Urban Youth Violence

Back in September in Chicago, a high school student was beaten to death by other teenagers near Fenger High School. Reports say that it was a gang fight gone out of control, and Derrion, a sophomore on the honor roll, was a bystander at the scene when he was fatally struck in the head. A cell phone video aired on local TV and now seen across the country has renewed public concern in urban youth violence. Since then, the media has covered other shootings and violent incidents among students in Chicago as well as across the country, including the disturbing gang rape case in Richmond, California.

Violence among urban youth is nothing new, though the details are shocking every time. The debate over the causes and the increasing brutality of the crimes of the young have been hashed and rehashed. Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman has declared he is willing to throw large sums of money at the problem for more programs that target students who live in impoverished, gang-ridden neighborhoods. He has also stated that he wants to see a "culture of calm" in public schools.

Again, nothing new. So I have to ask what the role of the school and the role of the teacher is in addressing urban youth violence. Why is it not the school's problem? Instead, we point to the lack of after-school programs or lack of safety in the neighborhood, both of which are important of course, but as a teacher I wonder if violence was discussed in the classroom beyond the surface level of "keep your hands and feet to yourself," whether such incidents would happen with such frequency.

I think we often shy away from this question because there exists a tension between what should supposedly be taught at home and what should be taught at school. Parents and teachers argue over their respective "domains" in the life of a child. Teachers might complain, for example, that it's not in their job description to teach a child manners or even conflict resolution. In adolescent years and even earlier, there is increasing separation between education of character, which is traditionally the parents' role, versus academics, which is the role of the school. Schools who have it right have found a way to bridge the divide and acknowledge that teachers and parents need to work together on the social, emotional, and academic development of each student.

But urban schools are victims of a system of accountability that creates distrust between home and school. Parents are asked to evaluate a school almost solely based on its test scores. At the same time, discipline issues in the classroom are often blamed on bad parenting with the excuse that there is simply no time within the school day. As a urban teacher, one feels the pressure of NCLB and high-stakes testing, which places value on reading and math over anything else. We are asking if students can comprehend a reading passage but not asking them if they feel safe or if they are able to gauge and control their emotions or what it would look like to make good choices.

We forget that social and emotional intelligence also needs to be taught in school, which directly affects students' decision-making in the situations they face outside of school.

At the beginning of the year, I debate internally about whether or not to take the three weeks I need to build a classroom community because my school puts pressure on teachers to do "actual" teaching and ISAT prep instead of the "fluff." Building a classroom community is more than the students getting to know each other. It consists of creating a contract of what we need as learners and what we can do to help everyone achieve their goals in class. We discuss and act out how to make decisions and weigh consequences in tough situations students might face in school and out, as well as how to resolve conflicts with each other by using language and understanding perspectives. Much of the community building ties in with other content areas such as social studies throughout the year, so it is an on-going process. But to be honest, I often doubt I do enough of it.

We have come to a point in education policy debate where the fact that teaching students about how to simply be with each other is completely neglected in favor of math and science. I want my students to care about others, to be strong enough in character and have the confidence to make good choices for themselves and their future. This is possibly the most important thing the students can walk away with from school and home.

And, yes, it is part of my job, and gladly so...in addition to teaching students how to write five-paragraph essays. And, yes, it is the parents' job as well. There is much that both teachers and parents can agree upon in considering the type of adult and citizen we want our students to become. I wonder if the problem of youth violence and the bystander effect could be alleviated if character education or social and emotional intelligence or whatever you'd like to call it could be given the necessary "rigor" in all public schools as are the academic areas.