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From the Observation Deck

by Dee Dickinson

 

Here in Seattle, Washington we will be observing Peace Day on April 20 as proclaimed by our Governor Gary Locke. On that topic I would like to offer a few thoughts about youth violence, a planet that is far from peaceful, and some of the things we might all do to help.

I imagine there are few people who are not disturbed by the alarming rise in youth violence, alienation, and other destructive personal and social behavior. Many, but not all, of these young people are not successful at learning in school. Many, but not all, come from impoverished environments.

On the other hand, there are growing numbers of young people who are taking personal responsibility for contributing to their world in many ways. Many, but not all, of these young people are successful at learning in school. Many, but not all, come from healthier environments.

So what are key differences between these two outcomes? There are surely no easy answers to what is causing young people to strike out in frustration and hostility, and there are no easy answers to creating a more peaceful world, but there are some possibilities we might consider.

Of the 6 billion people on earth, no two have brains that are alike, yet we are all born with similar basic equipment--a brain that has 100 billion neurons and a possible thousand trillion connections that make it possible for us to think, feel, learn, problem-solve, and create. Heredity is of course important, but environment shapes the brain for better or worse, and the brain can in turn shape our environment for better or worse. (See Brain Lab for related articles.)

Home and school environments that are positive, nurturing, stimulating, and that encourage action and interaction can lead to making the most of our possibilities. That is the opposite of environments that are threatening and humiliate or punish people for making mistakes rather than seeing them as opportunities to learn, or environments that are dull and boring where people sit passively taking in information or being told what to do with few choices available. Those environments can cause frustration, alienation, and eventually hostility. (See related articles in the Brain Lab and Early Childhood and Parenting.)

According to solid research from studies in human development, homes that offer the best foundation for healthy growth have solid structure, encourage us to understand and share our feelings, communicate high expectations and help young people to achieve them, and early on offer many opportunities for meaningful choice. Not all homes are like that, but it is possible to make sure that all children have at least one adult mentor to provide such support. Today, Boys and Girls Clubs and other organizations are partnering with schools to make sure this happens. (See Early Childhood and Parenting.)

Large schools offer lots of opportunities and resources, but they also can result in too many young people feeling anonymous. Some of the youngsters who resort to violence tell about feeling real emotional pain that is not recognized by others. In a book called Emotional Honesty and Self-Acceptance, (reviewed below) author Ronald Brill suggests that " if kids can't cry tears, they just may cry bullets."

We can't replace large schools with smaller ones overnight. There is, however, a strong trend throughout the country to create smaller schools within larger ones so that small groups of students and their teachers grow through the years together in a close, supportive community that can recognize and help to meet the needs of all students. (See Patricia Wasley's research on "Small Schools and the Issue of Scale" in the January 2001 Journal.)

Let's consider some of the most important needs of youngsters. Many years ago, Abraham Maslow created what he called a Hierarchy of Human Needs. He has been criticized for many things, but not for what he said about fulfilling these needs as necessary to fulfilling our possibilities. In order for people to become constructive, compassionate, contributing members of society there are certain conditions that environment should provide. They are freedom, justice, orderliness, and challenge.

Freedom without discipline can lead to chaos and even to violence, but discipline without freedom can demean the human spirit and also lead to violence. Freedom means having some choice about what and how we learn and live.

Justice means having equal opportunity to have our basic needs met and offers opportunities for us to become mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually healthy.

Orderliness is being able to live in a somewhat predictable environment and being confident that there are predictable consequences to our actions.

Challenge makes life interesting and helps us grow. But if challenge is consistently offered at a level that is lower than our ability, the result can be boredom, frustration, and ultimately alienation. If challenge is consistently presented over our heads, the result is also frustration, alienation, and even dropping out or striking back. Challenge needs to be offered beyond where we are, but within reach if we stretch. To do that educators need to know as much as possible about their students and use appropriate assessment to guide instruction. (See the Tool Room and book review of Classroom Instruction That Works in this issue of the Journal.)

Freedom, justice, orderliness, and challenge-- critically important characteristics of environments that lead to healthy people and a healthy planet.

All people have basic needs in common critical to the fullest development of their potential. According to Maslow they include basic physical needs and needs for safety and security, which are growing challenges in today's schools. Meeting these needs takes coordinated efforts on the part of homes, schools, social service agencies, and communities at large. Electronic technologies are an invaluable help in coordinating these efforts, but they are not yet being used to the fullest extent possible.

Another basic need is for a sense of belonging, but students from diverse backgrounds do not always find it easy to become part of a group. If students are not accepted for who they are, they may resort to joining groups of other alienated students or even gangs. In order to recognize each individual as important, some schools encourage each individual to take responsibility for some important school task that is related to their interests and abilities. Some schools create databases of the talents, abilities, and interests of each of their students thus recognizing and honoring their strengths.

The needs for self-esteem and esteem by others cannot be met through self-esteem courses that help students to feel better even though they may be failing in school or other areas of their lives. They are met by helping young people to succeed at learning tasks close to their ability level and gradually increasing the difficulty, making sure that along the way they have the strategies they need to achieve them. Current research from many excellent sources can help parents and teachers to find the best ways of helping all students to be more successful at learning. (See the Tool Room and related articles in this quarter's Journal.)

Through coordinated efforts, we can create real learning communities that can develop the fullest potential of our young people and lead to a more peaceful world. That's not a new idea either. The Greeks had a name for such communities-- Paediea, communities where everyone was responsible for helping each other and for the learning and development of the young. That is no small task, but as the famous anthropologist, Margaret Meade, once said, "Never doubt what a small group of people can do to change the world. Indeed, that is the only thing that ever has."

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