It seems like a serious challenge for many educators to come up with ways to make meaningful connections with some of the most troubled students whose lives are impacted heavily by gangs. When I saw this article, I felt like this could be a way to break through to these kids. “Street Life: Poverty, Gangs and a Ph.D.,” written by Victor Rios gives anyone, but most importantly, children struggling to find something meaningful to engage with a chance to connect with someone who was able to beat the odds. I think many kids who are growing up with numerous challenges can find hope and a promise for success by reading this book. In addition, I think this book can be a valuable resource for educators who want to be able to make a meaningful connection when it may otherwise be difficult.
This book sounds super interesting and like you said, a great way to connect with children from silicate backgrounds and give them hope and inspiration to make something more of themselves. This reminds me of another memoir I read last semster called “Always Running” by Luis Rodriguez.
What an interesting article. The book is going on my “to read” list. It seems to illustrate a potentially valuable shift in school philosophy (which could translate to policy): a strengths-based approach, rather than a deficit-focused perspective, seeing the value in each individual student and supporting their resilience, focusing on positive role models.
I wondered if this article would qualify as “policy” or not, and I decided that the message was really valuable and impacting anyhow. Than you for pointing out that the shift in school philosophy is what could create policy change. That really makes sense to me. It takes a new perspective to make change happen, I think.