Welcome to the class blog! The John Jay - Vera Fellows Program is a collaborative effort between John Jay College and the spin-off agencies of the Vera Institute of Justice, combining an internship and participation in a seminar taught by faculty from John Jay's Interdisciplinary Studies Program. (To see a video about the John Jay - Vera Fellows Program, click here.) Part of the seminar experience is weekly participation in the class blog, which keeps the conversation going from week to week and will be a place for you to share your thoughts and concerns about the materials discussed in seminar as well as the internship experience. The opinions expressed on this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Vera Institute of Justice or its spin-off organizations. While the blog is open to the public and anyone, theoretically, can comment, only class members and invited guests will be able to post. You can also look for us on our student and alumni page on Facebook.
Each student has been assigned one week to write the "post." Please post within 24 hours after class. Every week, each student must comment on the post (feel free to comment more than once). Please comment by Monday afternoon to allow time for further questions and responses and so that we can read all the entries before class.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Got Gangster?

Happy Mothers Day to Professor Stein, Professor Reitz and Ruby!

First off, thank you everyone for participating in my gangster class! All of you were given a 'personality' to be and all of the 'personalities' were actual people.  Towards the end of class, we all went back and forth on re-entry to society ideas for former gang members. I didn't get to hear from entirely everyone before we ran out of time.
Keep in mind on the person you were given to be during class, what are some ways to rehabilitate them? Also, every person on the index card was under 21 and had already had that lifestyle and trauma, what are some of the factors that are harmful to youth? America has the highest expulsion rate in the world.  If you had to convince a school board to lower their standards for not expelling kids so easily, what would you say to them?
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14 comments:

Simon said...

So just to remind everybody first, my character was a drug dealer with connections to multiple gangs and isn't always loyal to a single one. He also has 2 children from prostitutes. In my mind, I would think the best way to rehabilitate a person is to make the person realize he or she is being depended on. Since my character has 2 young children, he has to make money to take care of them. Of course, finding a job is not going to be easy since the characters are young and probably lack education or skills. So the more available jobs there are, the less likely my character will continue selling drugs.

It seems like the most harmful factor of my character's life was being involved with drugs. Since he is a dealer, he needs multiple contacts to sell drugs to, but it also makes him a liability in terms of being trustworthy. Also, if he is ever caught for selling the drugs, it will make life harder for him to get a more traditional job. In a way, having children are also harmful to youth, because it forces them to take care of others when they're not ready to even take care of themselves.

I don't think I would convince any school board to lower standards to prevent expulsion. I think the American public education system is already so bad enough as it is, that lowering it might just harm the kids from learning enough. They should instead change the system to find a way to get more children motivated and eager to learn. Also if a child is going to be expelled, at least make it for a serious situation, because children are expected to make mistakes. So we should at least give them a few chances to make up for what they did.

May 14, 2012 at 12:50 AM
Robert Riggs said...

I haven't watched the show Survivor in years, but last night, I was flipping through the channels and the finale was on. One of the 3 finalists was an African American woman who said she was a teacher in one of the toughest areas in the country and that she had gotten laid off right before the show started. I thought to myself, "Tough neighborhood, teacher layoff? That sounds like New York." Sure enough, she had been teaching in Brooklyn, probably Brownsville or Bed-Stuy. In one scene, she was sitting in front of the camera with this beautiful beach in the background and talking about her journey on the show. She started crying talking about how she wished she would be able to tell her students about the place--how the ocean smelled, how the sunsets looked. She said they had never seen or aspired to see more than a few blocks of Brooklyn and that for them to see what she had seen would change everything for them. I thought about Dani's class during this, especially that last question about how we would rehabilitate the people we call gang members. What would a simple vacation to Africa or Aruba, the kind of thing middle class kids take for granted, do for these kids whose worlds are confined to a few city blocks? Would it help to expand the world for them and push back the limits of the possible?

And then, how is that a teacher whose first thought during an emotional moment is of "her kids" is laid off? Dani's topic touches on so many different things. We briefly talked about the NYPD presence in the schools, but we didn't even touch on the Bloomberg administration's relentless demonization of public school teachers and devastating cuts to education and after school programs. These layoffs and cuts always seem to affect the neighborhoods where gangs are prevalent. It's pretty rare to see the community in the Upper West Side take to the streets to protest a school closing; usually, on NY1 news, I see poor communities rise up to protest teacher layoffs, school closing, and cuts to after school programs. I'm not going to get on a soapbox about this, but it's worth mentioning in passing: there's a great irony in the fact that mayor whose PERSONAL fortune could fund many of these programs is the one so bent on cutting them. Think how much just ONE of his billions could do for Brownsville. Maybe we could think about rehabilitating the tax code rather than the kids?

The character Dani assigned to me "always wanted a way out of the neighborhood and is "easily pressured into situations" and "uncommonly smart" and able to "do 'errands' quite easily and on the sly." Actually, perhaps absent the "uncommonly smart" trait, this sounds EXACTLY like me. I couldn't wait to get out of Jacksonville, can't say no, and quite capable. But my character has been labeled a gang member. We know from labeling theory that this alone can be harmful. To rehabilitate my character, I'd expunge any criminal record he might have, wipe clean any files in police departments where he's labeled a gang member, and grant him his wish to get out of the neighborhood. I'd first take him on a vacation, maybe to Kuala Lampur. Then, I'd give him a job that paid at least $15/hour, one where he could take advantage of his skills at carrying out tasks. He'd only be able to work part time because I'd give him a full scholarship to college, perhaps at Harvard, or Princeton if he wanted to stay close to family in Brooklyn. I think he'd be absolutely fine.

May 14, 2012 at 9:29 AM
Prof. Stein said...

After Dani’s class, I thought a lot about my John Jay posse: how close some of us were at some point to slipping irretrievably over the line into a different life, one from which we possibly could never return. In the light of Mitt Romney’s “youthful hijinks” of holding down an effeminate boy and cutting his hair off, I thought a lot about mistakes. It seems unlikely that Romney was ever punished for his actions yet I imagine that if someone in our class had done the same thing in a public school, they might have started down a road of labels and interventions, perhaps meant to help but with the ultimate effect of demonizing them. I often think about my own escape from youthful mistakes as being greatly facilitated by my whiteness; indeed I had many instances of preferential treatment by cops that, retrospectively, I attribute to skin color. Mostly, awful as I was, I was only marginally caught up in “the system”, which is what I imagine saved me. I stopped being a delinquent when I grew up-simple as that-but if I would have been institutionalized in some way, I perhaps never would have turned things around.

The presentations at Esperanza really moved me because their CEO, Jenny Kronenfeld, completely understands that less (intervention) is more when it comes to kids. If we can offer support, of course that is good: community, friendship, love, a glimpse of the world beyond the streets. That is very different than punishment but even different from therapeutic interventions, which I am unconvinced work well with youngsters. Kids just need to grow up. The vast majority of people age out of crime; if they can do so without their pasts hanging over them, they really have a shot at making a productive life.

May 14, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Popy Begum said...

Dani, you are very welcome! Thank you for allowing us to be gangsters! That doesn’t happen to often in school settings! =P

My person lived in a foster home where she was sexually molested. She ran away from the foster home and became a gang member. The card noted that my person likes to keep the secret that she has been molested sexually. I’m not exactly sure how my person can be rehabilitated but I think to start off, she needs to have her self-esteem boosted. Many times, youth are very insecure and need to be told that they are worthy and capable of change. The lack of care and support in their lives allows them to look for that elsewhere. For this reason, youth are often attracted to gangs. To them, gangs provide an instant group of best friends. Second, my person needs to go to some form of therapy and counseling. I think growing up without parents can be very traumatizing. Having a professional to talk to may bring some closure into my person’s life. The same will go for sexual harassment. Therapy will allow my person to change.

When it comes to factors that harm our youth. Here’s a list that I thought of:

-single parent households/broken homes
-constant moving from one house to another
-poor neighborhoods
-lack of support and care in their lives

If I had to convince a school board to lower their standards for expelling children, I would explain to them how expelling children from misbehaving could allow them to feel like an outsider. When a child feels that he or she cannot fit in, they will find a group to fit in elsewhere. Gang leaders don’t often lurk inside of schools but on the streets. Expelling children will increase their chances of being in the streets and becoming a juvenile offender.

May 15, 2012 at 8:33 AM
Professor Reitz said...

This is a really interesting blog conversation, kicked off by a great class (thanks, Dani!). So I have this idea always in the back of my brain. I think of it as my "If I Were President" idea. Basically, it is a National Service year (or two) that would be mandatory for every citizen. It would be like Israeli military service, but decidedly not military. It would be like the Peace Corps, but it would be somewhere in the US and you would live somewhere away from home and serve the nation in some capacity (the needs in this country are enormous -- could be a range of physical labor to classroom work to tech stuff). There would be some exception for folks who HAD to live in a particular place, but there would be no exemption from this service. Since I'm President, it would be a two year plan and in that second year you would have to go abroad to do some kind of service connected with what you'd been doing in the US.

This NSE (see, I've already given it an acronym in my mind: national service experience) would do so many things:

1) delay college and make students who get there value it more because they know something about the world;
2) make every 18-year-old citizen EQUAL -- just think of the power of that right there -- and part of the same enterprise;
3)give students a sense of themselves before they take on the financial burdens of college as well as give them something to pursue, perhaps, when they get to college;
4) the experience of living and working away from home, possibly away from the US (that Brooklyn principal was right on);
5) give young people a sense of belonging to something that had rules and a system, but that was not about labeling them as "successful" or as "failures";
6) job training for 2 years, something a lot of court-involved youth probably don't have (or even rich Westchester kids who spend all their time before college at camp) -- all youth need job training in this challenging economy!

I'm pretty sure that this idea would solve all the problems we've talked about this year. I would surely have helped my gang member, who was desperately looking for some kind of family and some kind of task.

As for the expulsion, I have another Big Idea (see, this is why I get the Big Money). I think kids on the verge of expulsion should have to shadow a teacher/school administrator for 2 weeks -- 24/7. The student and teacher would literally have to be together at all times (other than sleeping). I'm pretty sure that behavior -- on everyone's part -- would change, and it would cost nothing. This was the strategy of a friend with her delinquent teenage son. When he got in trouble with school, she made him stick by her -- to the laundry, grocery, work -- from the moment he got out of school until the moment he went back the next morning. He is now a college graduate and a successful employee at Teach For America.

May 15, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Ruby A. said...

Thank you Dani for your well wishes,
Robert touched upon a very important point: what kind of world do we live in where teachers who genuinely CARE for these children get laid off and are taken way from where they're needed most.

May 15, 2012 at 9:29 PM
Robert Riggs said...

Reitz for President!!!

May 15, 2012 at 9:41 PM
Prof. Stein said...

She has my vote, too. My children's punishment for misbehavior, from the time they were small, was to spend all their waking hours with me. Trust me, they are law abiding citizens now. If I could only send them overseas now that they are teenagers...

Vote Reitz, early and often.

May 16, 2012 at 10:24 AM
Professor Reitz said...

Friends, Romans, countrymen -- thank you for your support! Perhaps I should tell you that my second move as President would be to make proofreading the national past-time?

And to echo Ruby's comment, I know a bunch of incredibly student-centered faculty who have been denied tenure. We talk about the importance of teaching out of one side of our mouths and value only research in reality. We really need to start to mean what we say, whether that is in terms of our national values or our education system. I'd better go, as I feel an Orwell quote coming on...

May 16, 2012 at 12:43 PM
Gary said...

I also vote for Professor Reitz for President!

My character was a dropout from school, killed a fellow classmate (nobody knows about it), makes money off prostitutes, and has a bad temper. Right off the back, I would have to say that no rehabilitation programs works for him. By having little hope, things would change. First of, we would have to transfer him to a different environment (just like Professor Reitz mentioned). Enroll him in anger management classes and set him up with an internship that is of his interest to work with in the future.

Factors that are harmful to youth I would have to say Popy has stated most of them already. Another one would be the lack of recreational activities to be offered in each neighborhood. For example, the city should built more recreational centers with free entry to students from high school and students should be given the opportunity to work there also. If there is a pool in the recreational center, you need lifeguards. Wouldn't the right thing to do be offer lifeguard classes to students that will then qualify them to work at the center?

May 16, 2012 at 4:04 PM
Prof. Stein said...

THIS IS CYNTHIA'S POST:


I would rehabilitate my character and all other gang members by first accepting who they are and secondly to try and use the skills gained to do something positive. Some concepts that are extremely harmful to youth are trauma and lack of motivation. When Two are combined within a youths childhood, the isolation stage takes place, and they go out to see who will become the provider of a home or family.
I would tell he school board to have warnings for youth and children. After a child repeatedly disobeys, I would suggest him or her seeing a counselor during the lunch period or having a therapeutic session in order to determine if the child needs special attention.

May 16, 2012 at 4:31 PM
Roberto Celestin said...

I wish we were given more time to speak about gangs mainly why people join gangs. Although many of these gang members did face trauma which probably occurred home, if there were more opportunities given outside of sports in school there would definitely be less gang members or at least more intelligent and well versed gang members out there. I think that people join gangs because of the lack of opportunity they were given mainly in school. Although I was raised in a tough neighborhood the few opportunities which were available in my schools many were given to me largely because of luck. These opportunities involved millions of trips to free Broadway shows, operas at the MET, almost every museum this city had to offer, and many other interesting trips which forced me to look outside of the world I was living in. This definitely opened my mind up to the five six block world my parents gave me the opportunity to venture on my own. These opportunities gave me the ability to socialize with people who came from a world outside of the six block radius that I grew up in. A large problem many young teens I have met go into violent street gangs. On the other hand many of my friends weren’t given this opportunity because they were in a class ranked “lower” that I was in. Because of the lack of resources in my school only about two classes in every grade were given the opportunity to succeed, while every other class was simply going to school many which were expected to school. This idea is extremely similar to Professor Reitz in that every child needs to be given the opportunity to view life/the world from a different perspective.
In addition to the lack of perspective/opportunity many students are given people fail to realize that many of these students are still well kids. Being a child there is always room for growth which involves still making mistakes. In addition many people don’t believe that like any other human being these children can rebound from those mistakes and if given a shot they can succeed. Call me crazy but I think that the expulsion problem in schools comes from the fear of the students. The ideology of fear causes administrators to implement safety policies that resemble that of prison. This all comes from FEAR of the students. The combo of not giving children an opportunity to succeed and blaming the victim for the lack of success they have because of the lack of opportunities is very problematic. We ought to recognize that closing schools and blaming the school/educators will not resolve the issue. The only way to resolve this issue is to give more of these kids an opportunity to succeed.
Sadly the character I played resembles many of the participants in Common Justice. He had great qualities mainly this person was known for being a leader. Although he was leading a violent organization which terrorizes others this is another example why more opportunities are necessary for some.

May 16, 2012 at 5:04 PM
Timothy Fowler said...

Professor Reitz, you have my vote also, but on one condition: take me as your running mate!

However, due to the laws of expungement, I am prohibited to hold any position of public office. EVER. At times, young adults are going to make bad decisions. As Robert alluded to, having a criminal conviction on an individual's record for LIFE will keep them from being able to take advantage of certain opportunities. Or, there will be LACK of opportunities for this individual due to that "bad decision" that was made on their part. Before I consider expulsion in the schools, I would have to consider where the "village" has failed. If it takes a village to raise a child, what strategies can be implemented by the parents, teachers and all the other supporting casts?

Professor Stein, your comments left me frustrated at the harsh reality that some police officers disguise their prejudice with garments of discretion. However, your openness, honesty and acknowledgement regarding this topic (coming from your perspective) is so refreshing.

May 16, 2012 at 10:48 PM
Christine L. said...

I would try to convince the board of education that the suspension rates and expulsion rates are going up, but it does not benefit the students or the education system. I would make suspensions only for students who are in middle school or high school. It would be harder to expel a child who is in middle school or elementary school. Schools need to find another way to discipline children at a younger age. The school never reports to the board of education on their suspensions or even why they are suspending them. There needs to be more collaboration with parents. If they are going to suspend children they need to fix suspension schools, so that they actually learn at those sites. To expel a child when they are not doing well in school seems to do the complete opposite of what we are trying to achieve. If students are behind in school, removing them from the school setting will only cause them to be further behind.

May 22, 2012 at 12:02 PM

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