Books by Aaron Kupchik

Schools across the U.S. look very different today than they did a generation ago. Police officers, drug-sniffing dogs, surveillance cameras, and high suspension rates have become commonplace. The Real School Safety Problem uncovers the unintended but far-reaching effects of harsh school discipline climates. Evidence shows that current school security practices may do more harm than good by broadly affecting the entire family, encouraging less civic participation in adulthood, and garnering future financial costs in the form of high rates of arrests, incarceration, and unemployment. This text presents a blueprint for reform that emphasizes problem-solving and accountability while encouraging the need to implement smarter school policies.

By comparing how adolescents are prosecuted and punished in juvenile and criminal courts, this work finds that prosecuting adolescents in criminal court does not fit with out cultural understandings of youthfulness. It suggests that justice would be better served if adolescents were handled by the system designed to address their special needs.

Police officers, armed security guards, surveillance cameras, and metal detectors are common features of the disturbing landscape at many of the high schools. This title shows that these policies lead schools to prioritize the rules instead of students, so that students' real problems get ignored.