Carton of Milk Controversy

• Title: Teen accused of stealing 65-cent carton of milk at middle school to stand trial
  

  
• Source/Author/Date: Washington Post / Victoria St. Martin / 9/30/2016
• URL Link HERE

• Key Points: A middle school student was arrested and accused of stealing a carton of milk in Virginia. The student receives free and reduced lunches and was confronted over the carton by a resource officer. The stories conflict one another, and race has been brought into the discussion as the student is a black male and was thus targeted by his race. The officer is also black, but the parents are hoping that the public trial will help shed light on unwarranted accusations and arrests.
• Relevance: As educators, we need to try and be aware of the lenses that we view the students in the classroom and school. Much of the confusion and escalation in this specific story seemed that it could have been mitigate by having a discussion with the student regarding the incident. Educators need to remember that there is usually more to the story then what is appearing at face value and other methods of inquiry should be used instead of accusations. Another part of the story that I feel is relevant is the topic of student that are on free and reduced lunches. Many times these student wont have had a meal until arriving at school, and disobedient or uncharacteristic behaviors may occur as the child is hungry and anticipating the meal. I have seen students who are hungry (and on free and reduced lunches) act out or not even be able to concentrate due to their hunger. Overall, educators need to try and see the whole picture of the child, but this can be tricky at times as the children will only show you as much of their lives as you are willing to look at and inquire about...