15 Year Old Felon

The opening line of this story says it all…

“A 15-year-old from Syracuse, Anthony Stewart, was sentenced to 2 to 6 years in a juvenile detention facility by Judge William Walsh of Onandaga County for a robbery in which the teenager took a mere 7 cents.”

While many people are slamming this judge for his decision, I think he did the right thing.  What if the elderly man would have had a heart attack from this?  What if he had hit his head when falling to the ground and caused serious damage?  People have been murdered for less money, or in a local case here not long ago, 2 young men robbed and killed a store owner for her bag, which contained onions.  The simple fact is that this kid made a bad choice and now he has to pay the price. 

So yes, in a previous post I criticized placing labels on kids in school, however placing the label of “felon” in this case is not only justified, it is the right thing to do.  This may actually deter a future youth from committing something like this. 

This teenager was found guilty of first degree, or aggravated, robbery.  In most states, including Texas, aggravated robbery is a first degree felony.  To put that in some perspective, murder is also a first degree felony.  The fact that only 7 cents was recovered has nothing to do with how the law is written.  The judge in this case made an example of this offender.  The offender was given a chance to plead guilty, even after being positively identified by his victim (which happened to be a 73 year old man who was pushed to the ground, punched in the face, and held at (BB) gun point. 

Violence in Fort Worth

Here’s a sad story about an incident at a Fort Worth, Texas high school from this week. 

Schools across the Dallas Fort Worth region started this past week.  Already there have been multiple reports of fights and assaults, from students fighting each other to students assaulting their teachers and principals.  In this case, a 15 year old student was involved in a fight in the school cafeteria which escalated outside.  The student was then assaulted by several students and “stomped into unconsciousness.” 

“Fort Worth police said a school resource officer struggled to pull the attackers off the victim and the officer was forced to taser both attackers as they kept kicking the unconscious boy.”

As school districts across this country are faced with less funding from state and federal budget cuts, instances of violence may be more prevalent.  Schools and their staff are being forced to do more with less.  Thankfully in this case, the school police officer was properly trained in the use of his equipment and was able to end the violence before it turned deadly. 

Cam Newton Tattoos

Just a quick follow-up to my previous post about NBA tattoos and the mindset that they at times create.

There's been much made lately about Carolina Panthers rookie QB Cam Newton.  Cam was the Heisman trophy winner last year at Auburn University.  He was the #1 overall draft pick into the NFL and led his team to a National Championship in his final season.  What Cam Newton doesn't have, is any tattoos or piercings.  The owner of his NFL team has asked Cam not to get any tattoos while he is a member of the team.  This has led to much discussion as to the image that athletes with tattoos portray.  As in my previous story, Kevin Durant and Lil Wayne were both mentioned as well.  I've heard the gang or thug story line at least 10 times this week through various media outlets as well. 

As one writer stated here, ultimately what will matter is how Cam Newton performs on the field.  Whether or not he has tattoos should not matter.  And the same holds true for students.  Regardless of how a student expresses him or herself (tattoos, piercings, style of dress, sexual orientation, etc) the performance in the classroom, both academically and in terms of behavior, should be what matters.

A School Board NOT in Denial

The school board in San Bruno, California, is looking into funding a gang prevention program.  An increase in gang activity in the community and in nearby San Francisco has led the school board president to look into gang prevention programs for her district.  There are several refreshing points about this article:

1.       The school board is looking into this proactively.  While it is widely known that gang activity in larger surrounding cities will eventually impact smaller suburbs, it is usually denied or ignored by those suburbs until something drastic happens.

2.       They are looking into prevention programs.  A successful gang model addresses both prevention and enforcement, but usually funds are diverted to law enforcement first to address crime.

3.       They are looking into an established program which has had success in other areas.  A lot of times when programs like this are explored, there are pre-determined local agencies who get the funding because they are in some way connected to the local school board members.  This does not appear to be the case in this one. 

4.       The program will be targeted at both intermediate and high school aged students.  As you can see from many of my previous posts, programs targeted at the intermediate/middle school/junior high aged kids are very important.  These are the years that kids are joining gangs. 

I’m thinking about contacting the board president.  Either way, I will monitor this story to see what decisions are made. 

I also added another blog to the “Blogs I Read” section.  Nuggets, Gems, & Pearls is a great source for a lot of information.  Go check her out.

Young Gang Members

This Youngstown, Ohio, news story highlights an important fact for anyone working with gangs in schools. 

“The FBI said Youngstown gang recruits are getting younger and younger, with some of them as young as 10 to 12 years old. And a lot of it starts in school hallways. 

"The kids go from that high school to the neighborhood and they are already a gang member or they are already associating with gang members and being recruited," Mahone said.”

Early prevention programs and direct intervention for children who are involved in gangs or drugs can have long lasting, positive effects.  As has been a running message in many of these posts, seek help!

The age range quoted here is generally when students go from 5^th grade to 7^th grade.  Many experts believe that the majority of children begin to experiment with gangs and drugs during the middle school / junior high years.  However, there are a growing number of kids across the country that begin this dangerous lifestyle while they are still in elementary school.  The youngest professed gang member I have dealt with was in 3^rd grade.  A few years ago, my co-worker was doing an anti-gang and anti-drug presentation to a group of 4^th grade students when one of them stood up, walked out of the room and subsequently the school, and went walking down the neighborhood street in search of “cheese”, a deadly mixture of heroin and cold medicine such as Tylenol. While schools are safer now than in the previous years, what happens with these children outside the confines of the school building has a direct impact on them inside the building, which has a direct impact on the safety of the school as a whole. 

Texas High School Affected By Borber Gunfire

Gang activity in school is not the only way gangs affect schools.  Gang activity in the surrounding community of a school has a direct impact on the safety and civility of a school campus as well.  A story run by a Dallas news agency reports that last weekend in El Paso, Texas, students at Bowie High School were holding football practice when gunfire broke out in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which is right over the border. 

"Bowie High School players preparing for practice on a field a few hundred yards from the shooting said bullets were fizzing through the air and hitting stadium lights."

While El Paso is regurlarly ranked in the top 5 lists of safest cities in the United States, Ciudad Juarez has seen thousands of murders every year as drug cartels battle for position.  Many believe that El Paso's safety ranking is not an actual picture of the city's safety.

Losing Kids to Labels

Yahoo Finance published a story yesterday about entrepreneur Ryan Blair.  On the Yahoo home page news scroll, the title is “From gang member to CEO.”  The story does not mention much about his gang past, just that he was a member of a gang.  There are some interesting ideas about using lessons learned while in juvenile detention in the business world.  What caught my eye, other than the obvious title, is a quote from Mr. Blair regarding his thoughts on the education system. 

“I can tell you from personal experience that some of our brightest minds are being misidentified because of a one-size-fits-all learning environment. Because I had ADD and dyslexia I never got past the 9th grade.”

What if the opposite happened?  What if we took a segment of these students and placed them in gifted and talented programs?  What if we made them proud of themselves, boosted their ego, and gave them something to look forward to when coming to school each day?  What if we showed them how their “Thug Life” hero, Tupac Shakur, actually attended the Baltimore School for the Arts and studied jazz, ballet, poetry, and Shakespeare, and then opened some of the same doors for them? 

A colleague of mine once said that we have to think beyond gangs and develop youth.  Not only gangs, we have to think beyond labels.  We have to look beyond the negatives and develop our children’s strengths.  We have to empower them as young men or young women and teach them that they are valuable. 

Not only are those minds being lost to the “one-size-fits-all” or cookie cutter programs that many schools adopt, students are also lost once they get labeled as needing special education.  While there are some benefits to the additional services given to those who qualify, there are also several drawbacks.  A student who enters middle school (or junior high) without meeting the standards on state testing will be placed in “intervention” programs to help him or her do better on the test.  While this may help, it also hinders that student from experiencing everything the school has to offer.  These intervention classes replace electives.  Many of these students do not even qualify for special education services because the only issue they have is that they are bad test takers.  When they are given the individual assessments to determine what “label” they should receive, they do very well.  When this happens, these kids are placed in intervention or recovery classes and sometimes get labeled, but not officially, as lazy.  However, the majority of these kids are not lazy; they are just wired a little different.  They are thinkers and dreamers and often get distracted by those dreams when they are left alone (i.e. testing).  While math, English, and science are needed, elective classes such as drama, music, and creative writing allow those minds to thrive.  But instead, the school systems label kids, take away their avenues for individualism and expression, and lowers their self-esteem.  And that’s when the truancy, bullying, drugs, and gangs take over. 

Back to School Shopping

Shopping for “Back-to-School” clothes can be an exciting and exhausting time for both parents and students.  While many elementary and middle or junior high schools have adopted uniform policies, many high schools allow students to wear “regular” clothes, as long as they comply with certain dress code guidelines. 

Here are a few warning signs that may indicate gang involvement: 

1.       Unusual interest in a particular color of clothing or logo – Gangs may use specific colors to identify themselves.  Well known colors are red for Bloods, blue for Crips, and yellow for Latin Kings.  However, local gangs who have no allegiance to the national gangs may also use specific identifying colors.  Children who obsess over having all their clothing be a specific color may be involved in gang activity.  The same holds true for specific logos and clothing of sport teams.  Popular symbols include 5 and 6 pointed stars, pitchforks, and crowns.

   2.       Changes in hair style – While getting a specific gang name cut into the hair is an obvious sign, there are more subtle ways.  Children may use various designs, such as stars, to indicate gang affiliation.  However, these types of symbols are also very popular.  Children may also cut specific numbers of lines in each side of the head to represent dominant numbers, for example, 1 line on one side and 3 lines on the other to represent the number 13.  These types of cuts can also be placed on the eyebrows to send similar messages.  See story here.

3.       Personalized or location specific clothing – Stores now sell clothing specific to neighborhoods or states.  While the music industry popularizes this clothing, so do the gangs.  They adopt the mindset, numbers, and slogans symbolized in the shirts.  Students also honor fallen friends or family members through memorial or “RIP” shirts.  Many of these contain gang symbols in the pictures, numbers, and words. 

     

      4.       Accessories – When dress codes and uniform policies are put in place, gangs adapt.  Students will attempt to display their affiliation through accessories, which schools often fail to address.  Parents need to be aware of what their children are wearing as they leave the house.  Beaded necklaces, hats, fabric belts with metal buckles, shoelaces, and bandanas are common ways for gang colors to be displayed. 

Gang clothing trends change and may be different from one place to another, so clothing alone may not be enough to indicate a child’s affiliation with a particular gang, though it can be a clue.  Contact your local police or sheriff’s department to get specific information on the meaning of unidentifiable symbols or numbers that you may see in graffiti or clothing in your area.  If you fear that your child is involved, talk with them.  Let them know that these clothing items can put them in danger and that you will not purchase them or allow them to be worn.  Be the parent!