about harsh disciplinary policies and school pushout within their communities.
Materials Needed:
Select video stories from YouTube Suspension Stories Channel
Sent Down the Drain Comic with discussion questions
Chicago School to Prison Pipeline Infographic (optional)
Paper and colored pencils or markers (optional)
Time: Approximately 1 hour (without the optional activity)
Workshop
Activity #1: Sharing Our Suspension Stories (25 minutes)
1. Choose at least two clips of students sharing their Suspension Stories. Choose one clip of an adult ally discussing harsh disciplinary policies and school pushout. [Make sure to preview the stories and select the ones that most apply to your particular community and audience’
2. Show the clips.
3. Ask the participants if they can relate to anything that the students and/or adult allies shared. [Alternately, you can also break the participants into pairs and ask them to discuss their own “suspension stories” if they have any. If they have never experienced a suspension, then they can talk about a friend or family member’s experience.]
Activity #2: Sent Down the Drain (25 minutes)
1. Hand out copies of the Sent Down the Drain Comic to participants.
2. Ask for volunteers to read the comic (round robin style). [If you are working with a group with literacy challenges, the facilitator should read the comic once before asking for volunteers to take turns reading it together again.]
3. Break participants into groups of up to 5 people each. Ask them to engage with the discussion questions together.
1. What happened to Alexa Gonzales?
2. Do you agree with the consequences that she suffered for her actions?
3. What are zero tolerance policies?
4. Have you ever been suspended or expelled from school? If yes, why?
5. Did you feel that your suspension/expulsion was fair? Why or why not?
6. What does the term “School to Prison Pipeline” mean to you?
7. Look closely at the illustration. What do you see? Why did the artist title it “Sent Down the Drain: Zero Tolerance & the School to Prison Pipeline?” What does this mean to you?
Activity #3: Chicago School to Prison Pipeline Infographic (30 minutes) – OPTIONAL
1. Share the Chicago School to Prison Pipeline Infographic with participants. [Alternately you can also share the artwork created by youth depicting the school to prison pipeline with participants.
2. Based on what they learned over the course of the workshop invite participants to create their own infographic or art work depicting the school to prison pipeline as they understand it.
