Using "To Kill a Mockingbird" as a Conduit for Teaching about the School-to-Prison

Pipeline
Author(s): Steffany Comfort Maher
Source: The English Journal, Vol. 102, No. 4 (March 2013), pp. 45-52
Published by: National Council of Teachers of English
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23365349
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 Steffany Comfort Maher

Using a response-based
Using To Kill a Mockingbird cultural studies approach,
the author engages
as a Conduit for Teaching students in four issues that

about the School-to-Prison engender connections

between Harper Lee's novel

Pipeline
and contemporary issues
of incarceration: single
parent homes, lynching
and racial discrimination,
the criminal justice system,
and poverty.

day" (8). When these two approaches are combined,

Primarily, I teach traditional high

school English texts in a largely
white, middle-class school, but the
students can analyze identities and better under
stand themselves and others as they are learning by
method I use allows me to address examining critical issues in a personal and relevant
important issues relevant to students. One unitmanner.I Response-based cultural studies allows
teach is an investigation of the criminal justice sysus to teach important issues through canonical or
tem and a variety of issues related to the school-toyoung adult literature—virtually any literature we
prison pipeline. Would it be a surprise if I said that
are already teaching.
a crucial text for us has been To Kill a Mockingbird? For Carey-Webb, this theory takes shape in
As I have researched our nation's criminal
focusing a semester on one cultural studies issue—
justice system and the school-to-prison pipeline,
homelessness is an example he uses—incorporating
I have learned about some of the causes of America's classic and contemporary literature, informational
extraordinary rate of incarceration. A large percent texts, films, speakers, research, etc. that enable the
age of people in the criminal justice system grew students to fully explore this issue. Thus, students
up in conditions of poverty, in single-parent homes, are empowered to form their own opinions and be
and with histories of school failure (Braman; West liefs about important issues, relating them to history,
ern and Pettit; Wildeman and Western). The out current events, cultural practices in their own nation
of-proportion prison population of people of color and around the world, and their personal lives.
raises questions about racial bias in our judicial sys I realized, as I explored this method of teach
tem (Guerino, Harrison, and Sabol). In my gradu ing, that I could employ it to address several issues
ate courses I have studied approaches that can make inside one piece of literature—issues that emerged
these issues relevant to the literature I already teach. as relevant. Ultimately, my goal was that my stu
One method with which I have had success is re dents would relate to issues inherent in the text on

sponse-based cultural studies. a deep and personal level. I wanted these relatively
Response-based cultural studies, accordingprivileged
to young people to become more socially,
Allen Carey-Webb, is a combination of readerhistorically,
re and culturally aware. To fully explore
sponse and cultural studies theories (6—8). While
the school-to-prison pipeline dilemma, I divided
reader response calls for small-group and wholethe text into four relevant cultural studies issues,
class discussions as well as individual responses each
and of which speaks to this crisis in its own way:
single parent homes, lynching and racial discrimi
relationships to the text, cultural studies employs
"engaging thematic curriculums where culture, so
nation, the criminal justice system, and poverty.
cial structures, and historical circumstances are ex
I also teach the novel in conjunction with a range
plored side by side with a particular emphasisof
onprint and visual texts, which add to the richness
how those issues touch real people in the present
of the project.

English Journal 102.4 (2013): 45-52 45

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 Using To Kill a Mockingbird as a Conduit for Teaching about the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Pedagogical Practices
and Students' Responses
While exploring each of the four issues identified
above, I carefully observed my students' reactions
to gauge how well this method was working in
my classroom. I also assigned the students to keep
reader-response journals in which they responded to
prompts that pertained to these issues, and I ana
lyzed their final projects in which students had the
opportunity to conduct research into one of the four
issues we focused on during our reading of To Kill Gregory Peck and Brock Peters in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962,
Brentwood Productions).
a Mockingbird.
In these final projects, students were first as
signed a written piece in a genre of their choice.
To begin our unit, I assign the first several
I gave them several options to choose from (a tra
chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird, for students to read
ditional research paper, a narrative, a poem, an ad
at home. When they arrive at class, I ask them to
vertisement, a children's book, a website, or another
write a free-response journal entry about their read
genre they needed to clear with me first). Next,
ing. We then concentrate on single fathers. View
they presented their research to the class in a pre
ing clips from the films Finding Nemo, The Pursuit
sentation piece paired with their written piece (e.g.,
of Happyness, and To Kill a Mockingbird, we focus on
a research paper could be paired with a speech,
each single father and his interaction with his child.
PowerPoint presentation, or Prezi; a narrative could
We then discuss their reading and how this issue
be paired with a movie trailer; a poem could be
applies to what they have read.
paired with a song). Whatever genre they chose,
Though most of the students in the class I
they needed to include research from at least three
discuss in this article come from white, middle
reputable sources and one piece of visual media.
class, two-parent families, the class also included
They also had to tie their research into their under
one black student, one Hispanic student, and a
standing of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. I share
few students who lived with single parents or were
a few examples of these projects later in this article.
members of blended families. During our discus
sion, Jenna, who lives with her widowed mother,
Issue #1 : Single-Parent Homes said, "I feel bad for all single parents trying to raise
Because so many people in prison have grown children and make a living at the same time. That
up in single-parent homes, we focus first on At can be a lot of stress and really hard trying to bal
ticus as a single father and address the part these ance both jobs alone. You don't have anyone to help
households can play in the when you need it."
The clip from The Pursuit school-to-prison pipeline. It is Faith, whose mother recently remarried after
of Happyness especiallyimportant to note that not all being a single mom for several years, said she thinks
opens the door to discusssingle-parent households re the film clips show "the real struggle actual fami
sult in children growing up to lies go through every day."
the difficulties single
be incarcerated, but statistical Many of the students' eyes are being opened to
parents encounter and evidence reveals that this is an
these struggles. The clip from The Pursuit of Happy
how they can affect indicator of incarceration and
ness especially opens the door to discuss the difficul
their children. therefore must be addressed ties single parents encounter and how they can affect
(Braman; Western and Pettit; their children. In the clip, father and son are evicted
Wildeman and Western). And, we should note that
and, having nowhere else to go, end up spending the
single-parent homes also heighten the results of
night in the subway bathroom, sleeping on the floor.
other factors, especially poverty; that is, single-parThe students are struck by how difficult it would
be to focus on school when one's basic needs, such
enting is not in and of itself a cause of incarceration.

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 Steffany Comfort Maher

as shelter or food, are not met. I then present statis
tics on children of single-parent homes, especially
children who have an incarcerated parent. Christo
pher Wildeman and Bruce Western share the effects
that incarceration has on children in their article
live in poverty, working hard for their families and
struggling to be both parents to their children.
Issue #2: Lynching and Racial Discrimination
As we continue to examine the novel To Kill a

Mockingbird, our investigation becomes increasingly

"Incarceration in Fragile Families," arguing that the
imprisonment of adult men "diminishes their earn significant. Teaching about prison issues should
ings, disrupts their romantic unions, and compro confront the reality of racial discrimination in our
nation's past and present. Thus, I focus the sec
mises their health" (167). Further, they posit that
"a number of studies show an association between ond portion of this unit on the lynching of African
Americans. We take a close historical look at the is
parental incarceration and the criminality of chil
sues of discrimination, unequal treatment, and the
dren" (168). When they are exposed to these rich and
nuanced findings, the students begin to realize justperversion of justice.
how difficult some children's lives can be and how When my students arrive to our next class,
many turn to outside influences because their single after asking them to write in their journals, I show a
parent is working hard to provide for the family. clip from the PBS miniseries Eyes on the Prize, which
When we discuss To Kill a Mockingbird, stu tells the story of Emmett Till. Till, a 14-year-old
dents point out that while Atticus is a single father black boy from Chicago, went to visit family in
and this undoubtedly poses problems for him, he Mississippi in 1955 and was brutally beaten and
does have Cal to help him with his children and lynched for either whistling or saying "Bye, baby"
with household duties. This prompts a discussion to a white woman (accounts differ). That night the
about socioeconomic class in which we note that woman's husband and another man took Till from

single parents who have the means to hire help arehis uncle's home, beat him, gouged out his eye, shot
in a different situation than those who do not. This him, tied a cotton gin fan to his neck, and threw
is an issue we discuss further at the end of this unit. him into a river. His body was found days later.
The issue in the school-to-prison pipeline in When the video shows Emmett's body in the
volves predominantly single mothers, not single open casket, several students have to look away.
fathers. Men form 90% of the prison population We discuss how this event contributed to the civil
(Western and Pettit 9), and of those men who are rights movement. After we view the video, I read
incarcerated, over half are fathers of children under aloud A Wreath for Emmett Till, a heroic crown son
18 (14). They have left their children in the care of net written by Marilyn Nelson. After my reading,
the children's mothers, who are often raising them several students express their amazement of the po
alone. At this point in our class, I ask students to etry and of Nelson's skill at including such difficult
research further into single parenting and how it can material in a poem.
function in the school-to-prison pipeline. A simple I finish this issue by presenting the website
Google search directs students to a source such as a Without Sanctuary (http://www.withoutsanctuary
recent New York Times article that states that 53% of .com), a collection put together by James Allen of
children born to women under 30 years of age are nearly 80 postcards and photographs taken as sou
born outside of marriage and that researchers "have venirs of lynching. Several students were appalled.
consistently found that children born outside mar Stacy said, "How could anyone mail that to a rela
riage face elevated risks of falling into poverty, fail tive and say, 'Look what I did this weekend!'?" Tanya
ing in school or suffering emotional and behavioral looks away, disgusted, when the images appear on
problems" (DeParle and Tavernise 1). Our class dis the screen, and many other faces form looks of re
cussions of the statistically uncommon situation in vulsion. This website exposes the horrors of lynch
To Kill a Mockingbird move toward an examination of ing, and it is sobering, to say the least, to see young
the realities of single parenting in the United States teenagers apparently on a date, or young children
today, particularly single mothers and the difficulties holding ice cream cones, watching terrible things
they face on their own, especially when the fathers of being done to other human beings. Clearly they did
their children are incarcerated. Many of these women not view people of color as human—otherwise they

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 Using To Kill a Mockingbird as a Conduit for Teaching about the School-to-Prison Pipeline

could never watch these lynchings in such a disaf This discussion also allows us to make a loose
fected manner. comparison to the zero-tolerance policies that exist
Immediately afterward, the students freewrite in many public schools today. According to the
in their journals about what they have just seen and Advancement Project, not only are black students
heard. For several students, it is an eye-opening punished more severely than white students for
experience, as Jenna expressed: "Our world is so similar violations of school rules, but they are also
messed up! I don't know why God lets things like punished more often than whites for smaller infrac
this happen.'' Hope said, "Who could possibly have tions ("Education" 8). Too many students who face
that much hatred in their heart, killing human be this discrimination in schools take the first steps
ings like that! The video made me angry, terrified, that can lead to the school-to-prison pipeline.
and heartbroken." Some even identify with the To connect this past reality to the reality that
people who had committed these crimes simply people of color face in schools today, the students go
because they are also white Americans, as Jamie's online and play the "School to Prison Pipeline Game"
use of the word "us" illustrates: "It just makes me (http://www.aclu.org/school-prison-pipeline
sick to my stomach thinking about what they did. game). If teachers are in a school where students do
I mean what possessed us to think these things. not have access to computers or computer labs, the
God didn't make us to be killers." Clearly the class teacher could go to the website and project it for the
room activities make these situations real for stu class to see and participate in together. In this game,
dents. As Carey-Webb notes in Literature and Lives:students are given real-life scenarios in which they
A Response-Based, Cultural Studies Approach to Teachmay choose options from multiple-choice responses.
ing English: "Cultural studies allows us to examine
For example, the first question states:
issues in the lives of our students and connect them
Your mother tells you to take your cell phone to
with questions as deep as that of their own identity.
school so that she can call you from the hospital
Taken together, cultural studies and reader response
where your sister has been admitted after a severe
approaches help students examine, understand, and
asthma attack. Your phone rings as you are walk
creatively speak back to the social categories, im ing down the hall. A teacher approaches you and
ages, and roles that tell us who we are" (26). confiscates the phone, reminding you that having
As they read further in To Kill a Mockingbird, a cell phone is against school rules. The next day
I instruct the students to write in their journals as a you receive a letter telling you that, because of
way to "speak back," as Carey-Webb describes. One your school's zero tolerance policy, you have been
entry asks them to list everything they know about suspended for 10 days for a cell phone violation.
You . . .
the civil rights movement. Others ask questions
about the novel, specifically the scene in which A: Explain to your principal that you needed
your cell phone so that your mom could call you.
Atticus and Scout prevent the mob from lynching
B: Accept the suspension and spend your 10
Tom Robinson. From their responses, I gather that
days at home trying to keep up with you [sic]
because we have taken the time during class to look school work.
at what has happened to people in history, the stu
C: Accept the suspension and spend your 10
dents better understand the gravity of Robinson's days hanging out with friends in your neighbor
situation in the novel. They realize, too, that At hood who have dropped out of school. ("ACLU's
ticus and even the children are in danger. One of School-to-Prison Pipeline Game")
Dan's journal entries exemplifies this: "Atticus was
in great danger when he decided to protect Tom Each response elicits a different statistic about
Robinson from the mob, and Scout and Jem also the school-to-prison pipeline before moving on to a
put themselves in danger when they ran to Atticus. new scenario resulting from the player's choice. Ul
If Scout hadn't spoken to Mr. Cunningham there timately, this game shows how powerless students
might have been some killings that night." Dan are under zero-tolerance policies and how, often re
also recognized the nature of a mob: "When a mob gardless of the choices they make or their personal
comes together, they are angry about one thing, circumstances, students can quickly move down the
and everything else is forgotten." pipeline. After the students played this game, we

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 Steffany Comfort Maher

discussed their results and what they learned. I also this issue, after I begin class with a journal prompt,
use other resources from this website, including I show students a clip from Eyes on the Prize that
facts about the school-to-prison pipeline, sharing presents the trial and acquittal of the alleged mur
them with my students and then discussing and derers of Emmett Till and their subsequent confes
analyzing them as a class. sions. We then read a synopsis of the events leading
For his final research project, Jesse wrote a tra up to the "Mississippi Burning" case and the trial of
ditional research paper on the history of lynching in the alleged murderers of three civil rights activists.
the United States. He presented shocking statistics A discussion of our nation's system of trial by
and then pointed out that Tom Robinson is treated an impartial jury and how it functioned during this
better than most African Americans in his situation. time period ensues. From our discussion, I can see
Jesse wrote in his PowerPoint: "Tom was given due that my students' sense of justice is bruised. They
process of law. He survived his time in jail and was express anger at jurors who know what is right and
given a trial. This was uncommon during this time yet rule otherwise. This transitions smoothly into a
period." He explained that even though Tom's trial discussion of the court scene in To Kill a Mocking
is unfair, it is rare for a black man in his position bird. Students bring up such topics as Tom's obvious
to ever make it that far in the court proceedings. innocence, Mayella's motivation, Bob Ewell's despi
Most are lynched long before. "Tom's story," Jesse cable character, and Jem's response to the verdict.
said, "occurred toward the end of the 'lynching era;' Though To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the
this was evident throughout his trial. He was given 1930s American South, I believe that an important
a well-respected lawyer to make his case. The jury part of teaching this novel ought to be some inves
took a long time to decide his fate." tigation into the fact that, not only did some coura
Robert also focused on the lynching issue, geous white people defend unjustly accused African
writing a narrative piece from the perspective of a Americans, but African Americans themselves were
young girl who witnesses her neighbor—a white engaged in standing up for
man—being beaten and lynched for aiding a black their rights and demandAs we examine the
man. Robert thus takes an issue we have studied ing equal treatment. Thus,important trial scenes
when
in class a step further: addressing the lynching of I teach this text, we
in the novel, I hope to
white people who would be so brave as to provide also look at the civil rights
connect our nation's past
movement of the 1950s and
help for a person of color. For his presentation, Rob
with its present, revealing
ert created a movie trailer based on his narrative,
early 1960s, including Mar
how discrimination is
enlisted the help of his family and friends as actors,
tin Luther King Jr.'s famous
essay "Letter from Birmingstill prevalent today—
and edited it on iMovie. He also posted it on You
Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14PAGl ham Jail." This essay, pairedfrom discrepancies in
5 y 5 rs&feature=plcp). with the "No Easy Walk" imprisonment rates
Both of these projects show a tremendousportion of the PBS videoto those in school
amount of research and are capably written in the series Eyes on the Prize, of
punishments due to race.
fers a fascinating study of
chosen genre. Furthermore, each evidences an in
how black people were able
vestment in time and energy in creatively and ef
to turn the willingness of society to imprison them
fectively presenting the information to the class. In
future projects, I might encourage students to ex
against the system of racialized imprisonment itself.
plore connections to the death penalty, the impor When students are presented with incarcera
tance of due process, and criminalization of youth.tion rates in the United States today based on race, it
is clear to them that discrimination is still prevalent.
Issue #3: The Criminal Justice System According to the Office of Justice Programs Bureau
As we examine the important trial scenes in the of Justice Statistics, black, non-Hispanic males have
novel, I hope to connect our nation's past with its an imprisonment rate of 3,059 per 100,000 black
present, revealing how discrimination is still prevamale US residents, which is seven times higher
lent today—from discrepancies in imprisonment than white non-Hispanic males at 456 per 100,000.
Black males in the United States ages 30—34 make
rates to those in school punishments due to race. For

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 Using To Kill a Mockingbird is a Conduit for Teaching about the School-to-Prison Pipeline
up 7.3% of the population in state or federal prisons
(Guerino, Harrison, and Sabol 7). And the school-to
prison pipeline is a large contributor to this, accord
ing to the Advancement Project ("Education" 8).
After digesting these statistics, and while
students are reading this section of To Kill a Mock
ingbird, we take some class time to listen to a re
cording of Walter Dean Myers's Monster. This piece
is written like a movie script in which a black
high school student is on trial for felony murder,
and it exposes stereotypes and racial profiling. The
reader (or listener) tries to determine whether or
not the protagonist, Steve, is guilty and—more
importantly—how the jury will find him. The re
cording is 2 hours and 35 minutes long and is thus
easily incorporated into class time at a teacher's dis
cretion. Monster promotes excellent discussion on
this topic when tied into the novel To Kill a Mock
ingbird and the school-to-prison pipeline.
Here is a young, male African American who
is accused of a crime simply because he is black and
because one person places him at the scene of the
crime before the crime takes place. By the end of
the play, the reader is convinced that Steve is not
guilty: he is a generally good kid, he loves his fam
ily, he does well in school, and he has never been in
trouble before. No one other than a gang leader can
place him at the scene, and even he says that Steve
did not do anything when he walked out of the
store. Yet Steve's lawyer appears to be afraid of him
after he is found not guilty. Why? Another linger
ing question is, What if this were not such a clean
cut kid? What if the person on trial had a record, or
was a gang member, or had dropped out of school in
ninth grade? If the evidence were the same, would
that young man also be found not guilty?
Another helpful resource to address this issue is
the NYCLU website (http://www.nyclu.org/issues/
youth-and-student-rights/school-prison-pipeline),
which provides a fact sheet on the school-to-prison
pipeline that is reader-friendly for students. This
website also provides information on student rights
and responsibilities so that students (and their par
ents) who may be victims of harsh zero-tolerance
policies not allowing for individual circumstances
can be aware of their rights when facing a suspen
sion or when forced to deal with police in schools.
Reading and discussing this information with stu
dents in class provides much-needed awareness.
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Issue #4: Poverty
The final issue we examine with To Kill a Mock
ingbird is poverty, which is perhaps the most im
portant factor in the school-to-prison pipeline.
To transition into a new issue and possibly to ex
pose stereotypes, I first instruct students to write
in their journals what they think of when they hear
the word poor. Their responses vary from people
being irresponsible with their money to people
begging for "spare change" on street corners with
"old, rusty cups."
I then focus on impoverished white America,
showing students a large poster of the famous pho
tograph "Migrant Mother, 1936" taken by Doro
thea Lange. This is a picture of a woman holding
one of her seven children while two others lay their
heads on each of her shoulders, and it was taken
during the same time period as that in which the
novel is set. I ask my students to focus on this pho
tograph and freewrite for ten minutes. Their re
sponses are insightful.
Hope wrote: "I wonder if the kids have a fa
ther/the woman has a husband. Their clothes look
very worn. They look poor, and the mother looks
worried. The mother looks like she's had a tough
life." Liza wrote more scattered thoughts: "Sad,
dirt, poor, tired, frustrated, hard working mother,
looking for relief, at wits end, the picture makes
you have pity on this family."
After writing, we discuss their responses and
what life was like for many people during the Great
Depression, touching a bit on "Hoovervilles." We
then listen to the song "Coal Miner's Daughter" by
Loretta Lynn, and once again I ask them to freewrite
as they concentrate on the words. Afterward, I ask
students to share what they have written. Many stu
dents are struck by how proud she was of her modest
beginnings and how thankful the family was for the
"little things" in life, like a new pair of shoes after
not having any all summer long. They also note
how hard the father and mother both worked. Catey
wondered aloud how anyone could function, work
ing all night as a coal miner and all day as a farmer.
As we closely examine poverty in our nation
today, students become more aware of the effects
extreme poverty can have on families and individu
als. Michelle Alexander writes in Yes! Magazine that
at the height of the civil rights movement, "Mar
tin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders
 Steffany Comfort Maher

made clear that they viewed the eradication of eco in the background of the novel, but bringing it to
nomic inequality as the next front in movement the forefront adds richness to the text that may not
building—a Poor People's Movement was required. normally be found in reading it.
Genuine equality for black people, King reasoned, When we compare the Ewell and Cunning
demanded a radical restructuring of society, one ham families with the Robinson family, an impor
that would address the needs of black and white tant point arises: racial discrimination puts the
poor throughout the country." While people usuRobinson family in an even worse predicament.
ally think of King as focused on racial questions, Race and class are sometimes difficult to separate,
in fact he recognized that poverty was an issue for and when researching incarceration, they are often
both black and white people in the United States cited together as causes, along with low education
and that only when this issue was addressed and re (Braman; Western and Pettit; Wildeman and West
structured could the move toward racial equality be ern). According to Bruce Western and Becky Pet
made more effectively. tit, the average educational level of state prisoners
When we discuss poverty inside the novel, is tenth grade, and 70% never graduated from high
I ask students first to think about similarities and school (9). When Robert pointed out in my class
differences between the Ewell and Cunningham that "the Ewells just went [to school] the first day
families. In the class I discuss in this article, the every year and then didn't go back," it opened the
students shared details from the text that inform door for us to discuss the importance of education,
them how poor the two families are: and how the lack of it perpetuates poverty and can
contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline.
Catey: The Cunninghams were poor because
It is clear to the students that Tom Robin
they couldn't pay Atticus except with things
like chestnuts. son is accused and imprisoned because of his pov
erty and his race. Today, poverty can force people to
Alyson: Yeah, and Walter never had lunch
drop out of school and work to survive and to help
to eat.
support their families. Thus begins a vicious cycle
Dan: But the Cunninghams would in
never
which poverty and lack of education can cause
take something they couldn't pay back
people to make poor choices, such as resorting to
somehow, while Bob Ewell would drink
theft oraway
illegal activities to earn money and status
any money they got. within a community. These decisions can quickly
Carissa: Mayella had to take care of lead
thetokids
incarceration.

and the house. Her dad was just a drunkHopeandchose the issue of poverty for her final
beat them. project. She wrote a poem on impoverished white
America, weaving in information such as children
Catey: But Mr. Cunningham was respectable
being forced to quit school to work in a factory
and paid back his debts the best he could.
or another job to earn money for their families, or
While their focus is more on the character
children of
being forced to go without much-needed
the two men, when I suggest that Mr. medical care because their families simply could
Cunning
ham's work ethic does not seem to bringnot afford
himit.outThe PowerPoint she created presents
her poem
of poverty, they are struck by this concept. Noonmata background of Depression-era pho
ter how hard he works, he does not appear
tographstoset get
to music, and she also posted her pre
ahead. Catey notes the parallel betweensentation
himonand YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=d3euOVmtjik).
Loretta Lynn's father who worked so hard yet was
never able to bring his family up out of poverty. We
then take some time to discuss how this is evident
From Awareness to Advocacy
today, with restaurant servers and other low-paying
jobs. In 2010, 15.1% of all people in the United While I chose the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there
States lived in poverty ("How"). Many of these are many other texts that teachers can use to ad
people work hard at their jobs and still cannot rise dress the school-to-prison pipeline and mass incar
above the poverty level. This "white trash" issue is ceration, especially when applying a response-based

English Journal 51

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 Using To Kill a Mockingbird as a Conduit for Teaching about the School-to-Prison Pipeline

cultural studies approach. Throughout this unit,
students were engaged in classroom activities and
were able to relate the literature and important is
sues to their own lives and the society in which they
live. Students were thinking more deeply about
the world around them and their places in it. They
were also interested enough in the literature and
Carey-Webb, Allen. Literature and Lives: A Response-Based,
Cultural Studies Approach to Teaching English. Urbana:
NCTE, 2001. Print.
DeParle, Jason, and Sabrina Tavernise. "For Women Under
30, Most Births Occur Outside Marriage." New York
Times 17 Feb. 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://
www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/us/for-women-under
30-most-births-occur-outside-marriage.html?_
r=2>.

involved enough in the class to contribute their
responses to what they had read and learned. As a
result, our classroom was an exciting place to be.
The question I am facing now is, What are we
going to do with this information? My students have
been made aware, but that is not enough. The next
"Education on Lockdown: The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse
Track." Advancement Project. Mar. 2005. Web. 28 Jan.
2012. < http://b. 3cdn. net/advancement/5351180e24
cb 166d02_mlbrqgxlh ,pdf>.
Eyes on the Prize (PBS Miniseries Boxed Set). Dir. Henry
Hampton. Blackside, 1987. Vidéocassette.
FindingNemo. Dir. Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich. 2003.
DVD.

time I teach this unit, I want to move beyond aware Guerino, Paul, Paige M. Harrison, and William J. Sabol.
ness to advocacy. We need to have conversations "Prisoners in 2010." Bureau of Justice Statistics. U.S.
Department of Justice, Dec. 2011. Web. 1 Feb. 2012.
about what we will do with this information after
<http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/plO.pdf>.
we have learned it. How will my students apply it? "How Does the United States Measure Poverty?" National
I want to work these types of questions into their Poverty Center. The University of Michigan, 2012.
Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.npc.umich.edu/
writing assignments in the future. For this year,
poverty/>.
though, I am content that my mostly middle-classLee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner,
white students are more aware of the school-to-prison I960. Print.
Lynn, Loretta, perf. "Coal Miner's Daughter." Coal Miner's
pipeline and will more deeply explore issues such as
Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn. 2010. CD.
this, which are so important to our society. Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. 3 Discs. Jefferson City: Scho
lastic, 2002. CD.
Nelson, Marilyn. A "Wreath for Emmett Till. Boston: Hough
Works Cited
ton, 2005. Print.
"ACLU's School-to-Prison Pipeline Game." ACLU. n.d. The Pursuit of Happyness. Dir. Gabriele Muccino. 2006.
Web. 17 Jan. 2012. <http://www.aclu.org/school DVD.
prison-pipeli ne-game >. "School to Prison Pipeline: A Look at New York City School
Alexander, Michelle. "Think Outside the Bars: Why Real Safety." NYCLU. n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://
Justice Means Fewer Prisons." Yes.'Magazine 8 June www.nyclu.org/node/l454>.
2011. Print. To Kill a Mockingbird. Dir. Robert Mulligan. 1962. 1998.
Allen, James, and John Littlefield. Without Sanctuary. Ed. DVD.
James Allen, 2005. Web. 1 Sept. 2010. <http:// Western, Bruce, and Becky Pettit. "Incarceration & Social
withoutsanctuary.org/main.html >. Inequality." Daedalus 139-3 (2010): 8-19. Print.
Wildeman, Christopher, and Bruce Western. "Incarceration
Braman, Donald. "Race, Poverty and Incarceration." Poverty
& Race Research Action Council 16.6 (2007): 1—12. in Fragile Families." The Future of Children 20.2
Print. (2010): 157-77. Print.

Steffany Comfort Maher teaches high school English language arts at PIONEERS Co-op in Jackson, Michigan, and holds an
MA in English with an emphasis on teaching from Western Michigan University. Currently teaching Themes in Literature,
American and British Literature and Composition, and Advanced Writing and Literature, Steffany resides in Parma, Michigan,
with her husband and four daughters. You may visit her website at http://steffanymaher.weebly.com/index.html.

READWRITETHINK CONNECTION Lisa Storm Fink, RWT

After reading a work of literature as a class, students will brainstorm

text in RWT's "Literary Characters on Trial: Combining Persuasion a
together as the prosecution or defense, while also acting as the jury
to research their case, including the novel and Internet resources. A
complement their trial work, http://www.readwritethink.org/classr
trial-combining-799.html

52 March 2013

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