Sixth-grade Public School Zero student Pablo Hill was given detention because his clothes were dirty, and was told that he was “at-risk” for delinquency if he could not follow the dress code. Due to staff shortages, Pablo was then forgotten in the detention room for a full day. Pablo missed his school lunch, the only food he eats every day, and a final exam which he needed for a passing grade. While in the detention room, Pablo made a collage from papers he found in the recycling bin, including a copy of an article by Professor Ivory A. Toldson which explained that the phrase “at-risk” can be harmful to students. According to Toldson, the phrase “at-risk” becomes a stigmatizing self-fulfilling curse of low expectations. He explains that it labels students with the problems that were imposed on them by the external world, instead of seeing students for who they are intrinsically. When Pablo was discovered by the janitor, Carlos Enrique, at the end of the day, Enrique posted Pablo’s collage on his social media with the caption:
Identify Schools At Risk For:
- Cruelty to homeless students
- Callousness toward students who are victims of abuse
- Brutality toward students of color
- Cold-heartedness toward poor students
Since the incident, Pablo has been placed in a recess program for at-risk homeless students instead of playing outside with his classmates, and Enrique has been put on probation without benefits.
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