“On page five in this issue of LA Youth Daniel Weintraub compares high school to a prison. But after interviewing a teenager in an actual prison at Juvenile Hall he could see that his situation was much better than that of the teen in jail.
For Class Discussion: Have your students list some of the things “Frank” is unable to do being in prison such as talking on the phone. Now make a list of some of the things that high school students cannot do (such as wear a hat or carry a beeper). How do the lists compare? In what ways is high school like a prison? What could be done to improve the situation?
Students complain about rules (such as tardy sweeps) and yet, when rules are lax or unenforced, they complain that it’s too easy to get away with things and it seems like the school doesn’t care if they get an education.
Don’t rules serve a positive purpose? Or do they only make a school seem like a prison?
Police Relations
Ricky Hicks writes about his opinions on the Los Angeles Police Department on page 11. Read and discuss this article. Create a chart on the board that shows Ricky’s conclusions on one side and his evidence on the other. For example:
How do Ricky’s opinions change and why?
Now make a chart of your students’ views of the police. What are their views and what evidence are they based on? It’s helpful to look at how we form our ideas. Once we can see clearly why we think the way we do, it’s easier to re-evaluate and consider new information.
• Do your students agree with Ricky Hicks that movies such as Boyz in the Hood and Menace2Society grossly misrepresent the police department? Why or why not?
• Are your students surprised to learn that less than one percent of arrests result in a claim of excessive force? Could this mean that police misconduct goes unreported in the same way that other types of crimes go unreported?
• Do your students agree with Ricky’s argument that the police should be intimidating? Why or why not?
The Constitutional Rights Foun-dation has some excellent curriculum materials on youth, violence and the police department. You can order “Youth and Police,” and “The Challenge of Violence” by calling (213) 487-5590.
Is Graffiti Art or
Urban Blight?
A former tagger describes his strange obsession with tagging in “Aerosol Soul” on pages 12-13. He also photographed some of his favorite tags.
What do your students think of this article? Is LA Youth glorifying tagging (an illegal act) by publishing this article and the photos of the tags?
Is this article going to encourage teens to go out and tag, making our city uglier?
Or is there something to be said for trying to understand a tagger’s purpose and mentality? In the last year, the writer has gone from getting Cs and Ds to getting all As and a B- in algebra (his most hated subject). Why did this tagger change and start moving in a positive direction? Does his example offer some hope to other youth who are lost and searching for their way?
Essay Contest-
What’s your
message?
For our essay contest (page 4), we are inviting our readers to send us the message they would like to get out to the world. But instead of tagging, or some other destructive method, we want youth to write or draw their message for possible publication in the next issue of LA Youth.
Please send the essays to LA Youth Essay Contest, 6030 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 201, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Be sure to include the students name, age, school, home address and home phone number. Prizes will be awarded to the top three essays. The winners will be chosen by the teen staff of LA Youth. Entries must be postmarked by July 15, 1997.”