The Case Of Mason 's Routine Activity Theory

A study published in 2007 focused on “high poverty high schools,” where at least half the students were on free or reduced lunch, it showed that the students that did not participate in extracurricular activities graduated from high school 69 percent of the time while students who did participate in extracurricular activities graduated 82.7 percent of the time (“Extracurriculars Boost High School Graduation Rates”). Furthermore students who participate in sports or extracurricular activities compared to those who do not participate or who have not been involved in extracurricular activities show; higher grades and attainment, improved personal confidence and self esteem, greater connections with school, attachments and support from adults,

There are several key issues apparent for Belinda, one of which is social isolation. Belinda has withdrawn from her family and no longer spends time with her friends. In becoming socially isolated, Belinda is at risk of disruption to her social development leading to an increased likelihood of failure to achieve in the future (EPPIC, 2001). This is evidenced by the fact that Belinda’s grades have dropped significantly over the past six months.

Edwin H. Sutherland’s formulation of differential association theory proposed that delinquency, like any other form of behavior, is a product of social interaction. On October 14th, 2002, 17 year old Lee Boyd Malvo was charged by the state of Virginia for two capital crimes: the murder of FBI analyst Linda Franklin "in the commission of an act of terrorism" and the murder of more than one person in a three-year period. Sutherland’s nine propositions of differential association best explains Malvo’s act for the following reasons: (1) Malvo learned how to commit each heinous crime through his social interaction within his intimate group, (2) Malvo learned the techniques to commit each crime through his mentor, i.e. learning the skills

Chapter 10, Section 1 B, Poverty, Marriage and Parenting Problems, discusses how a person's social class, family life or family's attitudes can affect a child's relationship with peers, teachers and others in an educational environment. This section seemed to attract my action because it reminded me of a part time job I had when I was in high school. My job was to be a counselor and a teacher assistant for a summer and spring program called Bain + 2. The author noted that some districts and schools hire counselors to help students or sponsor after school programs for children (Foundations of Education, p. 291). When I worked for Bain + 2, it was an after-school and summer program in the city of Cranston at Hugh B. Bain Middle School. Hugh B.

Steve Ross, a 16 year old African American male, completed an Agape Family Counseling assessment to monitor his progression. Steve’s teacher reported concerns about Steve’s relationship with his peers to Mrs. Ross. In the past, Steve stated that his classmates would exclude him from their activities. Steve stated that, he would explain things in a literal manner which would could his peers to “make fun” of him. Mrs. Ross also reported that Steve would only talk in detail about the subjects that he was interested in. Mrs. Ross also expressed concern about his social skills among his peers.

Kody Scotts ' participation in gang activity can be explained through the interactions he had with his intimate peer groups as described by Edwin Sutherland in his theory of differential association. The theory of differential association strives to explain, “Why do certain individuals become criminals?” According to Sutherland (1947), criminality is learned in interaction with others in a process of communication, usually with small groups of people (p. 14). Criminality, from a differential association perspective, is learned from observations of definitions favorable to law violation (Sutherland, 1947). The learning aspect also includes, both the techniques of committing crime, and the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations and attitudes for committing crime (Sutherland, 1947, p. 15). The learning of

"..the social world of rejected and neglected adolescents is considerably less pleasant. They have fewer friends, engage in social activites less frequently, and have less contact with the opposite sex. They see themseleves... as less popular, and they are more likely to feel lonely" (McElhaney, Antonishak, & Allen, 2008; Woodhouse, Dykas, & Cassidy, 2012).

Researcher David Harding proposes a theory about a strong correlation between socialization of adolescents and older peers in disadvantaged neighborhoods, as well as the apparent effects of neighborhood upbringing and adolescent socialization. Harding aims to find the exact source of social interaction between peers and youth in his research. “The article proposes that cross-cohort socialization by older neighborhood peers is one source of socialization for adolescent boys” (Harding, 2009, Page 2). This theory is tested by conducting interviews to understand the causes and consequences of these interactions and relationships. The results were convincing and proved Harding’s theory was in fact correct. “Data collected from the National Educational

Brooks brings up the problem of boys failing in the education system in his article Honor Code. The history of boys losing hope in school and becoming troubled goes back to the time Shakespeare was alive. Shakespeare made up a fictional character that represents how boys acted within that era “ He’d get in a serious wrestling ,match with his buddy Falstaff, and, by the time he got him in a headlock, there’d be suspensions all around”(1), which is still going on in present time. In my own personal experience, I have seen fights start at school with troubled boys and a suspension doesn’t save the boys from doing worse in school.

Though this problem not only affects the students but also their families and the community, it is significant to address the issue as a whole. Male students at the middle school are labeled as troublesome and often regarded as incompetent when unable to perform academically well. Unfortunately, these boys come disadvantaged homes and lack emotional and academic support because many live in one parent household or both parents may be away from home trying to earn a living to provide for their families. Some of these families have few resources, speak little or no English, and possess limited time to supervise their children after school is released. Many of the students encountered at RMMS mentioned that their parents leave their home as early

Urban Schools are assumed to serve the inner-city minority population only, which is not entirely true. Many of the students served in urban communities are often within a low income family. However, depending upon the school the population is made up of many students of many backgrounds. While working within an African American male charter high school of the Englewood community, I studied the experiences of different students, as well as the resources and technology offered due to lack of budget. Many of students share different experiences. Many of them travel from Indiana, suburban communities, as well as blocks away from the school building. The behavior of the young men is characterized as rowdy and unique, due to being an all-male campus. While observing and working with the young men directly, I came across a few red flags that seemed to be trending for students with poor behavior

After the recession in Blueville, the violent crime rate increased by __% and similarly the property crime rate increased by __%. The increase in both property and violent crime can be explained using the routine activities theory. Routine activities theory states that crime is a normal function of everyday life and is a result of the interaction between a suitable target, an absence of a capable guardian, and a motivated criminal. A suitable target is someone or something that are vulnerable and desirable to the offender. A target is chosen as suitable by the criminal and as a result the idea of a suitable target varies from person to person. However, a suitable target can often be found in areas that are dark, secluded or lack surveillance

Another issue that boys suffer from school is balancing being socially accepted and academically focused. It’s like being a man and being a good student are antithetical (Kimmel 215).The ideology of traditional masculinity keeps from wanting to succeed (Kimmel 215).

Mahoney, J. L., & Cairns, R. B. (1997). Do extracurricular activities protect against early school dropout? Developmental Psychology, 33(2), 241-253

Since Kemper is a criminal, it is befitting to mold him around a criminological theory to connect his experiences with other criminals. The Routine Activities Theory, or RAT, describes that the three essential components for a crime to occur is that there must a motivated offender, a suitable target, and a lack of capable guardians. It is quite evident that all three components were present in all the different murders Kemper committed. When he killed his grandmother, he was motivated to see how it felt to kill someone, his grandmother was none the wiser, and his grandfather was not home yet (Greig, 2012). Therefore, the opportunity presented itself for Kemper’s first murder to take place. Deep seated anger that also contained a fearful love was a motivator for him to kill his mother (Leyton, 1989). His mother was most likely not expecting to be killed by her son with a hammer on Easter weekend, so the target was there and no one was there to stop him, so another opportunity presented itself again (Greig, 2012).