Shalaby Blog 5

 Author Carla Shalaby greets us with the argument that students that are labeled "troublemakers" in the classroom are actually reflecting broader social injustices, as well as reinforcing systematic inequalities in the education system.

Shalaby goes into depth with how school is supposed to be an open space for learning, as well as being a neutral location for students to express themselves freely. But, rather than being a "free" place for learning, shalaby characterises it as an institution of control over children to enforce obedience, which comes at a cost of losing autonomy and freedom. This began in the early 1900's in the school room where students were being pre-trained for war. Students who resist this control, often children of color, find themselves labeled almost immediately as "problems" as well as "trouble makers" and subjected to exclusion, and overly disciplined, which leads to academic failure and even incarceration. These students enter the education system and aren't given a chance to freely express themselves, instead they're expected to follow bells and have their imagination ripped from their fingertips.