Mayor Bing, other officials confront youth violence

Marisa Schultz / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington — Speaking before a national summit Monday, Johnathon Matthews, a principal at Detroit's Cody High School, recalled a conversation with a troubled student that cut to the heart of the youth violence epidemic in Detroit and nationally.

Matthews warned the child if he doesn't change his behavior, he won't live until age 35.

"Why would I want to?" the child replied.

When beset with homelessness, poverty and starvation, "incarceration is an acceptable risk," Matthews said, sparking nods from the audience at the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. "In many cases, death is an acceptable risk.
"We need to provide our young people hope."

Matthews was joined by Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Police Chief Ralph Godbee and community activists as they launched a plan to reduce youth violence by strengthening prevention and intervention programs, and perhaps most importantly, creating more positive opportunities for young people.

The 34-page plan calls for in-school alternatives to suspensions, a social media campaign to lure youth from street violence and a renewed anti-gang ceasefire program. The effort will be rolled out this month in the neighborhoods around Cody and the adjacent Osborn and Denby high schools, which have been hotbeds for youth violence.

Continued at: http://detnews.com/article/20110405/...#ixzz1Icjlw8ow

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Originally Posted by begingri

Marisa Schultz / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington — Speaking before a national summit Monday, Johnathon Matthews, a principal at Detroit's Cody High School, recalled a conversation with a troubled student that cut to the heart of the youth violence epidemic in Detroit and nationally.

Matthews warned the child if he doesn't change his behavior, he won't live until age 35.

"Why would I want to?" the child replied.

When beset with homelessness, poverty and starvation, "incarceration is an acceptable risk," Matthews said, sparking nods from the audience at the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. "In many cases, death is an acceptable risk.
"We need to provide our young people hope."

Matthews was joined by Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Police Chief Ralph Godbee and community activists as they launched a plan to reduce youth violence by strengthening prevention and intervention programs, and perhaps most importantly, creating more positive opportunities for young people.

The 34-page plan calls for in-school alternatives to suspensions, a social media campaign to lure youth from street violence and a renewed anti-gang ceasefire program. The effort will be rolled out this month in the neighborhoods around Cody and the adjacent Osborn and Denby high schools, which have been hotbeds for youth violence.

Continued at: http://detnews.com/article/20110405/...#ixzz1Icjlw8ow

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Jobs, training, smaller class size, recreation centers, are what the youth need. The Mayor had allowed Bobb to close up most of the schools in Detroit. The youth have a bleak outlook for the future being that if that youth is not gifted in math or science that youth is cast out of the game. That are many other natural skills and talents that young people have other than the math and science but the world economy only focuses on those. I am not diminishing those skills. The school system is quick to label a child ADD if that child hasn';t learn algebra or not speaking correct english by the 4th grade. No wonder these youths have a bleak outlook on life beyond the age of 35

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Jobs, training, smaller class size, recreation centers, are what the youth need.

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Those things might help, but I believe that what is missing is any confidence that in fact there will be future rewards for good behavior and deferred gratification. I don't see how young people today can have any clear idea of what their futures are going to be like or how where they are going to fit into society, and kids who probably don't have a whole lot of personal experience of people who have been able to succeed are likely to be pretty skeptical that there is anything that they can do to materially improve their lives.

As an over-involved parent with an academically successful daughter, I at least have a story I can tell her about why all her work will [[probably) eventually pay off. I don't know what I would tell a child who realistically isn't going to get that kind of result. One thing we need is much more explicit non-academic tracks, as it appears to me there is way too little emphasis on vocational training.

I believe knowledge and skills are their own reward, but that belief doesn't to be widespread, especially now that kids can be on an X-Box or video chat instead of reading.

One of the main problems kids have is that they are "parentaly impaired" when you have children whose parents don't care the kids assume that no one cares. We need to stop the cycle of single unfit parents having kids when they aren't capable of providing them with the proper home life and support.

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Originally Posted by Cushkid

One of the main problems kids have is that they are "parentaly impaired" when you have children whose parents don't care the kids assume that no one cares. We need to stop the cycle of single unfit parents having kids when they aren't capable of providing them with the proper home life and support.

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Isn't it the same cycle, basically?
English recently commented on what she called low-grade PTSD. I imagine she was right in that comment; those kids have all got it and are dealing with it as well [[or not) as can be expected. What is needed is a small [[or not) battery of therapists.

My partner and I listened to the radio regarding this issue and she said what's the purpose of this forum in DC. I basically said don't know other than the elite get a free vacation.

As I was leaving the car the person being interviewed was asked much the same question.

The answer was we hope to "steal" ideas from other communities that have dealt with youth crime.

I bust out laughing.

Clearly, certain people don't need to have children, and that transcends all races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic classes. You can't stop people from having children, and you can't force young people not to be antisocial once they are here.

So there are only two things to be done: either you prevent certain people from having children, or you foster the children as a society once they're here. I am completely against any form of eugenics on moral grounds. In this case, how would one decide who's fit to be a parent? How would one decide who's not? Being a young, black, poor, single woman isn't enough criteria to preclude someone from becoming a mother. If you take away their ability to have children, you not only dehumanize them even further, you've just denied life to many people who contribute much to our society, from Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois, to Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Ben Carson.

Whenever people call inner-city black and Latino kids in gangs or engaged in a criminal lifestyle "monsters" or "creatures," or any other kind of dehumanizing label, I take exception. The quote below sums up my stance:

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What a pity Bilbo did not stab the vile creature, when he had a chance!

Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need.

I do not feel any pity for Gollum. He deserves death.

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Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.

--John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

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The only thing to do is to create a city [[and society) that is more just, peaceful, and equitable. Our embrace of greed, our willful blindness toward those who suffer, and our insistence on maintaining old ways of categorizing other human beings have destroyed enough young lives.

We agree to stop coddling bad teachers, administrators, juvenile system workers, etc. We raise the standards high for all those who work with children and youth -- the best, most highly paid teachers, social workers, and child psychologists should be in Detroit, not in Bloomfield, Birmingham, or Grosse Pointe, just as the most skilled doctors often are called in to treat the most sick patients, while the most reputable attorneys work on the most challenging cases. Those with the greatest academic knowledge AND the ability to work with young people should be working in Detroit public and charter schools.

We agree to stop nickel and diming education, community centers, youth internships and employment, and nonprofit organizations that serve children and teenagers. We do not whine about the cost. We stop harrumphing about being "taxpayers," realizing that the future of our own children, and our ultimate legacy, rests on creating more productive CITIZENS. Americans are always screaming about their money when compared to nations with less violence and higher test scores, we are offering McDonalds educations, Wal-Mart social services, and have very little notion of the public good.

The kids in these inner-city 'hoods are the extreme manifestation of what Americans worship. We love our money, and believe that to be virtuous is to be rich. We also love our guns, because they make us feel protected and powerful. How dare we act incredulous when a poor uneducated kid believes all these things, too? Many American citizens, no matter what their background, don't value education, delayed gratification, a work ethic, etc... just ask any immigrant. We are nothing like our grandparents, and those who are more old-fashioned in our values get ragged on. I know this from personal experience.

If we want better kids and teens, we need to be better adults, willing to invest in and create a better society. I'm not too hopeful, though.

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Originally Posted by fryar

Isn't it the same cycle, basically?
English recently commented on what she called low-grade PTSD. I imagine she was right in that comment; those kids have all got it and are dealing with it as well [[or not) as can be expected. What is needed is a small [[or not) battery of therapists.

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I've been trying to read up on the literature about this. I was hoping to start my research in Detroit; thanks to the recent upheaval, I'll likely begin by studying the trajectory of former DPS and Detroit charter students who have left for Oakland County. I'm interested in how teachers and administrators are dealing with them [[or not), and if any schools or districts in more affluent areas are able to meet what are very profound academic, social, and emotional needs. I'm off to the American Educational Research Association this week, and hope to attend some sessions to get ideas.

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Originally Posted by English

I've been trying to read up on the literature about this. I was hoping to start my research in Detroit; thanks to the recent upheaval, I'll likely begin by studying the trajectory of former DPS and Detroit charter students who have left for Oakland County. I'm interested in how teachers and administrators are dealing with them [[or not), and if any schools or districts in more affluent areas are able to meet what are very profound academic, social, and emotional needs. I'm off to the American Educational Research Association this week, and hope to attend some sessions to get ideas.

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Cool. Let us know what you find.

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Originally Posted by English

I've been trying to read up on the literature about this. I was hoping to start my research in Detroit; thanks to the recent upheaval, I'll likely begin by studying the trajectory of former DPS and Detroit charter students who have left for Oakland County. I'm interested in how teachers and administrators are dealing with them [[or not), and if any schools or districts in more affluent areas are able to meet what are very profound academic, social, and emotional needs. I'm off to the American Educational Research Association this week, and hope to attend some sessions to get ideas.

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I would suggest you look at Harper Woods and Grosse Pointe school districts as some of the most profound examples of DPS and charter student migration over the past 15 years. Then look at Utica schools as examples of subsequent HW and GP school district migration.

Thanks English, you certainly depressed me.

I think the thing that bothers me the most is kids in gas stations buying junk food with bridge card dollars. Better nutrition might be the answer.

Mostly I think more love and attention is the critical factor. It does take a village to raise a child!

I think back to last summer and a herd of kids, nice kids, were hanging out. Ages maybe 8 to 14 or so. They all played nice with each other. We chatted them up and I was highly disturbed that not one of them had a permanent home. Not one of those kids are around this Spring. Zero stability for those children.

I feel their loss. Kids should be a significant part of any community.

But how must they feel?

Instability leads to an unwillingness to work toward longer-term goals. It is asking a lot for kids to invest effort in the face of that. I imagine that they feel insecure and uncertain about their futures, and of course that kind of instability also weakens their social connections.

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Originally Posted by sumas

Thanks English, you certainly depressed me.

I think the thing that bothers me the most is kids in gas stations buying junk food with bridge card dollars. Better nutrition might be the answer.

Mostly I think more love and attention is the critical factor. It does take a village to raise a child!

I think back to last summer and a herd of kids, nice kids, were hanging out. Ages maybe 8 to 14 or so. They all played nice with each other. We chatted them up and I was highly disturbed that not one of them had a permanent home. Not one of those kids are around this Spring. Zero stability for those children.

I feel their loss. Kids should be a significant part of any community.

But how must they feel?

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This is generational. Today's inner-city poor kids have parents who grew up when I did. They had parents who didn't care, and they likely had parents who didn't, and so on...

One of the greatest myths in our culture is that of widespread class mobility. It's not true. Today's underclass is descended from yesterday's underclass, and is giving birth to tomorrow's underclass. We all like to think that our accomplishments or even our place in the world as a stable, self-respecting adult is all our self-will and effort. No, it's luck. How many bad cards in life would it have taken for any of us to end up sleeping on a bench, selling ourselves for cash, or dead from gang activity? What if neither of our parents had any time for us? What if we saw them getting drunk or high? What if we witnessed our older brother's murder... or were in the backseat of a car while big cuz did a drive-by? What if the house was always dirty and unkempt, or even worse, if crack paraphrenalia and empty 40s were all over the house every day when we arrived from school? What if there was NEVER anything in the fridge? What if your shoes hurt your feet, but you didn't dare say anything because you didn't want to get told off -- "Mama gotta get her hair done." What if Mama's boyfriend threatened to kill you if you didn't get outta his face, or even worse, what if Mama's boyfriend was abusing you and THEN threatened to kill you?

What if I told you that both Mama and her boyfriend were raised [[or rather, "came up") in similar or worse circumstances?

What would it take? What would it take to break you if you were that kid? What would it take for you to become numb? What would it take for you NOT to want to live to age 21? What would it take?

"These kids should just do their homework. No one is stopping them from that." What if there are always a zillion people in the house, the music is always blaring, and there are fights, yelling and screaming?

"These kids should go to the library if home is terrible." Libraries close. What happens when they go home? What if their parents don't WANT them to go to the library, but wanted them to come home to watch the baby? Wanted them to start dinner? Wanted them to run an errand?

No, seriously. Some of these folks are expecting kids from the underclass to be superhuman. And it's not just the underclass these days. I have relatives and friends who were raised in respectable, middle class homes who keep their kids home from school for no reason at all other than THEY didn't want to wake up. The TV and radio are always blaring, people are always in and out, and the kids are regularly up until 10, 11, 12 midnight on school nights. They'd rather kick back, relax, and toss back a drink or two while watching TV or playing video games than to supervise homework or see to bedtimes. And then when the school calls about attendance or academic performance, there's all this drama and anger.

I have a dear, close relative who has a lot of emotional problems and anger issues. Their small child is just precious -- a photogenic little kid who could easily do commercials or TV -- the kid makes strangers' hearts melt. Yet there's such a hunger, an anguish, and a loneliness in them -- you see it whenever their mother brushes them aside. This child is aching for attention, respect, and love, but... they won't always be a child. And they're starting to pick up some of their parent's rage.

There are no easy answers. It's not enough to throw money at the problem [[liberals) or to lock it up [[conservatives). But one thing's for sure -- poor kids were a lot better off when our society actually practiced what it preached.

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Originally Posted by sumas

My partner and I listened to the radio regarding this issue and she said what's the purpose of this forum in DC. I basically said don't know other than the elite get a free vacation.

As I was leaving the car the person being interviewed was asked much the same question.

The answer was we hope to "steal" ideas from other communities that have dealt with youth crime.

I bust out laughing.

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Yea, if they want to confront youth violence, they should get their ass out on the street and do something about it, instead of having a "summit"!

“You can't stop people from having children, and you can't force young people not to be antisocial once they are here”.

No, you cannot stop people having children, but you can reduce the probability. When children are having children, absentee parents are usually a factor. These kids don’t have the support or guidance they need. Thus, we [[society) need to take an active role. How do we do this? Through access to contraception [[birth control, condoms ect...).

There is a direct correlation between teen pregnancy and dropping out of high school. Following the trajectory; dropping out of high school leads to lower lifetime earnings potential, a higher likelihood of poverty, increased dependency on benefits and higher incarceration rates. And so the cycle continues.....Apathy to this reality is robbing girls of their potential.

Giving access [[not forcing) to birth control is a start. This can be done through the school, distributed [[voluntarily) from the nurse [[or county health dept). If we look simply at the cost/benefit of operating this program, the latter becomes obvious; the entire program can be paid for through reduced lifetime benefits to the girls and their children.

Now, I understand the naysayers will be screaming that nobody will take the pill. But if only 100 pregnancies are avoided, that’s 100 improved opportunities to succeed. And for the pastors? They need to wake up and realize abstinence only education is a farce; kids are experimenting, that’s not going to change. And for the STD fear mongers? See the response to pastors; kids are going to do it anyway. People have access to cigarettes, does everybody smoke? Those who care about the community need to stand up and take action where parents and churches fail.

Declining birthrates are common to industrialized societies. As education and incomes increase, people realize the connection between pregnancy and poverty. In some ways, it’s time for Detroit to return to its industrialized roots...This is not being selfish, it’s being responsible.

Oh golly, shades of Shirley Temple. We have to care about our kids.No grandstanding here. Our kids matter and I wish I could do more. Maybe I can!!! I will try harder.

If our children do not believe in the system maybe it is broke!

I still think there should be some parental accountability laws on the books, where parents will be held accountable for the crimes of their minor children. Be it jail time and/or fines.

Parents are the first and usually most influential teacher of their children. These parents must understand there is a price to pay if the taxpayers have to take over their responsiblilty.

I am not big into grandstanding but I must say fathers [[biologically only) seem to suck. There in lies the issue.

Fuck some bitch and take a walk. The kids, who cares, get that bitch pregnant and they strut.

Personally know too many men who don't take responsibility.

Been married close to 40 yrs. God knows we made mistakes! Our boys are ok! Doing well yaddah, yaddah. Their dad was there for them!

These city kids are lost with no island, that is easy to figure!

Sumas

Tkelly1986, I couldn't agree with you more that it can only be practical to make birth control free or nearly free. OT, but same goes for the nicotine patch, IMO.

Really good points, English.