Assignment #16-Emma Shadwick- Troubled Youth and the Conveyor Belt of Destruction

Emma Shadwick

Matthew Logsdon

AP Lang and Comp

15 December 2019

Troubled Youth Manuscript 

What do you notice first when you look at this? I don’t know about you, but my eyes skipped right over the dark figures lagging in the back. Our eyes focus on the happy children finishing the race, unaware of the struggle happening behind them. And that is the problem. The black figures represent at-risk youth, whose circumstances hinder their success. Countless youth may be labelled at-risk because of factors such as socioeconomic status, family composition, or crime in their neighborhood. This demographic is stuck on a conveyor belt heading towards a similar life for them that they had grown up in, with no initiative to improve their situation and without anyone stepping in to even attempt to slow it down. Donna Dukes, founder of an academy for at-risk youth in Birmingham, Alabama has changed many lives through her work. She is a firm believer in exposing these kids to people, events, and information outside of their comfort zones- showing them there is more to life than their circumstances. 

This means that traditional methods thought to be most effective at  “straightening out” wayward juveniles are ultimately ineffective. A 2011 Social Policy Report by the Society for Research in Child Development proves this: More than 1 million American youth end up in juvenile court every year and 160,000 of them are referred to detention centers, residential treatment centers, correctional institutions and group homes. The report goes on to say that such settings do more harm than good. Increased rates of depression, thoughts of suicide, disorderly behavior, and recidivism are some examples. Back to the conveyor belt - these placements do nothing to stop or slow the path of destruction at-risk youth are on. 

A better method to ensure that these youth become positive members of society and avoid a life of crime is making increased mentoring within their schools available to them. This combination of support and special interest from educators has been proven to go a long way. For example, Amy Donofrio is an educator ata high-school in Jacksonville, Florida. She received permission from the principal to begin teaching a one-year leadership class open solely to at-risk youth within the general population. It required no formal training, curriculum, or funding. She admits that she and her students had a rocky start, but she remained diligent. Something as simple as inviting her students to share their story with her and the entire class proved effective at bringing them all together. In just over one year, these students went from being labelled at-risk to being recognized as at-hope youth leaders in their community. In her own words, “Their accomplishments include speaking at the White House, meeting President Obama, and making the front page of the New York Times.” 

Implementing a program similar to Pathways to Education in American high schools nationwide would be beneficial to the transition of at-risk children into adulthood. It began in 2001 in the largest project of Toronto, Ontario. The process begins when participants are only in elementary school and extends through graduation from high school. In elementary school, eligible students are hand-selected and their school provides Pathways with contact information. Once a selected student enters 9th grade, Pathways becomes a large part of their lives. Two areas Pathways focuses on are academic and social support. Academic support is mandatory tutoring twice a week in small groups or one-on-one, depending on need. Tutors are volunteers, many being teachers from nearby high schools, that tutor an average of five hours per week. A study done by the journal for Education and Treatment of Children tracked the frequency that three elementary school aged boys exhibited problem behaviors in their normal classroom setting. Then, their teachers created a specific environment in which there were more and better opportunities to receive positive teacher attention. In the case of all three boys, when these practices reached optimal levels, there was a reduction in their problem behaviors. This study demonstrates the power of special interest from an educator on success. Tutoring opportunities such as the ones offered by a program like Pathways would make a huge difference in the lives of at-risk youth.

Pathways also provides social support for its participants. This consists of mandatory participation in two or more activities per month that are designed to foster feelings of teamwork or commitment to the community or just expose students to a new hobby. Once participants reach 11th and 12th grade they have more freedom to select activities that interest them. This reiterates what Donna Dukes says is the best way to reach at risk youth: provide them with experiences outside their comfort zone. Finding one’s passion and developing a dream to go along with it are crucial elements to success.

In conclusion, the power of special interest from an educator and finding a passion are unparalleled when it comes to slowing down and stopping the conveyor belt many at-risk students are on. A program within high-schools across the nation that offers academic and social support to the at-risk demographic would help a large number of them achieve success in the face of crippling adversity.