Bad Boys Public Schools Book Review

Bad Boy: A memoir by Walter Dean Myers is about racism, isolation,and value of education. Racism is a big part throughout this book because of how Walter acts and thinks. Isolation is a big role in this book because it reaches many of his family members. Value of education changes dramatically throughout his life.

Throughout the matriculation of a black boy 's’ life, there are many, (labeled natural, yet are culturally, socially and institutionally based) factors, that govern the holistic views and beliefs entailed to the child. From that moment on, challenging the social structures that these norms entail suggest a sense of sensitivity, homosexuality or weakness, ultimately emasculating the highly regarded social stigmas attached with being a man. Despite being indoctrinated into the minds of black boys from an early age, there are many long lasting effects of masculinity that are in turn reciprocated in the role of black fathers, husbands, brothers and friends. Black masculinity is the self-deteriorating idealisms that attack the identity and social positions black men ascribe to.

Adolescence can be the most crucial part of a person’s development. It is the time of transition into adulthood. The experiences gathered this time of a person’s life have lasting effects that linger long into adulthood. Proper guidance and support during this time is a person’s life is essential to ensuring that the person is able to become a successful adult in society. However, many African-American youth are lacking this type of support and guidance during this critical stage in life. Disproportionately some African American male adolescents aren’t provided proper mechanisms for their transition to manhood. Some sociologists believe that the lack of a rites of

Even at their youngest stages of life, African American males are being told that they’re just following a path to jail from birth. Even figures that as a child you’d look up to are telling young black males that they can’t succeed in this world. The vice-principal of the Rosa Parks School when talking about a young African American male said “That one has a jail-cell with his name on it”. Education institutions are the ones who hold the power to decide and construct who has access to opportunities and resources needed to advance in our capitalist society. The system is setting up African Americans for failure from the start. “The racial bias in the punishing systems of the school reflects the practices of the criminal justice system. Black youth are caught up in the net of juvenile justice system at a rate of two to four times that of white youth”. The profiling starts at a young age as well, planning their future for them. In conclusion, Education Institutions are the ones who hold power in this world. They are the building blocks of the future, as they shape young lives. With institutional racism putting some races ahead of others, however, a majority of students are stunted in their path to adulthood, leading to racial issues and divides that would otherwise not

Less than 4% of the total student population enrolled in America’s colleges and universities (one of the smallest subgroups based on race/ethnicity and gender.) According to the Schott Foundation, the graduation rate of Black males in CT is between 51%, whereas White males in CT have an 83% graduation rate—a 32% gap. Moreover, the achievement gap between Black women and Black men is the lowest male-to female ratio among all racial/ethnic subgroups. (Strayhorn 1). The disproportionate and devastating failure of Black males in the educational system has further ramifications in our social system as black males are over-represented in the criminal justice system: “African-American males represent approximately 8.6 percent of the nation’s K-12 public school enrollment but make up about 60 percent of all incarcerated youth” (Smith 2005). In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the academic crisis of adolescent black males, one must examine the research findings surrounding the Black-White achievement gap, black male standardized test scores, black male literacy achievement, and the socio-cultural achievement barriers that obscure black males’ self-perception of themselves as readers. “According to many standardized assessments, educators in the U.S.

Systematic racism within education Institutions, such as the lack of adequate funding as well as subtle discrimination, continues to be the root of the problem that plagues this nation. Even though segregation was abolished in 1964, the lingering effects that remain are significant and cannot be passively mended. Although it is tempting to think that this prejudice is caused by a select few and not the many, it is clear that this problem holds more depth. Recent studies conducted by the National Education Studies (NEA) have proven that even in school’s African American students are often times targeted and punished at a significantly higher rate when compared to their white peers. The study states “Black students make up almost 40 percent of all school expulsions [in the] nation, and more than two thirds of students referred to police from schools are either black or Hispanic” (Blacks: Education Issues). This study conducted by the Department of Education, cabinet-level department of the United States

A trend has developed in our society in recent decades. This concerning trend shows that African American youth are finding their way into the criminal justice system at a much higher rate than their peers. This trend starts in schools where students as young as fifth graders are being suspended from school for minor issues. Police officers are being used more and more to handle situations in the schools rather than teachers. Does this kind of discipline really help students of color or does it have the opposite effect? When taken out of school for disciplinary reasons, African American student’s behaviors do not improve but criminal activity is more likely. School

Due to the discrimination of African-Americans, and oppression resulting from it, the government, justice system, educational system, and society has made it clear that African-American teenagers obtaining a thorough and effective education is the least of their concerns. It is almost as though African-American teenagers are purposely being set up to fail. As stated in “The Oppression of Black People, The Crimes of This System and the Revolution we need”, “Today the schools are more segregated than they have been since the 1960s with urban, predominantly Black and Latino schools receiving fewer resources and set up to fail. These schools more and more resemble prisons

Adolescent Black males throughout the years have been subject and victim to numerous economic, socioeconomic, and environmental disadvantages. In many inner-city neighborhoods, these disadvantages have led to an increase in violence among these adolescent African American males, especially in the educational system. Violence among African American males in schools is something that increases tremendously each year; a 2010 study in Education Week showed that over 70% of the students involved in school-related arrests or referred to law enforcement were African American students. This can be explained

In Punished: policing the lives of Black and Latino by Victor Rios Oakland boys are studied in an ethnography. The purpose of the ethnography was to examine the how the boys interacted with themselves, the education system and the justice system. The purpose of this essay is to review what Rios has witnessed and recorded, in his book, and look through the lens of different sociological theories and theorists. These Theories and theorists Rios himself used when describing the behavior.

A Broader Problem that plagues Black males are not totally the responsibility of the public schools, but are a responsibility of society as a whole (Delpit, 1995). We can say, however, that the public schools do play a major role in addressing the problems of Black male students. The educational experiences and the support services afforded Black male students could play an

It is easy to point the finger but harder to find a solution as to why the black male child is failing in school. There are several crucial factors that contribute to this epidemic including, parents are not communicating with the teachers, the socioeconomic status of the child 's family, and the father 's absence in the child 's life. Each of these topics intertwine with one another and is preventing a race of young men who will not be given the chance to excel in life.

In our society, specifically the south, African-American men are constantly viewed with negative connotations. It is so disturbing to know our society has molded our minds into believing this misconception. This fallacy originated from generational hate that has been in existence since slavery, and is apparent in many forms of African-American literature. Black Men in a Public Space did a phenomenal job of depicting the negative connotations presented to black men in the south. As I read the literature, it allowed me to picture these senseless acts and sympathize with African-American males. I noticed Staples brought to his readers’ attention that despite class, race, and gender of a black man, he would be viewed with adverse connotations.

These boys are becoming marginalized. Meaning they are being set apart and not in a good way. Take for instance in the book, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. Attitudes, values, and behaviors can be the field of which distinctions derive.We derived these young black men already when they come out the womb as criminals, and as endangered species. Yes, that word is raw and cut throat but it is true. We stigmatize these young black men and make them believe that they are nothing. This tells me that the school system is not only failing to promote equality, but to uproot and encourage them. Instead, they become objects of fear and suspicion to the public.They will never be classified as achievers.

In the book Bad Boys, Ann Arnett Feruson originally sets out to look at how institutions create and preserve a sort of racial order, and also how the idea of what race is influences how people view themselves as individuals and as part of a larger community. This leads her into a more specific topic, and a close look at young black males in the education system. What she finds is that black boys are looked at differently than boys in general, and they often looked upon in a negative manner. Teachers treat them differently, and are quicker to punish them for things. This is partially due to the concept of adultification. Rather than looking at actions as childish or naïve, the teachers look at the boys as “adults.” They assume