Assignment:
Violence in City Schools
Summary: Violence in City Schools: What Principals are Doing to Stem the Rising Tide
This article addresses the problem of violence in schools. Statistics are given which support the argument that adolescents and teens commit crimes in the afternoon hours after school has let out and before it gets dark. The argument made by the authors is that the school day should be lengthened so that students could/would remain at school engaged in "healthful" activities rather than wandering around "looking" for trouble.
The article mentions that most elementary schools do not have extracurricular sports or academic clubs that students can join. Because of this fact, the authors put forth the theory that young students come to view extracurricular activities as "un-cool" and so choose not to engage in them in middle and high school. The authors also discuss the limitations that most schools place on those involved in extracurricular activities. They claim that by limiting extracurricular activities to "deserving" students, those with a good GPA and without behavioral problems, the schools are eliminating the fringe students that need these programs the most.