The school-to-prison pipeline doesn't just begin with cops in the hallways and zero tolerance discipline policies. It begins when teachers fail to create a curriculum and a pedagogy that connects with students, that takes them seriously as intellectuals, that lets students know teachers care about them, that gives them the chance to channel their pain and defiance in productive ways. Making sure that teachers opt out of the classroom-to-prison pipeline will look and feel different in every subject and with every group of students. But the classroom will share certain features: It will take the time to build relationships, and it will say, "You matter. Your culture matters. You belong here."