ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I explore Raheem, Robert, and Warren's elementary and middle school experiences. Their home lives intersect with punitive school structures as storied through interactions with teachers and administrators. The men identified positive relationships with teachers and the harm caused when teachers failed to recognize the complexity of their needs. Raheem, a talented and gifted student, witnessed his mother's arrest at home and was then handcuffed in school repeatedly, beginning in third grade. Warren, a quiet and gifted athlete, transitioned from elementary to middle school in a court proceeding with a judge for an innocent mistake. Robert, identified as an honor roll student and excellent writer, learned in middle school that administrators had the power to inflict physical violence on poor, Black children from his neighborhood. In this chapter, I interrogate how neighborhood police, teachers, and school administrators’ actions intersect with race and location. Furthermore, how punitive policies and practices caused school-based violence and trauma.
